Regionalism: The Caribbean prospective - Part 2

By D. Markie Spring
Turks and Caicos Islands:


The past leaders of the OECS members’ states should be applauded for their vision, which our present leaders are failing to conceptualize. The world over will soon become a single unit, where every region is forming alliances in all aspects, including that of security and safety. In this sense, it is necessary that the Caribbean introduces and implements a regional police force.

The Eastern Caribbean has always faceted integrated, but their efforts were crippled and discouraged by the so-called More Developed Countries, especially Jamaica and Barbados that have economic difference and disputes. The Regional Security System - the RSS that was created by the OECS is closest the region has come to creating oneness for our security and safety.

This regional body has served the Eastern Caribbean in the eradication of illegal drugs in the OECS, especially in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where that problem is prominent. Hitherto, the RSS has assisted with security in the 1983 Grenada uprising and the attempted coup d’état in 1990 by the Muslimeen leader, Yasin Abu Bakr in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

This regional force has proven to be effective, although this organization does not have all the necessary equipment. I strongly encourage the leaders of the More Developed Countries to take note.

The Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico have advanced law enforcement equipment and personnel, which should aid the rest of the regional in its pursuit of a regional security system.

Moreover, the Caribbean is experiencing an increase number of criminal activities. Again most of these criminal activities are evident in the More Developed Countries of the region -- Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados, to some extent. In Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica criminal activities range from kidnapping, murder and other drug related crimes.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic are in a crime zone by themselves. Crimes in the Bahamas are also escalating to a point never imagined.

In my honest opinion, the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Defence Force is in no way effectively controlling and dealing with crimes in that state. The same can be said about Trinidad and Tobago -- the same reason the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP assisted that country with its crime rate in 2006. It is also evident that the crimes associated with the More Developed Countries indirectly influence and affect the OECS nations.

Furthermore, it won’t be much longer before terrorism spreads its operation within our region. The big questions to ask here are, if terror strikes the Caribbean, is any single nation equipped to deal with this problem? And if not, are we going to wait on the US or other global armed forces for months before they respond? So where do we go from here?

In light of this, terrorism in the region is inevitable; it is just a matter of time before it strikes. Millions of American citizens visit our shores on a yearly basis and the trend shows that terrorists target Americans in unexpected places. We should not forget the hotel bombings in India and Indonesia, which targeted American citizens.

Global trends also indicate that countries are forming alliances and integrating their efforts in order to achieve shared responsibilities, shared resources, shared costs, and creating diversity in both their ideas and personnel. The European Union, the economic giant, has formed NATO, the intergovernmental military alliance, which constitutes a system of collective defence. The United States, another economic giant, has solicited the assistance of NATO and UN to fight the war of terror in Afghanistan.

It is safe to conclude that we need a regional force to police our nations -- land, sea and air. With the enormous drug trade, disasters, political unrests, peacekeeping missions, attempted coups d’état, other criminal activities and the advent of terrorism, the region must be prepared. We need a police force that would be readily available for deployment at any time and place.

If a regional organization existed, Haiti would be a better place today. World leaders allowed Haiti’s issues to escalate before they could intervene.

I realise that this mission would be a long painstaking one, which demands enormous energy, finance, political disputes, and months, if not years of planning amongst other underlying challenges; therefore, we must communicate the change early enough and understand the benefits of the integration process. We could only make it happen if we unite our efforts and support the change.

August 5, 2010

Regionalism: The Caribbean prospective - Part 3

Regionalism: The Caribbean prospective - Part 1

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog International

US defense secretary says Obama administration 're-engaging with Caribbean'

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- United States Secretary of Defense Robert M Gates said he hopes Friday’s regional security summit in Barbados and President Barack Obama’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative send a strong signal that “the United States is reengaging with this region” after drawing down its presence following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Speaking at a joint news conference Friday with seven Caribbean government and national security leaders Gates said he’s impressed by the innovative approaches being taken to promote collective security through the initiative.

Following what he called a “very productive” meeting to discuss furthering those efforts, Gates lauded the Caribbean nations’ work toward marshalling limited resources to address common threats such as narco-trafficking and violent crime.

These challenges touch US shores as well, and demand that regional nations mount a united front to confront them, Gates said during a joint news conference with Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson and St Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Sam Condor.

Gates conceded that the drug trafficking problem has worsened due to the success of the Merida Initiative and Mexico’s crackdown on drug cartels there.

“Narco-trafficking is a problem for the hemisphere as a whole,” he said, “and wherever you put pressure, the traffickers will go where there is less resistance and where there is less capability.”

Going forward, Gates said he would like to see broader efforts to connect the regional security system here with efforts under way outside the Eastern Caribbean. This includes efforts by the French, Dutch, Colombians, Peruvians and US Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force.

The secretary praised Barbados as a strong US security partner and a leader in promoting security cooperation in the Eastern Caribbean.

“The United States stands steadfastly with you as you pursue long-term solutions to these problems,” Gates said after meeting with the Prime Ministers and national security ministers.

Much of that support is provided through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative that President Barack Obama proposed last April during the Summit of the Americans in Trinidad and Tobago.

The initiative has been built with extensive input from Caribbean nations with a central role for the regional security system, Gates noted Friday, all aimed at helping regional governments face up to transnational threats.

The $45 million the United States has committed to the effort this year will help improve regional maritime patrol and interdiction capabilities and domain awareness and provide for additional joint training and exercises, he said.

Gates said details about how these funds will be allocated are being hammered out by technical working groups, with one convened Friday in Washington.

He emphasized that regional nations will be the ones to help determine how the funding can be most effective. The United States already has committed three interceptor boats and communications equipment, but Gates said he heard suggestions on Friday about the need for more law enforcement training and the stand-up of major crimes units.

However, Gates emphasized that the Caribbean initiative represents more as it provides a comprehensive approach to regional security. Its scope extends beyond military and security assistance to address equally critical components of the region’s economic and social stability.

The initiative aims to provide, “not just improved security capabilities to confront immediate threats, but also development assistance in hopes of addressing the root causes of regional problems, such as the lack of educational and employment opportunities, particularly for youth,” Gates said. “That is a strategy we strongly support.”

Fifteen Caribbean Basin nations are included in the security initiative: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

April 17, 2010

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog International

Free movement issue tops CSME meeting

GEORGETOWN—The free movement of labour and goods, reduction of the food import bill, and strategies to ensure the general public’s effective participation in the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) were among the key issues raised at an open forum of the Convocation on the CSME held in Bridgetown, Barbados. The forum on Saturday afternoon brought the curtain down on the two-day convocation at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre, which was held to receive a report of an audit of the status of implementation of the CSME.

The audit was mandated by the Caricom heads of government, four of whom were at the convocation—David Thompson, Prime Minister of Barbados and Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CSME; Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; and Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of T&T. The forum, which lasted for more than two hours, benefitted from robust interaction among the heads of government, ministers, regional institutions and organisations, representatives of civil society, the labour union, the private sector and the media. In particular, the free movement of labour and the attendant consequences for member states emerged arguably as one of the more pressing issues at the convocation.

CSME, a thorny issue:

Characterised from the floor alternatively as the “feel of the CSME” and a “thorny issue,” the free movement of labour element of the Community’s flagship programme elicited several recommendations. They ranged from the establishment of a labour market information system and a social welfare stabilisation programme to the full exploration of lifestyle and demographic changes that would be wrought by the free movement of people. The labour movement, which was well represented at the convocation, reiterated its support and commitment to the CSME and recommended the establishment of a regional labour market information system so that the Community could be adequately informed about employment opportunities and other pertinent data from which residents could make informed decisions. The time ripe for such a regional facility, the trade unions argued.

Dialogue and discussion between governments and labour were also critical to progress within the CSME, the trade unions stressed, and suggested that regional tripartite consultation committee forum be set up aimed at promoting and monitoring regulatory labour market developments at the regional level, suggesting areas for improvement and advising on strengthening social capital. The business community expressed concern about the likely change in the demographics of member states, particularly those in the Eastern Caribbean that may occur from the free movement of people in the region. The region must be able to address those facts head-on and until such time as the benefits associated with the CSME are firmly ventilated and understood, there will always be objections, Robert LeHunte, the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Bankers representative, said.

“Life as they know it with those changes will not be the same and people must be aware of that,” he said.

He was also of the view it was important for the community to understand the benefits of political union. “We are missing some of those issues…; the politics of fear can take us that far, but the politics of inclusion is also important,” he said, while underscoring the goals and ideals of the CSME would not be achieved unless there was a mechanism for corporate governance that was not possible without political union.

14 Oct 2009

guardian.co.tt

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