Religious leaders warn political rhetoric threatening racial harmony

Two re­li­gious lead­ers are sound­ing the alarm over in­creas­ing­ly hos­tile po­lit­i­cal rhetoric, call­ing on Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar and Op­po­si­tion Leader Pen­ne­lope Beck­les to tem­per their lan­guage be­fore racial un­der­tones and per­son­al at­tacks deep­en di­vi­sions in the coun­try.

In­ter-Re­li­gious Or­gan­i­sa­tion pres­i­dent Dr El­lis Bur­ris and Sev­enth-day Ad­ven­tist Pas­tor Clive Dot­tin say the es­ca­lat­ing war of words be­tween po­lit­i­cal lead­ers is send­ing the wrong mes­sage to the pop­u­la­tion, warn­ing that the con­se­quences ex­tend far be­yond the po­lit­i­cal are­na.

Their con­cerns come amid a re­cent pub­lic ex­change be­tween Per­sad-Bisses­sar and Laven­tille West MP Ka­reem Mar­celle, which has been marked by per­son­al in­sults, ac­cu­sa­tions of racism and ref­er­ences to racial di­vi­sions with­in the coun­try’s plur­al so­ci­ety.