Haiti must return to democratic process to access regional bodies
-CARICOM chairman
Stabroek News
June 30, 2004
Caricom Chairman and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Baldwin Spencer has said that Haiti's return to constitutional and democratic processes is necessary for the country to take part in the institutions of the regional body.
However, he said that diplomatic relations were still in place between Haiti and member countries and "there are things going on between Caricom and Haiti" such as the establishment of a task force and the appointment of Caricom's "point man" on the ground in Haiti.
Spencer was in the country late last week on a two-day official visit to the Caricom Secretariat, and he also spoke with the media at a press conference. He said his visit was the first official visit by a Caricom Chairman and he considers it a special responsibility to have done so, even though his tenure was shortened.
Giving a background to the stand taken by Caricom in relation to Haiti, he said that at the last inter-sessional meeting in St Kitts, Caricom took the position that only a constitutional head, or a constitutional government would be able to sit in the halls of Caricom.
In light of the change in administration in Haiti where the government was not elected, it was felt that under the circumstances recognition within the halls of Caricom could not be given. "This is not to say that individual territories cannot treat with the situation in Haiti and provide whatever assistance can be provided," he said.
He said that in his meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday, they reviewed the current situation relating to Haiti including the recent resolution at the Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Quito, Ecuador, on this matter, as well as discussed various possible options for consideration by Caricom Heads of Government at the upcoming summit in Grenada next week.
Part of the Quito resolution was to ensure that Haiti gets international assistance, not just for the short-term but also for the long-term.
Though he did not say what the options were when asked, he stated that he did not want to pre-empt what is likely to take place in Grenada. He noted that Caricom was in the process of moving the issue forward and in Grenada the entire Haitian question will be revisited. "I'm sure we will act responsibly and in the best interest of Haiti and the region," he said.
He reiterated that the issue has to do with constitutional governance and whether or not representation within the halls of Caricom could be allowed for Haiti under those circumstances. The Haitian situation, he said, will be reviewed taking into consideration the recent resolution passed at the OAS General Assembly in Quito, which basically accepted the principled position taken by Caricom. At the same time, they will address the possibility of doing a number of things to ensure that Haiti returns to constitutional rule, democracy, and stability within the shortest possible time.
In his meeting with Jagdeo, he said they emphasised that any and all actions taken by Caricom must be to the ultimate benefit of the people of Haiti. They believe that the international community can do more to support people-centred programmes in Haiti.
According to Spencer, the international community could provide more support to alleviate poverty in Haiti. He contended that it has been providing a lot of lip service to the Haitian question over the years. And all "we are saying is that there has to be a greater degree of commitment to Haiti on the part of the international community to help to solve some of the real problems in Haiti." The real problems, he said, were poverty and bringing the Haitian people to a level where they live in a modern society.
While Caricom and Haiti "have one or two issues to resolve," Spencer said that those issues were not preventing Caricom from doing whatever it can to assist the Haitian people at this time.
In relation to the recent flooding disaster in Haiti, he said that individual member states including Jamaica, Belize, Barbados and The Bahamas made direct contributions to the island, while Caricom as a body did so through its disaster management institution, the Caribbean Disaster Emer-gency Relief Agency (CDERA). (Miranda La Rose)