Statement, Thursday 10 July, 2008

Declaring that it was the Petro Caribe Agreement, signed by the former P.N.P. government and repeatedly castigated by then Opposition Leader Mr Bruce Golding, that was today keeping the Jamaican economy afloat and cushioning increases to the Jamaican consumer, People's National Party Vice President, Angela Brown Burke, has declared that Prime Minister Bruce Golding should do the decent and honourable thing and publicly apologize to Venezuelan President, Mr Hugo Chavez. Mrs. Brown Burke was addressing the Policy Committee of Women for National Development, on Wednesday 9th July, in Kingston.

Mrs Brown Burke said that she was pleased with reports that Mr. Golding would be going to Venezuela with a large delegation this weekend. She said the word within political circles was that the trip and possible one-and-one meeting with the Venezuelan President resulted from Mr. Golding going to the Cubans and literally begging them to mend fences in order to facilitate the meeting with Mr Chavez.

She remarked that Mr. Golding had made the most disparaging comments about Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, during the 2007 national leaders debates, basically saying that then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller should avoid him like the plague. Prior to that, when Jamaica and the rest of Caricom decided to support Venezuela's bid for a seat on the UN's Security Council, he had warned then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and the government, that Jamaica should not sell out to Venezuela for a few barrels of oil. At that time, he strongly opposed Venezuela's bid and publicly denounced Chavez. She also reminded her audience that during the historic signing of the Petro Caribe Agreement, in September 2005, then Opposition Leader Golding was busy organizing demonstrations against rising food prices to coincide with the summit of Caricom Leaders in Montego Bay.

"Therefore, the least Mr. Golding can do now, is to publicly acknowledge his vulgar and undiplomatic behaviour and mistakes." The P.N.P., Vice President said she had nothing but the very best wishes for the Golding led, Jamaican delegation to Venezuela, because it was in the national interest for Jamaican to continue having favourable trade deals for Venezuelan oil. Venezuela is our oil lifeline, she concluded.