National security adviser to the Prime Minister Gary Griffith says there were too many protocol blunders during the May 31- June 2 state visit of President of China Xi Jingping. His comment comes in the wake of a statement by permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Margaret Parillon, in defence of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s alleged breach of protocol during the visit.
In an e-mailed statement yesterday, Griffith said Parillon’s excuses were “poor” and the blunders were “too numerous to singularly mention.” Griffith said he was “absolutely flabbergasted that such a statement could emanate from within the hallowed halls of what is supposed to be the bastion of diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Griffith said he agreed with Parillon’s claim that there was an art and science of protocol and the art was to ensure one’s guests’ comfort. He said, however, that officials must be aware that ceremonial protocol “dictates that the science of protocol trumps the art.” In his view, “There were far too many glaring and unforced hitches, which, by the way, were not under the purview of the Prime Minister.” He said the blunders included the “deplaning” of President Xi.
Griffith said: “The Chief of Protocol should have been in the receiving line at the door of the plane along with specific attendants awaiting His and Her Excellency with umbrellas in hand, ready to escort and introduce their excellencies to President Carmona and First Lady Carmona, then to the Prime Minister.”
He said it was the responsibility of military personnel and the Chief of Protocol to ensure the President assumed his correct position in the line, as he himself was aware, having once served as aide-de-camp to the President while he was in the Defence Force. But even those who knew nothing about protocol, he said, would have been “in a tailspin” over the errors at the state banquet.
The faux pas there included: “The lack of a master of ceremony, the non-announcement of the arrival of their Excellencies, the non-announcement of the National Anthem of China and T&T, the lack of interpretation of the toast, the questionable seating arrangements, to the last-minute invitation to the Leader of the Opposition.”
Griffith said he was not seeking to cast aspersions on anyone. “When we are afforded the opportunity to recognise and correct errors,” he concluded, “we must not attempt to gloss them over, but instead utilise the opportunity to strengthen weak areas.”