Wikileaks demonstrates the need for improved foreign policy management within the Caribbean

By Ian Francis



I am not in consort with those who have glaringly breached United States security protocol. While it is enticing and encouraging to consume the leaked gossip, I still maintain the position that the leaked communications on Jamaica, St Vincent and Grenada are private conversations, grossly exaggerated and poor analyses by those who authored the reports.

A few weeks ago, this medium printed an article entitled “More Wikileaks to come”, following the revelations and publication of alleged conversations between Prime Minister Gonzales and Bridgetown based United States Embassy officials. Jamaica was also mentioned, which highlighted perceived rifts between Simpson-Miller and Dr Peter Phillips of the People’s National Party (PNP).

In recent days, Wikileaks has been able to shed some more light on the foreign policy and national security ineptness of the former Grenada administration under Dr Keith Mitchell with respect to Grenada-United States relations.

While there is very little that regional governments and their affiliated organizations can do to prevent further juicy leaks, the current release of such embarrassing information might get governments thinking more seriously about developing and sustaining effective foreign policy management practices that will guide how elected and appointed officials interact with foreign diplomatic personnel accredited to respective CARICOM governments.

To put it bluntly, personnel in our foreign affairs ministries need to equip themselves with knowledge and understanding about the operations of foreign accredited governments. If the acquisition of knowledge and understanding is acquired and applied effectively, there are strong possibilities that the current “unfettered policy access policy” that exposes our duly elected leaders to meeting with “foreign pipsqueak diplomatic representatives” will come to an immediate halt, resulting in a more streamlined policy of access.

The above access policy realignment will not bring an immediate halt to Wikileaks and political reporting by various accredited diplomatic personnel. However, the streamlining will ensure that those junior diplomatic representatives accredited to the region that bully local foreign ministry officials for access to our elected officials will decrease. As it is regularly said, these junior diplomatic officials cannot even get access to some of their senior officials in their own domain, why should they expect it in the region?

It is all the fault of the weak-kneed local foreign ministry officials and some of the inept elected officials that are engaged in the governance of various states in the region. The development and management of effective rules and procedures must be immediately brought to fruition.

I was extremely incensed about the Wikileaks report between Grenada and the United States. I felt that the juicy cables showed some ineptness on the Mitchell administration. Three observations are noted:

-- Reliance by the then administration on United States security support to quell any political uprising that could have resulted in a coup or the overthrow of the administration.

-- Poor quality of national security analysis by Ogilvie, James and De Gale who were charged with the responsibility of managing the national security process.

-- Mary Kramer, a George Bush Ambassadorial political appointee, who described the legitimate concerns of the then Grenada prime minister as “scaremongering”. It is understood, Mary Kramer has since returned to pedigree dog rearing somewhere in the United States.

-- The inability of various local national security officials to adequately brief and convince the administration on local national capacity security abilities that could delimit the United States involvement in the management of security in an independent CARICOM state.

While Wikileaks continues to be an embarrassing source to many governments and individuals within the CARICOM region, it is also an indicator or lesson to stakeholders about the need and sustainability for the management of foreign policy in the region.

Where can governments begin? Earlier in this article, suggestions were made for the need of local foreign ministry officials to embrace information and knowledge about the governance operations of various foreign countries that have established and maintain diplomatic relations with their respective government.

If such an approach was accepted and applied, local foreign ministry officials will quickly determine that ranks and titles are very important elements in the foreign relations community. Therefore, a third secretary from an accredited nation with ambition to see an elected prime minister should be told that he can only meet with a local counterpart who might be at the rank of an executive or senior executive officer.

Another area for consideration is control and monitoring of foreign accredited diplomats. Many of these accredited countries have diverse bilateral technical assistance in the receiving state that might involve various ministries and state corporations. As a result, meetings will be requested so the visiting diplomat can report back to his government on the progress of the project. When and if such meetings are held, the ministry of foreign affairs should always ensure that a foreign ministry official is present at that meeting.

Finally, another modus operandi of visiting foreign diplomats is to cultivate “corrupt and chatty” local public sector workers. The cultivation is often achieved by meals, alcohol, promise of a long term family visa and often other perks that these officials cannot refuse. To effectively control this cultivation tactic, the suggested guidelines should include that any public sector that engages in frequent contact and exchange of ideas and discussions with a foreign diplomat should be required to submit a written report through his/her immediate supervisor, who in turn will submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for analysis and comments.

In conclusion, CARICOM independent nations might be described as small and poor, thus giving large nations the opportunity to run roughshod. However, a truly independent nation is expected to exert its own style and management capacity without anyone being offended.

I am remaining alert for more Wikileaks, which will reconfirm my assessment and observation of the current feeble leadership in the conduct and management of foreign policy in certain CARICOM nations.

September 10, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

How can CARICOM countries decrease the upswing of criminality?

By Ian Francis


Every day, the Caribbean region’s population, through the various and diverse media organs of print and radio resources, is bombarded with news of crime ranging from homicide, armed robberies, rape and other violent crimes against innocent citizens, who are later described as victims, after facing the trauma of being attacked and victimized by these misfits in our community.

As an exiled Caribbean person in North America, I understand the individual pains felt by victims and the lacking inadequacy of our law enforcement agencies to apprehend and bring many of these offenders to justice. Although, some of these alleged offenders are apprehended and brought to justice, the growing inadequacy of the justice system further compounds the situation by apparent backlogs, timid Crown prosecutors and lawless legal lawyers, who show very little respect for the judicial system by constantly plotting and finding schemes and alibis on circumventing the justice system.

Many of these legal misfits can be found throughout the regional court circuit and are very well known by sitting judges and magistrates. Unfortunately, the legislative disciplinary mechanism is still in draft or review in many regional states so these misfits enjoy disciplinary immunity.

So, a careful analysis of the crime upswing in the region should not be only attributed to the senseless hardcore criminals. Therefore, when the question of crime and criminality is posed to the ordinary citizen on the street, the usual response is “all ah dem in crime”.

Getting such comments, it became necessary for me to delve further into these damaging comments and the outcomes were as follows, with both victims and potential victims identifying group and individual contributions to this untenable situation in the region. Based on my frank and open discussions, it is fair to conclude that crime escalation in the region cannot be blamed only on hardcore criminals. There are many other accomplices, which include:

-- Crooked, lawless and unethical lawyers versed in running red short around the judicial system;
-- Rogue cops who wear the uniform but act as the ears and eyes to inform criminals and their accomplices of planned police operations against them;
-- The revisionist habitual criminal offenders and their known accomplices who have no respect for law and order and invasion of individual rights
-- Public servants who live above their means and in order to maintain the lifestyle, they have no alternative but to divert to corrupt practices, which often go undetected
-- Corrupted elected and appointed parliamentarians who see a niche where they can advance themselves by amassing wealth through money laundering and other corrupt practices
-- Corporate and small business owners who manipulate the customs, excise and tax systems.

These strong perceptions and feelings by the population cannot be ignored anymore. Respective Caribbean governments need to take immediate action.

The situation is very gloomy throughout the region. It was only a few days ago that Trinidad’s National Security Minister accused crooked law enforcement officers of renting their weapons to criminals to commit serious crimes. With this and other allegations emerging from around the region, there should be no doubt or uncertainty in the mind of decision makers that “it is time for house cleaning”.

Yes, there are strong possibilities that many will be caught and, of course, there might be embarrassment; however, if CARICOM governments are committed to disrupting the criminal elements in their states, action and cleansing is needed on all fronts. These are some of the critical elements of transparency, accountability and good governance. Criminality is in our midst and it must be flushed out with vigilance and aggression.

CARICOM governments have from time to time talked about assets declaration. Rather than lamenting whether elected and appointed officials should make the necessary declaration, it is incumbent on respective governments to move swiftly with such legislation. In my view, all public servants in the employ of central governments and statutory bodies should make a declaration on what they own? How was it acquired? Current value and plans for future economic activities.

To put it bluntly, a police corporal with no relatives abroad, no significant local inheritance, no previously known and published financial accomplishments in his or current position is the owner of several houses, fishing boats and “one mores”. A careful examination and monitoring of this individual life style shows minimal activities in an existing financial institution. However, at the end of the day, he or she boasts assets to the tune of millions. Well, as a Jamaican friend would say, “da en sound right”.

This is the reality of criminal and unethical conduct in the CARICOM region. Rather than thinking that the criminal troublemakers are only deportees, it is ample time to dig deeper and identify other perpetrators. They are amongst us and detection is reasonably possible.

There are so many examples of public servant misconduct and alleged corruption in the region that the time has come when it cannot be ignored. Take a simple look at Stanford’s behaviour in Antigua, where he controlled a key staffer in the financial regulation department. Certainly, it occurred in Antigua but it will be very silly to think that there are no other misfits within the region.

Criminal lawlessness is not only amongst the poor. Let’s take a holistic approach and the results will be very surprising.

Ian Francis resides in Toronto. He writes frequently on Caribbean Commonwealth Affairs. He is a former Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grenada and can be reached at info@vismincommunications.org

February 3, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Caribbean integration is a mockery - CSME at a standstill

by Oscar Ramjeet


It seems as if Caribbean leaders are not serious about regional integration. The talk about freedom of movement is only lip service and there is no genuine effort for this to become a reality.

It is since 1989, more than 21 years since the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) agreement was signed and, although there has been a series of meetings throughout the region, very limited progress has been achieved to date, especially in the area of free movement of capital, skilled labour and the freedom to establish business enterprises anywhere in the Community.

It is rather surprising that former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who had been travelling from island to island "preaching" regional unity and for governments to adhere to CSME, has criticised St Lucian-born Mara Thompson, for contesting the vacant seat in St John created after the death of the late prime minister.

The action by Arthur is very surprising and, in my view, very ridiculous because it defeats CSME and the regional integration process, but two friends of mine who are very familiar with regional affairs reminded me that Thompson, when he was prime minister, completely disregarded CSME when he took stringent, harsh and unconscionable action against non-Barbadians, especially Guyanese. He chased them out of the country and many of them did not get the opportunity to take their assets with them.

My friends said that you reap what you sow and said that the sins pass on to the third and fourth generation.

However, two wrongs cannot make a right and Arthur, who served three terms as prime minister, should know better because Mara is a citizen of Barbados and under the Constitution she can hold office as a lawmaker. The Constitution does not state that you have to be a Barbadian by birth. It states a citizen of Barbados and she has been a citizen for the past 21 years by marriage and residency.

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has expressed surprise at Arthur's comments.

It seems to me that there is a dim future for the regional integration movement and recently distinguished commentators have been questioning if the CSME has a future. One is David Jessop, Director of the Caribbean Council. He spoke of the criticism meted out against CARICOM Governments and institutions for not ensuring the capacity and economic strength to create a sound regional economic base for investment and trade.

He also touched on the failure to implement regional and external agreements which, he suggests, indicates at best the absence of any coherent long term strategy and, at worse, irreconcilable divisions.

Sir Ronald Sanders, former Caribbean diplomat and well known commentator, suggested that the time had come to stop playing with the aspirations of the Caribbean people and argued that CARICOM needed to devise urgently a comprehensive regional plan utilising the best Caribbean brains that can be assembled from inside and outside the region.

Jessop agrees with Sir Ron's comments and said there is desperate need for a commission with popular support to be empowered to make recommendations on how to move forwards and modernise CARICOM.

The delay by most of the regional governments to abolish appeals to the Privy Council and accept the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is another glaring example of the lapse by the various administrations. So far only three jurisdictions, Guyana, Barbados and Belize have accepted the CCJ as the final appellate court.

January 15, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Why Caricom needs to know of T&T's illegal spying politics

By Rickey Singh





PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago would have done herself and her Government a whole lot of good by going public last Tuesday with an apology to Caricom partners for her recent unfortunate and insensitive statements that linked emergency disaster aid to likely benefits to her country.

Without any rhetorical choreography, she declared during Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines: "I do apologise for the statements that have been taken in this regard. I remain committed to regional integration and to our Caricom brothers and sisters."

What she now needs to consider — bearing in mind that her domestic opponents will continue to exploit that careless political stance — is to sensitise Caricom governments to the uncovering of an illegal spying network with the lists of unsuspecting victims reaching the highest political office to ordinary law-abiding citizens.

The reason such an initiative should be considered is not a matter of courtesy but because the national security interests of Trinidad and Tobago's community partners may well have been compromised by the spying epidemic that involved State-funded intelligence agencies.

Let the following account help to inform what went so terribly wrong when illegal spying on law-abiding citizens, pursued under the guise of battling crime and ensuring "national security", got out of control:

If the problem were not as nationally and regionally challenging, a relevant news item last week could have been dismissed as perhaps an error, or a joke.

Some quick checking by this columnist with the Caribbean Community Secretariat in Georgetown and Caricom's Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) made it clear that it was neither an error nor a laughing matter.

The dust had not yet settled on a parliamentary exposure on November I2 about very extensive and intrusive spying activities of State agencies under the previous People's National Movement Government of ex-Prime Minister Patrick Manning, when there came a surprising press release last Monday from the Community Secretariat.

It announced the holding of a five-day training workshop -- which was then currently occurring in Port-of-Sain, involving 20 immigration officers from 11 Caricom countries, in addition to seven law enforcement officers from the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT).

Under normal circumstances, such a news release from the Community Secretariat would simply have been taken as notification of another work programme of IMPACS. This is the agency which was established to serve the security needs of the region when we hosted Cricket World Cup 2007.

However, given the grave implications of the violations of the fundamental rights of citizens across all races, political parties, social classes and professions by the illegal spying network, it was ironic that SAUTT was involved in the so-called 'train-the-trainer' workshop then underway in Port-of-Spain.

Money and arms


Granted, the arrangements for the workshop would have preceded the November 12 statement in Parliament by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar about the shocking illegal spying operations in which SAUTT was initially involved.

There also came the exposure of even more disturbing illegal activities by an uncovered Secret Intelligence Agency (SIA) that was out of control, with millions of dollars and a quantity of sophisticated weapons at its disposal.

It may perhaps have been too late for either the Caricom Secretariat and/or the Trinidad and Tobago Government to pull the plug on the five-day 'train-the-trainer' workshop at SAUTT's Camuto-based training facilities.

Nevertheless, it's difficult to ignore the insensitivity on the part of those who have collaborated on the training project with SAUTT as a core partner, as if oblivious to the negative image of this State agency now facing a doubtful future.

Unlike the alarming details the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the region in general came to learn by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar's disclosure of the SIA's illegal spying activities, the public had already been alerted to the disturbing functioning of SAUTT.

For instance, that the six-month-old People's Partnership Government (PPG) of Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar felt compelled, on the basis of controversial reports received, to terminate the services of the former director of SAUTT as well as to significantly overhaul its mode of operations, pending further decision on its future.

The Workshop


This, then, is the same security body that was involved with IMPACS for last week's training programme.

Involved in collaborative efforts for the workshop are CARICAD (Centre for Development and Administration) and DIFID (British Department for International Development).

While SAUTT remains under the microscope with a doubtful future, and the more controversial SIA has been shut down while the Government finalises plans for a structured probe, a formal request is to be made to the director of public prosecutions to pursue actions he deems legally relevant.

There remains, of course, another dimension to the saga of Trinidad and Tobago's "spying politics" in relation to the security interest of Caricom as a whole.

It is simply not easy to accept that the implications of the gross human rights violations involved in the illegal spying politics in Trinidad and Tobago may have been overlooked in relation to their consequences for Caricom partners.

The reality is that whoever is the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago also holds lead responsibility for "crime and security" in Caricom's quasi-cabinet.

That was the case under Patrick Manning's watch during the past five years in particular when the now recognised 'spying epidemic' was spreading with all the negative effects of illegal interceptions of telephone, e-mail and other forms of communication.

In the circumstances, it is felt that Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, who currently shoulders lead responsibility for crime and security in Caricom, has a moral obligation to share as much as possible of the illegal spying activities with her community counterparts.

Question of relevance is: How can a Caricom prime minister, with lead portfolio responsibility for crime and security, be depended upon to be competent and committed in fulfilling his/her mandate, when at home there are a multiplicity of examples involving illegal spying activities that violate the basic rights and dignity of law-abiding nationals?

November 21, 2010


jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International

Cool Heads and no Crowns: The Caribbean in a storm

By Sir Ronald Sanders


Not for the first time in the history of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), Heads of Government are conveying mixed signals to the people of the region about how they feel about the CARICOM relationship and, indeed, about themselves.

Two incidents brought this reality into sharp focus over the last few days. The first was an inflammatory statement attributed to Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, that she did not make, and the other was the almost complete turn out of CARICOM Heads of Government to the funeral of David Thompson, the late Prime Minister of Barbados, and the genuine sense of “family” that they showed.

The statement that Persad-Bissessar is alleged to have made is, “No free help” for the islands of St Vincent and St Lucia that have been severely battered by Hurricane Tomas with St Lucia getting the worst of it. Earlier, as a tropical storm, Tomas had also sallied through Barbados uprooting trees, dislodging utility poles and wires, and damaging hundreds of mostly low-cost houses throughout the island.

“No free help” were not Persad-Bissessar’s words. They were the headline in the Trinidad Express newspaper on November 1, which did report what the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister actually said. According to the story and other newspaper reports, the Prime Minister was speaking at a press conference about a request that she had received from the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, for assistance after his country was ravaged by the brutal Tomas.

What all the Trinidad and Tobago media reported her to say, was: "We will have to look at ways in which we would be able to assist. But you would recall my comments earlier this year, when I said there must some way in which Trinidad and Tobago would also benefit. So if we are giving assistance with housing for example, and that is one of the areas that we (Prime Minister of St Vincent and myself ) spoke about, ... then we may be able to use Trinidad and Tobago builders and companies, so that whatever money or assistance is given, redounds back in some measure to the people of Trinidad and Tobago."

She did not say that the Trinidad and Tobago government would not help. Indeed, she is reported as actually saying that her government had already mobilised two containers of foodstuff, and a decision would be made about where to send them but "certainly to St Vincent".

The issue here is not that she refused to provide assistance. If she had done so, I would have joined the chorus of voices that are now condemning her. When she talked earlier this year of Trinidad and Tobago not being “an ATM machine” for the Caribbean, I was one of the first to criticise that statement drawing attention to the fact that Trinidad and Tobago enjoys almost a monopoly market in the Caribbean for its cheaper oil-subsidised goods because of the CARICOM Treaty and that the Petroleum Fund (badly managed though it is) is as much in Trinidad and Tobago’s interest as the rest of the CARICOM countries since it helps to keep those countries as markets for Trinidad and Tobago’s goods.

The real issue with those who now condemn her is the link she drew between her government’s assistance and the use of “builders and companies” from Trinidad and Tobago.

Heat over that issue should be tempered by two realities. First, other countries (not only the former imperialists) link their assistance to their own materials and people. As examples, Cuban projects in many CARICOM countries use Cuban material and Cuban labour, as do several Venezuelan-funded projects. And, China not only insists upon the use of its material and people in aid projects, it does so for commercial projects too. And, it has long been the condition of many donors – either directly or through the agencies they use to finance aid projects – that their money be used for materials and workers from their countries exclusively.

The second reality is that Kamla Persad-Bissessar is the leader of a political party and Prime Minister of a country that, like many others, has become sceptical of CARICOM. It is up to her and her Ministers to demonstrate to a large section of the Trinidad and Tobago population that there is benefit in CARICOM for them.

Of course, they need to demonstrate CARICOM’s benefit to them over a very wide range of issues which includes the fact that CARICOM is a very lucrative market for Trinidad and Tobago’s products and services keeping thousands of its people employed; the country needs the support of CARICOM in fighting drug trafficking and crime, and maintaining security; it needs CARICOM in international bargaining in trade against larger entities such as the European Union; and it would not fulfil its international aspirations in the international system without the full backing of CARICOM.

Trinidad and Tobago, too, must realise that it alone does not wear a crown and it is not an island (not even two) unto itself.

But Persad-Bissessar should not be lynched for what she did not say, or for linking her government’s assistance to use of her country’s material and work force. At no time did she say no help would be forthcoming.

The entire Caribbean is going through what Professor Norman Girvan recently described as “existential threats”. This is a time for cool heads. It is not a time for tit-for-tat statements or for statements whose content sound like “something will not be given for nothing”.

Much of this present controversy is unnecessary and would not happen if CARICOM governments talk to each other on a platform of interdependence and common problems, and with a resolve to solve them collectively, recognising that none of them can go it alone and the task at hand is urgent and huge.

It was significant that at the well-organised and dignified funeral of Barbados David Thompson in the same week of this incident, CARICOM leaders turned out in full force to honour their fallen brother, and CARICOM was given an important role in the proceedings through its Chairman, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding. It is on that sense of CARICOM “family” that the region needs to go forward in its own vital interest.

November 5, 2010

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The demise of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery

By Ian Francis:


There was no wake, prayers or visitation when the Heads of CARICOM Governments made the decision in Belize to bury the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) and support the emergence of the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), which is now under the direct supervision of the CARICOM Secretary General headed by Ambassador Gail Mathurin.

I must confess my ignorance about Ambassador Mathurin’s permanent location but am extremely aware of her air jaunts between Grantley Adams and Cheddi Jagan airports.

The death of the CRNM was not a surprise. In the first instance, its creation should not have been entertained but the arm twisting of former Prime Minister Patterson by Sir Shridath and his other regional cronies resulted in “PJ’s” agreement for the creation of the CRNM.

It was very clear from the start that Sir Shridath brought forward the creation of the CRNM as he was determined to establish his own beachhead in Barbados and to flex his muscles within the multilateral community as a former secretary-general of the Commonwealth and foreign minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

It worked well for him, which led to the recruitment of key lifeguards, including Richie Bernal of Jamaica and Henry Gill of the Republic of Trinidad. Both individuals are well known within regional circles and have always demonstrated their distinctive qualities, skills and experience.

The exit of Sir Shridath from the CRNM was influenced by many occurrences. Prime Minister Patterson made the decision to demit office; there were couple of general elections held in the region, which resulted in the change of governments.

Sir Shridath saw the death warrant and was not prepared for the sentencing so his only saved-face option was to quietly exit from the CRNM. His clout and influence with some of the CARICOM Heads had dried up, thus making his reliance for survival untenable.

Prior to his departure from the CRNM, he carefully crafted his replacement which resulted in Jamaican-born Ambassador Richard Bernal assuming the direction of the CRNM.

Although Bernal assumed the position with great pomp, the weariness of the CRNM by CARICOM Heads grew, which made it difficult for the ambassador to run and manage an effective institution within the region. With much frustration, Ambassador Bernal saw an opening at a Washington-based international agency and decided to accept a position where he is now based and might be considering a run for the Secretary General position of CARICOM. We will have to wait and see as his cell phone number remains the same.

Bernal’s departure ensured that another lifeguard in the name of Henry Gill was quite appropriate for the position and assumed direction of the CRNM. Unfortunately, Gill’s term at the CRNM was short-lived.

The Heads of CARICOM at the Belize meeting made the firm decision that all trade negotiations should be under the aegis of the Secretariat, which meant that a major part of the CRNM based in Barbados would have to merge within the Georgetown Secretariat, thus bringing Gill under the reporting umbrella of the Secretary General.

As rumours have it, Gill vowed not to re-locate to Guyana and wanted no part of reporting to Carrington. This led to Gill’s demittal from the CRNM where he has now entered the regional lucrative environment of consulting.

In essence, Carrington and his group at the Secretariat won the fight, which led to the Secretary General’s immediate task of creating the OTN within the Secretariat.

Given the entire milieu above, several important trade negotiations between the Caribbean and many Western nations were announced. A famous and active negotiation is known as the CaribCan Trade Agreement, which is now taking place between the Commonwealth Caribbean nations and Canada.

The CaribCan Trade Agreement was first introduced in 1985 by the then Mulroney Conservative government. Unfortunately, much was not achieved in the area of trade and investments between the two regions. Very little was done in Canada to promote the initiative and the Caribbean governments made the tactical error by maintaining the agreement tightly shut in their industry ministries’ closet.

Canada in the last three years announced its intention to re-engage the Commonwealth Caribbean region, not only in bilateral and multilateral assistance but also to promote trade and investments between the two regions by rewriting the trade agreement.

Canada has kept its promise by providing financial assistance to the old CRNM and so far has engaged the OTN in three rounds of discussion with respect to the trade agreement. In addition, there have been other initiatives through the hosting of regional workshops by the (OECS-EDU).

Unfortunately, the participants and players for such events should be exporters, entrepreneurs and other participants that are interested in trade and investments environment. Unfortunately, there is a constant replay of government and state corporations’ representatives dominating these workshops, with exporters and entrepreneurs being left on the periphery.

In a recent conservation with an Ottawa-based senior foreign service official close to the CaribCan trade negotiations, I took the opportunity to share with him a press bulletin, which was issued by the OTN stating that negotiations are moving full speed ahead.

The diplomat known for his tight lips gave a loud laugh and said to me, “The agreement has been redrafted already and we have asked our Caribbean friends to check out full compliance with the World Trade Organization rules and regulations. Once they get back to us, it will be a done deal.”

In conclusion, as we move to finalize this agreement, there is work to be done on both sides, the OTN and its partners need to reach out and build capacities amongst those who will become the key actors in a trade agreement. The government of Canada has a responsibility to work with existing national and provincial trade organizations to get them actively engage in trade and investments dialogue on the Caribbean Commonwealth.

This begs the question. Will the remnants of CRNM remain in Barbados after the CaribCan Trade Agreement is signed or will it be fully integrated into the Secretariat? We will take a wait and see attitude.

Ian Francis resides in Toronto and writes frequently on Caribbean Commonwealth affairs. He is a former Assistant Secretary in the Grenada Ministry of Foreign Affairs and can be reached at info@vismincommunications.org

August 26, 2010

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Jamaica's business is the Caribbean's business

By Sir Ronald Sanders:


The widely publicised bloody clashes over the last few days between law enforcement agencies and armed gangs in Jamaica are as bad for the economic and social well-being of the people of Caribbean countries as they are for Jamaicans.

While the members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) see themselves as a “Community of Independent Sovereign States”, most of the rest of the world regard them as one area. Only the most knowledgeable make a distinction between them. So, events in Jamaica impact all other CARICOM countries whether they like it or not.

In meaningful terms, therefore, Jamaica’s business is CARICOM’s business. Neither CARICOM governments nor the people of CARICOM can sit back and pretend that events in Jamaica in which criminals defy the authority of the State are not relevant to them. CARICOM countries are tied together and none can deny cross-border relationships in trade, investment and people.

Jamaica is the biggest of the CARICOM countries in population terms and it impresses and influences the world far more than other CARICOM countries. Of course, the impression and influence have been both beneficial and inimical to Jamaica and the wider region.

On the positive side, the vibrant music of Jamaica and its musicians, led by the iconic Bob Marley, have clearly given Jamaica global recognition. So too have its holiday resorts which are playgrounds for tourists from all over Europe and North America. Jamaican agricultural products, such as its Blue Mountain Coffee, and many of its manufactured goods have been able to penetrate foreign markets more deeply than those from other regional countries.

And, CARICOM’s negotiations with large countries and groups of countries would be much weaker and far less effective without the participation of Jamaica. Its relatively large population of close to three million people makes Jamaica a more attractive market than the majority of CARICOM countries which, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, each number less than a million people. Because of the size of its population, even with the limitations of educational opportunities, Jamaica also has more qualified technical people for bargaining internationally than its partner countries in CARICOM. Therefore, the participation of Jamaican negotiators in CARICOM teams is extremely valuable.

Jamaicans also constitute the largest number of the West Indian Diaspora in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. To the extent that the West Indian Diaspora is a group whose votes are wooed by political parties in these countries, much is owed to Jamaicans for the attention paid to Caribbean concerns.

On the negative side, Jamaica’s internal crime, and organised crime that its gangs have exported to Britain, Canada and the United States have created an unwholesome image for the country and severely damaged it economically. In the process, CARICOM has been weakened economically as well, for an economically weak Jamaica is unable to serve as a dynamo for economic activity and growth throughout the area.

Jamaica’s high crime level has been bad for business and bad for its economy. A 2003 study found that the total costs of crime came to J$12.4 billion which was 3.7% of GDP, and a 2007 UN report projected that if Jamaica could reduce violent crime to Costa Rica’s low level, the economy would grow by 5.4%. In a World Bank survey, 39% of Jamaica’s business managers said they were less likely to expand their businesses because of crime, and 37% reported that crime discourages investment that would have encouraged greater productivity.

Apart from scaring away investment, high crime in Jamaica has also caused many of its professionals and middle-class families to flee the country seeking safer environments abroad. More than 80 per cent of Jamaica’s tertiary educated people have migrated to the world’s industrialized nations.

It doesn’t take much imagination to work out how much more socially and economically developed Jamaica would have been today had it not been plagued by over 30 years of escalating crime and its debilitating consequences.

From time to time, outbursts of violent crime have affected the country’s tourism which contributes about 10 per cent of the country’s GDP. It is only because of expensive and extensive advertising and public relations campaigns in the main tourist markets that Jamaica has managed to keep its tourism arrivals by air fairly stable.

This latest, globally-publicized, bloody confrontation between security forces and criminal gangs protecting a Drugs Don, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, from being served with an order for extradition to the United States and arrested, will damage the tourism industry harshly, and, again, once it is over, Jamaica will be forced to spend large sums repairing its image and assuring tourists of its safety.

Other CARICOM countries will not be immune from the Jamaica disturbances. On the basis that tourists see the Caribbean as one place, other Caribbean destinations will also have to spend more on promoting themselves.

The fact that “Dudus” could be protected by well-armed, criminal gangs who have neither respect for, nor fear of, Jamaica’s security forces or the authority of the State, is a direct consequence of governance gone badly wrong. From the mid-1970s the two main political parties in Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Peoples National Party (PNP) have formed alliances with gangs that have been well-armed and in many cases are involved in the drugs trade. Having taken that step that renders politicians beholden to criminals, the political hierarchy began an inexorable downward spiral to disaster.

In effect, part of the State has been captured by leaders of criminal gangs to whom political parties are obligated. Nothing else but this sense of obligation to “Dudus” Coke can explain why Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding, as Leader of the JLP, would have intervened at party level to influence a law enforcement matter between his government and the government of the US.

The Jamaican government now has to assert the authority of the State over “Dudus” and his gang, and it must be done if Jamaica is to be freed from the captivity of criminal gangs.

And, when this particular confrontation is over, Jamaica must start the gruelling process of openly and transparently dismantling all party political connections with gangs, reasserting the supremacy of the State, and weeding out gangs that are the scourge of the society. Any alternative scenario is too terrifying to contemplate but it does include Jamaica being plunged into the status of a failed State.

This is why it behoves the current party political leaders to set to the task of recovering the State from the influence of criminals and establishing broad based institutions empowered by law to oversee public services and political practices. Jamaica will be economically stronger, socially better and politically more stable than it has been for decades and, as a consequence, CARICOM will benefit.

May 28, 2010

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog International

To OAS or not to OAS: that is the question

Ronald Sanders





At a meeting of leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean on February 23, Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments supported a joint "Declaration on (the) Falklands Islands Issue".

The Declaration "confirmed their support of Argentina's legitimate rights in the sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands Issue", and recalled "regional interest in having the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom resume negotiations to find a fair, peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute over the sovereignty" of the Falklands/Malvinas islands. They went further to call on the European Union (EU) countries to amend their charter to remove the Falkland Islands from the list of overseas territories associated with the EU.

The support of Latin American countries for Argentina in this matter is quite understandable. They have links of language, culture, history and proximity that go back centuries.

But the support of Caricom countries for Argentina's "legitimate rights" is puzzling. Both the UK and Argentina have claimed the Falklands/Malvinas for almost 200 years. So what now makes Argentina's rights more "legitimate" than Britain's? And why call for "negotiations" between Argentina and Britain to find "a fair, peaceful and definitive solution" to the dispute if it has already been decided that Argentina's rights are "legitimate"?

Unless there is something they have not made public, this position by Caribbean governments appears on the surface to run counter to their own national interests.

The Caribbean has always strongly supported a people's right to self-determination. It is in fulfilment of their own right to self-determination that Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries are independent states. In this regard, since the people of the Falklands/Malvinas have consistently and overwhelmingly chosen to be British, Caribbean governments would certainly not argue that the manifest wish of the people of the Falklands/Malvinas should be ignored, particularly since Britain has exercised de facto sovereignty over the islands continuously since 1833.

The national interests of 12 of the 14 independent Caricom countries are much more bound up with Britain than they are with Argentina. Caricom's trade with Britain far exceeds trade with Argentina; investment in Caricom countries from Britain is much greater than any investment from Argentina; official development assistance from Britain to Caricom countries directly and indirectly (through the European Union and the Commonwealth for instance) is much larger than any assistance from Argentina; the number of tourists from Britain to Caricom countries is considerably greater than from Argentina; and far more Caricom nationals live, work and study in Britain than in Argentina.

What appears to have triggered this discussion at the 33-nation Cancun meeting is the fact that a British oil exploration company, Desire Petroleum Plc, announced that it had started drilling for oil 60 miles (100 kilometres) north of the Falklands/Malvinas. Argentina objects to this development.

In giving support to Argentina, Caricom countries run the risk of compromising their own interest. For instance, where would they stand if Venezuela objected to oil exploration off part of Guyana, despite long-standing international arbitrations and agreements confirming Guyana's title? Also, where would these countries stand if Venezuela objected to oil explorations that might be granted by some of them near Aves Island/Bird Rock to which Venezuela lays claim? In the case of Belize where Guatemala claims the entire country, the same argument applies.

Then we come to the matter of the creation of a grouping of these 33 countries that excludes Canada and the United States. Some of the Latin American leaders - in particular those with a strong anti-American position - proclaimed to the media that this new grouping should replace the Organisation of American States (OAS).

Well, replacing the OAS is simply in no country's interest - not even those with the most rabid anti-American governments. There has to be a forum in the Hemisphere where all its countries are represented and where discussions can take place at all levels of government and on all issues. And that organisation is clearly the already well-established OAS. In this regard, Cuba should return to the OAS and the exclusion of the present elected government of Honduras should cease.

In any event, I suspect that only a very few governments touted the idea of an "alternative" organisation to the OAS and even fewer would have supported it. Certainly for Caricom countries, there is no other organisation in which they can engage the US government on a regular and sustained basis at all levels. That alone makes the OAS worthwhile for them.

Further, Caricom governments greatly value their relations with Canada, which has been an ally and partner for generations in the Hemisphere and in the Commonwealth. They would want deeper, not distant relations with Canada.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Latin American and Caribbean countries establishing a grouping that is not an alternative to the OAS, but is additional to it.

However, no one should believe that it will be anything more than an opportunity for dialogue at the leadership level. It will have no secretariat and therefore little means of implementing decisions; decisions will have to be made by consensus, therefore no binding decisions will be made. In truth, the grouping is so amorphous and is made up of countries at such different levels of development and with such differing interests and ambitions, that its meetings will largely be obligatory and its decisions only declaratory.

The Summit "Declaration of Cancun" does have as one of its objectives "the co-ordination of regional positions ahead of meetings and conferences of global reach... to project the region and increase its influence". This is to be welcomed provided that the view of smaller Caribbean islands are seriously considered and reflected by the larger Latin American states.

This brings us to the OAS itself. The US government should regard this move by Latin American and Caribbean countries to set up a Hemispheric grouping, which deliberately excludes it, as a firm warning that its neglect of Latin America and the Caribbean's development needs and issues, and its oftentimes casual dismissal of their positions is not in the interest of the United States. The authorities in Washington need to engage Latin American and Caribbean countries as genuine partners and neighbours, and a strengthened and revitalised OAS is the place to do so.

In this connection, Caricom countries should indicate their support for the re-election on March 23 of the incumbent Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. His task over the last five years in a fractious organisation, which also relies on consensus for decision-making, has not been easy. But he has tried to introduce reforms and he has been the most forceful secretary general the OAS has seen for a long time. Additionally, he has been very mindful of his obligations to his Caribbean member states.

He has also taken on Hugo Chavez over violations of media freedom in Venezuela and he has not been afraid to point out shortcomings by the US government. To have offended both these adversaries, he must have done something right for the rest.

Over the next five and final years as secretary general, Insulza can be bold in giving the OAS real direction in reforming its mandate and establishing it as a meaningful forum for settling hemispheric issues and advancing democracy, development and human rights.

Responses and previous commentaries at: www.sirronaldsanders.com


Sir Ronald Sanders is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat.


February 28, 2010

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International