JULY 2000
01 July 2000
The USA released US$
22.5million in aid for Haiti, which was frozen earlier in the year following the
confiscation of a USA owned rice company. The released funds involve three programme: US$
11.1 million for agricultural development, US$ 6.6 million for economic recovery, and US$
4.8 million for education.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.9)
The USA
Agency for International Development's Office of USA Foreign Disaster Assistance
(USAID/OFDA) will contribute US$88,000 towards the development of a Comprehensive Disaster
Management (CDM) strategy for the Caribbean. USAID/OFDA and USA Embassy personnel were
expected yesterday to sign the support agreement with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency
Response Agency (CDERA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "The
goal of the programme is to assist CDERA and its member countries to develop a regional
strategy for CDM that has the collective input of major regional stakeholders," a
release from the USA Embassy in Barbados revealed.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Barbados, The
Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda are the top three countries in terms of human development
in the Caribbean. A United Nations human development report, June 29, ranks Barbados 30th
among 174 nations around the world, on the Human Development Index (HDI).
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
02 July 2000
A Dutch court
sentenced former Suriname dictator Desi Bouterse in absentia to 11 years in jail for drug
smuggling, June 30. Bouterse received 16 year sentence in July 1999 for leading a
Surinamese cartel smuggling cocaine into the Netherlands, however the court in the Hague
acquitted Bouterse of this charge and sentenced him on one charge of involvement in
smuggling cocaine.
(Sunday Guardian), p.16)
The 21st
Summit of Heads of Government of CARICOM is scheduled to open in the Grenadines island of
Canouan this afternoon. CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Edwin Carrington, indicated there is
a packed agenda for the meeting, where the heads will continue to unfold their vision for
the economic and trade grouping. The establishment of a CARICOM Single Market and Economy
(SME) tops the agenda. Closely linked to the proper functioning of the SME will be a
decision on the way forward for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
03 July 2000
A historic
trade and economic co-operation agreement will be signed July 5 between CARICOM and Cuba.
Signing the CARICOM-Cuba Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement is one of the
significant issues for the 21st CARICOM Summit in Canouan, St. Vincent &
the Grenadines.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.4)
The Haitian
delegation to the CARICOM Summit in Canouan, St. Vincent & the Grenadines will state
the country's case for full integration into the community. Haiti's current political
crisis and technical hurdles to be overcome for full membership will be key issues at the
summit.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.8)
Human rights
commissioners, ombudsmen, law ministers and officials from 44 Commonwealth countries will
meet in Cambridge, from July 4-6, to consider the way forward for the human rights agenda
of the Commonwealth. The conference, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, will
consider critical issues including the independence of national human rights commissions
and the relationship between government and human rights institutions.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced their support of another
phase of the Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism (EAST) Project in Jamaica. EAST,
now funded at US$1.5 million over the next two and a half years, will continue to improve
the environmental performance of private tourism and manufacturing companies through the
adoption of a corporate environmental management system (EMS).
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The 21st
CARICOM summit opened in Canouan yesterday afternoon with Secretary General of the
Community, Edwin Carrington, optimistically declaring that this summit "is now poised
to make another quantum leap as it establishes the single market and economy," while
also conceding, "some slippage in implementing elements in this process..."
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
04 July 2000
Vincente Fox
was elected as President in Mexico elections, July 2, shattering the 71 year rule of the
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Fox will be inaugurated on December 1, bringing
his National Action Party (PAN) into power.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.5)
Jamaica's UN
ambassador, Patricia Durrant, became president of the UN Security Council yesterday for
the month of July. The post rotates monthly according to the English alphabetical order of
the council's 15 nation delegations and Durrant replaced Jean-David Levitte of France.
Durrant is the only woman to head her country's delegation on the Security Council since
Madeleine Albright represented the United States from 1993 to 1997.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Dominica will
co-operate in fighting international crime but will protect its sovereign rights to
participate in the offshore financial services sector. "We will co-operate with the
Americans and the larger countries, but we will protect our legitimate right as a
sovereign country to engage in this business because we need it," Acting Attorney
General Bernard Wiltshire indicated in a news conference. Wiltshire was responding to the
recent report by the France-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which listed Dominica
among five Caribbean countries that are non-co-operative in the fight against money
laundering in the offshore financial sector.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
St. Vincent
and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Sir James Mitchell, called on the CARICOM governments
to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to inspect and regulate all aspects of
money laundering. Sir James was speaking at the formal opening of the 21st
CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Canouan, St. Vincent. Speaking directly to the
decision a week ago by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
to name 16 Caribbean countries among 35 world-wide as "harmful tax havens", he
called for a collective and practical response to what he termed the unjustified and
illegal stance adopted by the OECD.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
France will
end its membership of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), according to outgoing chairman
of CARICOM, Dr Denzil Douglas. At the opening of the 21st meeting of CARICOM
Heads of Government, July 2, Dr Douglas noted that all political and diplomatic efforts to
get France to reverse its decision, communicated to the Community last April, had failed.
"France has been a founding member of the bank and a strong supporter of Caribbean
integration. Her departure is a blow to both the bank and to the region and we are sorry
to see her go," Douglas commented.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
CARICOM heads
of government yesterday opened the first working session of their annual summit, with the
CARICOM Single Market and Economy and threats to the region's diversification efforts
topping their agenda. Secretary-General Dr Edwin Carrington and other speakers at the
opening ceremony alluded to the seriousness with which these issues were being viewed.
They expressed optimism that the heads of government would come up with a position on how
to move the services sector forward.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
05 July 2000
Antigua and
Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and St. Kitts-Nevis banded together and
spearheaded the defeat of an Australian plan for a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific.
The countries attacked the proposal for the sanctuary on the grounds that it was
unnecessary and possibly illegal under the provisions of the International Convention for
the Regulation of Whaling.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The Canadian
oil company CGX Energy Inc., at the centre of the territorial dispute between Suriname and
Guyana, indicated that it could very well abandon oil exploration in the region within two
weeks unless the location of its current operations proves rewarding. Officials of the
company informed the media, July 4, they did not wish to "take sides" in the row
that has developed between the neighbouring countries of Guyana and Suriname on the South
American continent over its oil drilling in disputed waters.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
06 July 2000
The Prime
Minister of St. Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony, asserted yesterday CARICOM had an obligation to
help Haiti "as a member of our family" to build and sustain the democratic
tradition that has evolved over a long period in this region. The central issue for the
press briefing was outcries in and out of Haiti of the flawed vote-counting procedures in
the allocation of seats for the parliament and municipalities on the basis of the May 21
elections. The CARICOM leaders have been engaged in intensive discussions with Préval to
arrive at a decision that would not compromise the integrity of the expressed will of
Haitian voters and also consistent with the multi-party democratic practice of free and
fair elections to which the Community remains committed.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
France will
be asked to reconsider its decision to withdraw as a member of the Caribbean Development
Bank (CDB), the region's leading financial institution. This disclosure came yesterday
from St. Lucia Prime Minister, Kenny Anthony, the current chairman of the Board of
Governors of the CDB, ahead of the closing of the 21st summit of CARICOM
leaders. Prime Minister Anthony will travel to Paris next week where he will meet with
French officials to discuss the possibility of a reconsideration of the decision to cease
membership of the CDB.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Cuba
President, Fidel Castro, yesterday praised the "unity and combativeness" of the
15-member CARICOM in a special message to the 21st Summit of the Community's heads of
government in Canouan. Castro's message coincided with the signing of a trade and economic
agreement between Cuba and CARICOM which will form the basis for joint venture projects
and expanding trade, currently worth some US$100 million annually in favour of CARICOM.
"The fraternal relations and co-operation between the CARICOM nations and Cuba,
notably strengthened in the past decade, constitute an example of what can be done, even
with little resources, when the political will to do it is not lacking," declared
Castro.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Five and a
half years after divesting itself of majority shareholding in the national air carrier,
Air Jamaica, the Jamaican government says it intends to increase its stake in the airline
from 25 per cent to 45 per cent. Finance Minister, Omar Davies, made the announcement in
the elected House of Representatives, July 4, while advising parliamentarians of a
government guarantee for a US$45 million loan to Air Jamaica. The loan will be used to
cover a US$33 million 12-month (short term) loan that the airline acquired last year and
which was due for repayment soon.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
07 July 2000
The
presidents of Guyana and Suriname agreed to meet in Jamaica within the next week to
expedite a resolution to the current border dispute between the countries. Jamaica Prime
Minister, P.J. Patterson, will act as facilitator. The agreement of the meeting followed
lengthy discussion between the presidents of the two countries, at the 21st
CARICOM summit.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.4)
The region's
newest airline, Caribbean Star, began sourcing planes from Canada in anticipation of
taking to the skies before the end of this summer, accroding to company officials. Celia
Roberts, spokeswoman for Caribbean Star, disclosed that the airline had not yet acquired
flying rights to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and declined to say which
other Caribbean basin countries have granted permission for the new carrier to fly.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
CARICOM
states decided to collectively go on the offensive against the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) which has branded some of them as "harmful tax
havens". They rejected the undemocratic and high-handed manner in which the OECD,
representing the interest of the industrialised and wealthy nations, chose to approach the
issue, and questioned its legal basis for the threats of sanctions against the defaulting
states. Following a lengthy discussion, during their 21st summit which ended July 5, the
Community's heads of government released a separate statement on the controversy with the
OECD along with their end-of-conference communiqué.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Jamaica Prime
Minister, Percival Patterson, will act as facilitator of the talks on behalf of CARICOM on
the Suriname-Guyana territorial dispute. This is in keeping with an agreement between
President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana and his outgoing Surinamese counterpart, Jules
Wijdenbosch, following intensive negotiations during the 21st CARICOM summit. A
statement issued by CARICOM, reflects the Community's policy of rejecting force in the
settlement of disputes and urged the parties to pursue a solution consistent with
international law and in the spirit of the CARICOM Treaty.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
08 July 2000
Federal
agents have detained 43 Cuban immigrants whose boat rammed and disabled a USA Border
Patrol vessel during a chase, officials disclosed yesterday. Two Cubans, resident in
Miami, suspected of being the captains of the 32-foot vessel were charged with alien
smuggling. Border patrols tried to intercept the boat which refused to stop, and then
rammed the Border Patrol vessel.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Jamaica's
national carrier, Air Jamaica, resumed services to Trinidad and Tobago, providing
travellers with an additional gateway to the twin-island republic. Air Jamaica, July 6,
inaugurated a daily service from Jamaica into the Piarco International airport with one
stop in Barbados where one of two ribbon-cutting ceremonies was held. Air Jamaica
officials indicated that the return of Air Jamaica to Trinidad after an absence of several
years, signalled healthy competition that would give the consumers more flying options.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
CARICOM Chief
Negotiator, Sir Shridath Ramphal, is urging an assessment of the attitudes of small states
in conflict resolution. Sir Shridath specified, this week, that small states need to
recognise that they are operating in an international context and must hold fast to their
sovereignty in a world that is either governed by law, principles, precepts, what is done
in the United Nations or by power. "There is now a tendency for realists to adopt the
position that whatever the rules, the dictate of the most powerful countries in the world
will determine the fate of the smallest communities," Sir Shridath asserted.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Chairman of
the Dominica Banana Marketing Corporation (DBMC), Dr. Bernard Yankey, yesterday warned
that an anticipated drastic fall in banana prices in the European market could be
catastrophic for the local banana industry. Yankey charged that a surplus of fruit on the
European market was largely due to the false import certificates which brought in over
160,000 of bananas from Ecuador.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The USA
denounced Haiti's plans for a runoff election on July 9, as it failed to address a
previous vote which gave ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party an unfair advantage.
"The failure of the Haitian government and the electoral authorities to use the
proper method in determining winners in the senate election certainly calls into question
the credibility of the entire Haitian election process," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher professed.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The
Organisation of American States (OAS) Electoral Observation Mission announced yesterday
that it will not observe the runoff elections in Haiti scheduled for July 9.
"...According to the provisions of Haiti's own electoral legislation, the final
results for the Senate elections as proclaimed by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP)
are incorrect, and the Mission cannot consider them either accurate or fair," the OAS
specified in a statement. The OAS noted that CEP calculated the results in a way that gave
former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas Family Party more outright wins in the
Senate and lower house seats than it was due.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
An official
from the Organisation of American States (OAS) will visit Panama next week to evaluate the
state of freedom of expression in the national media, the Foreign Ministry disclosed
yesterday. The OAS's Freedom of Expression Rapporteur, Santiago Canton, is set to meet
with representatives of the national press during an official visit to Panama July 11-14
at the invitation of the government, according to Foreign Ministry adviser, Carlos Guevara
Mann
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Guyana
President, Bharrat Jagdeo, July 7, indicated he is "cautiously optimistic" about
another round of talks with Suriname scheduled for Jamaica next week. This optimism comes
after three rounds of talks and a caucus at the recent CARICOM Heads of Government summit,
failed to secure the return of an oil rig evicted from an area claimed by both Guyana and
Suriname. According to President Jagdeo, gains from the Summit include a clear separation
of the Guyana/Suriname border issue and the return of the rig contracted by CGX Energy
Inc., which has a 10 year concession from the Guyana government to drill for oil in
offshore Guyana.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
10 July 2000
Organisation
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General, Rilwanu Lukman, indicated, July
8, that additional supplies from the organisation's member states may be needed to reduce
runaway oil prices. This was the first signal that OPEC might be moving towards a Saudi
Arabia plan to increase crude output again.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Jamaica Prime
Minister, P.J. Patterson, during the 21st CARICOM Summit in St. Vincent &
the Grenadines, commented that the initiative by the Group of 77 (G77), at a recent summit
in Cuba, to establish a South-Co-ordination Commission could prove an investment in the
future co-ordinated, co-operative economic development of the Caribbean and other
developing nations.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
The
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced the approval of three loans totalling
US$56 million for Paraguay to support modernisation of the state and improvements in basic
education, agriculture. An IDB loan of US$40 million will support a programme to improve
quality and equity in basic education through investments in teacher training,
infrastructure, classroom materials and equipment, and provide resources for pioneering
bilingual instruction that will benefit speakers of Guarani.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Air Jamaica
won the "Five Start Diamond Award," given by the American Academy of Hospitality
Sciences in recognition of exceptional hospitality and service. The official presentation
of the award was made in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week during the
CARICOM Heads of Government conference. Air Jamaica joins Swissair, Virgin Atlantic
Airways and Singapore Airlines as the only carriers earning this distinction.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
11 July 2000
EU Foreign
Ministers authorised negotiators, yesterday, to try a new approach in the dispute with the
USA and Latin America over its banana regime. However, Panama, Guatemala and Honduras
rejected the new EU proposals in advance, July 7, as an attempt to bar fair access for
Latin American bananas.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.9)
Haiti's
Lavalas Family yesterday defended the disputed runoff elections held over the weekend and
applauded the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) for resisting pressure to re-count the
results from the May 21 vote. "The (election's) credibility is not primarily
dependent on observers," Yvon Neptune, a Lavalas Family spokesman and newly elected
senator asserted. "The credibility depends on the machine put in place by the
electoral council and voters." Opposition parties, which refused to participate
because of the vote-count dispute, said the low voter turn-out indicated Haitians did not
want Lavalas Family, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to represent
them.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
12 July 2000
A
Commonwealth report, released yesterday, indicated that political violence in Zimbabwe,
mainly by the ruling party against its opponent, inhibited free choices at the
parliamentary election in June. The report indicated that Commonwealth observers reported
serious shortcomings in the electoral process, but stopped short of declaring the election
unfair. Instead the report highlighted that despite the shortcomings, "Most
importantly, democracy in Zimbabwe has taken a major step forward."
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Delegates
from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Lucia will attempt to
reach agreement on fisheries arrangements between the two French Departments in the
Caribbean and their eastern Caribbean neighbours at a meeting on July 17. Dominica Prime
Minister, Rosie Douglas, noted, "The purpose of that is to assess all that we would
need to know, and what the fishermen themselves of that region need to know about
improving fishing equipment, providing training for Dominican fishermen, looking at the
question of safety at sea..."
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
13 July 2000
Oil prices
dropped slightly to US$29.01 a barrel, following discussions between Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. OPEC
president, Venezuela Oil Minister, Ali Rodriguez, met with Saudi Oil Minister, Ali
al-Naimi, on how to resolve OPEC differences on dealing with high oil prices. Saudi Arabia
announce recently it will increase output by 500,000 barrels a day (bpd) to try to tame
prices, however the announcement was met with resistance by other members who indicated
that the cartel should wait to see whether the price continues to stay above US$28 a
barrel before judging if increases need to be implemented.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.13)
The
integration of Air Guadeloupe, Air Martinique, Air St. Maarten and Air St. Barthlemy to
operate under a single name, Air Caraibes will provide Dominicans with daily connections
to St. Maarten and access more frequently the islands of Barbados and St. Lucia.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.15)
The Cuban
government yesterday reiterated a call for an overhaul of USA immigration policy as scores
of Cubans continue their bid to reach the United States in boats. Cuba's National Assembly
issued a declaration slamming a 1966 USA law that gives preferential treatment to
immigrants from the Caribbean nation and which President Fidel Castro's government blames
for encouraging illegal boat departures. "It is a perverse policy, deliberately
conceived to destabilise and undermine Cuban society, cynically calculated to provoke
deaths and suffering, shamelessly manipulating the tragedies this act causes," the
legislature's declaration charged.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
14 July 2000
The United
Arab Emirates will raise its oil production, if a consensus on a production increase of
500,000 barrels per day (bpd) is reached within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC). OPEC President, Venezuelan Oil Minister, Ali Rodriguez, indicated that
OPEC was looking for a price range of US$22 to US$28 a barrel, however prices now hover
around US$30 a barrel. The Minister stressed that OPEC must be certain the market is
stable before taking any decision to increase production output to reduce prices.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
The Offshore
Finance Authority in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, July 13, revoked the licenses of six
offshore banks in an immediate response to an advisory issued hours earlier by the USA
Department of the Treasury, according to Finance Minister, Arnhim Eustace. "In
conformity with the requirements of the International Bank Act (1996) the Offshore Finance
Authority has written to six banks revoking their licenses. This is the first phase of the
exercise," Eustace stated. He also noted that several meetings were held with the
agents representing the offshore banks since last August in a bid to persuade them to
comply with the banking laws; some complied and some had not.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
15 July 2000
CARICOM
Chairman, Sir James Mitchell, disclosed that the community regrets the decision of Haiti
to proceed with a second round runoff parliamentary election last week instead of heeding
CARICOM's advice to postpone the election. Mitchell indicated that community would
continue to "remain engaged with then (Haiti) to see how best the situation can be
retrieved and how Haiti can get on course for a better established parliamentary
democracy."
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Barbados
Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, charged that a USA Treasury Department advisory to USA
financial institutions requesting extra scrutiny be given to transactions from 15
countries, including five Caribbean offshore financial centres would hurt the region. The
advisory warned of the risks of money laundering in the countries named which included The
Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent & the
Grenadines. Arthur declared that, "Their reference to so much dirty money in the
Caribbean is strange, since more dirty money passes through places like New York and
London everyday than in all the countries of the Caribbean.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.16)
The Bahamas
government professed that it was working diligently to correct all identified deficiencies
in its programme to combat money laundering following the distribution of an advisory by
the USA The advisory requires that enhanced scrutiny be given by USA banks to suspicious
transactions originating from financial institutions in The Bahamas. "We regard the
blacklisting of The Bahamas by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and the issuance of
the advisory by the United States as harmful to our status as a financial centre,"
the government pronounced in a statement.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Widespread
criticism of Haiti's recent parliamentary elections and warnings the poor Caribbean nation
could lose aid have spooked consumers and may hinder economic development, local
economists asserted this week. The exchange rate yesterday was 20 gourdes to the dollar,
compared to 19.7 on Thursday as fears grew that economic sanctions could follow. Observers
with the Organisation of American States (OAS) charged that results for the senatorial
seats had been miscalculated, giving the ruling Lavalas Family party of former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide a stronger win than it was due.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Guyana and
Suriname are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding today aimed at resolving a
border dispute, which has undermined relations between the two CARICOM member countries.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
17 July 2000
In an effort
to get off an international blacklist of money laundering havens, the Cayman Islands'
legislators began discussions, July 14, to dramatically curtail the secrecy enshrining the
territories offshore banking business. Legislators will consider four laws which will make
it easier for the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority to gain information on bank deposits,
obtain details of bank clients without a court order and ease restrictions on sharing
information with investors from other countries. One bill would also make it a crime to
fail to disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
The Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) in collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS) has developed a trade policy project to provide technical
assistance to the OECS Secretariat and member states. The assistance which is being
provided through the consulting firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Emerging Markets, focuses
on strengthening key aspects of trade policy management within the OECS territories and
the St. Lucia-based Secretariat. "This assistance is being provided at the national
and sub-regional levels, with both the public and private sectors expected to benefit from
the activities," a Secretariat spokesman indicated.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
18 July 2000
Despite
recent CARICOM assistance, Guyana and Suriname remain in a stalemate in discussions on
their current maritime border dispute, according to Guyana President, Bharrat Jagdeo.
President Jagdeo, in Trinidad for a regional conference on infrastructural financing,
commented yesterday that while discussions continue in Jamaica between the foreign
ministers of the two nations, "there are still many details to work out … teams
have been working on a memorandum of understanding, but discussions have hit a stumbling
block where the issue of the return of the rig is concerned." "That is the
pivotal issue, regional leaders recognised this, which is why the joint use of the
maritime basin was one of the points they mandated for discussion the President continued.
President Jagdeo also asserted that "Suriname agreed with it at the summit, but they
are not engaging us in this point at the Jamaica talks … the key to Guyana's
acceptance on the issue is this matter of the rig's return."
(Trinidad Guardian, p.5)
A delegation
from Guyana will visit Jamaica this week for discussions with the Jamaica government on
increased grain imports from Guyana.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.13)
France is
expected to respond to a CARICOM proposal designed to retain France's membership in the
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The proposal reflects the community's intention to
address concerns expressed by France about policies of the bank.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.13)
The Caribbean
Development Bank announced loans totalling more than US$16 million for projects in
Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos islands. The bank also announced
backing for a near US$50 million economic development programme for Grenada as well as a
series of grants for institutions including the Caribbean Association for Feminist
Research and Action (US$200,000) and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (US$310,000). The
aid packages were approved or acknowledged at the 192nd meeting of the Board of Directors
of the bank, July 13.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
CARICOM
political and financial leaders, meeting in St Kitts and Nevis, responded to black-listing
of off-shore financial centres by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), by coming up with a number of recommendations for co-ordinating and
overseeing the effective regulation and supervision of the Caribbean financial system in
accordance with international best practices, according to St Kitts and Nevis Prime
Minister, Dr Denzil Douglas.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Drawn-out
talks between Guyana and Suriname on a border dispute, which has undermined relations
between the two CARICOM member countries, continued July 17. It was unclear how soon the
two sides would sign a Memorandum of Understanding talked about from the weekend. Jamaica
Prime Minister Percival Patterson, facilitator for the discussions, had promised Saturday
evening that the draft text of the Memorandum of Understanding would be signed July 16
following the resolution of a number of technical and legal details.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
19 July 2000
Oil prices
increased almost 4 percent on Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) news
that the cartel would not increase production output. OPEC President, Ali Rodriguez,
disclosed that a drop in an index price, which the group uses to regulate supply, meant
that the producers no longer needed to boost output.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.13)
Former St.
Lucia Prime Minister Sir John Compton this week charged that Haiti has squandered another
opportunity to join the international community. Sir John, who headed two fact-finding
missions to Haiti to examine the conduct of recent elections, says he is disappointed and
despondent with the situation in the country. "This is very unfortunate because Haiti
is a country that needs help, as it has a very unfortunate history, one of oppression,
discrimination, and isolation by the international community," he told reporters.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Trade
Minister Geoffrey Da Silva and a delegation of government and private sector officials on
Tuesday left Guyana for Jamaica for talks considered critical to the survival of Guyana's
rice industry. This follows a complaint last week by the Rice Crisis Committee that the
dumping of rice on the Jamaica market by the USA under the PL 480 programme was crippling
the local sector.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
20 July 2000
Following
five rounds of deadlock, Guyana Foreign Minister, Clement Rohee, July 18, indicated that
Guyana would look for other options in its maritime dispute with Suriname.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.15)
Trinidad and
Tobago and Barbados began the first round of negotiations yesterday for a Maritime
Boundary Delimitation Treaty. Trinidad and Tobago's Foreign Minister, Ralph Maraj, and
Barbados' Chief Negotiator, Sir Harold St John, both expressed optimism for an early
resolution to the talks. Sir Harold indicated that his government was confident that there
will be a speedy and satisfactory outcome to the delimitation exercise so they can proceed
with other areas on the bilateral agenda such as fisheries, trade, tourism, air services,
culture and sports.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
St Vincent
and the Grenadines' Prime Minister, Sir James Mitchell, will leave for Brussels at the
weekend on a banana lobbying mission for CARICOM. Sir James, who has responsibility for
bananas within the CARICOM grouping, indicated the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) embassies in Brussels have been making arrangements for him to speak with
various European Union officials on July 25.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Top
financial, legal and administrative officials from CARICOM recommended that the region
takes its case of harmful tax policies in their offshore jurisdictions to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO). "The WTO also has the responsibility for regulation of trade in
services and we feel that that is the appropriate forum to deal with disputes of this
type..." St. Vincent's Finance Minister, Arnhim Eustace, noted following last
weekend's meeting in St Kitts at which decisions taken at the July CARICOM Heads of
Government Conference on issues relating to the offshore sector were refined and reviewed.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
21 July 2000
Guyana
announced, July 19, that it would not renew discussions with Suriname on its maritime
border dispute. The latest round of negotiations between the countries' presidents ended
deadlocked July 17 in Jamaica. Guyana President, Bharrat Jagdeo, in a news conference
deplored that Suriname "to the very end" refused to entertain discussions on the
rig and denied the existence of a maritime dispute.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.1)
Protestors
took to the streets in Haiti's second largest city, Gonaives, yesterday demanding the
resignation of President Préval and that the government scrap disputed election results.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
The CGX
Energy Inc rig will leave the Guyana-Suriname basin following the failure of discussions
between the two countries to resolve their maritime border dispute.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
No final
agreement on increased Jamaican imports of Guyanese rice was reached, however, the two
CARICOM governments agreed yesterday to collaborate in the development of Guyana's rice
industry into "an integrated CARICOM rice industry". Trade Ministers Anthony
Hylton of Jamaica and Geoffrey Da Silva of Guyana capped two days of "cordial"
talks by signing a joint statement committing the two countries to continued efforts to
strengthen "trade and investment" relations. While rice was central to this
week's discussions, the statement stated the commitment for greater co-operation applied
to a range of other areas including manufacturing, wood and wooden products, chemicals,
tourism and financial sector services.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Delegates
from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean will meet in Grenada to assess the offshore
financial sector in light of the recent negative report by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD). They have been seeking to assess the dangers posed by
money laundering to the region's economic development and review strategies needed to
thwart the incursion of criminal proceeds into regional economies. The government of
Grenada, the Caribbean Development Bank, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, and UN
Drug Control Programme will host the anti-money laundering forum.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
United States
President, Bill Clinton, assured CARICOM of his commitment to "press for a quick
resolution" to the problem involving the marketing of the region's bananas in Europe.
In reponse to a letter from Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, the current chairman of CARICOM, the USA president professed that he supported
a transitional tariff quota regime along the lines proposed by the region.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
22 July 2000
The USA House
of Representatives voted to allow unrestricted USA food and drug sales to Cuba and to
allow USA citizens to freely travel to the island, July 20.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.1)
The UK
announced, July 20, that it will cancel £11.369 million (Ja$700 million) of past aid
loans to Jamaica over the next three years.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.15)
The St.
Vincent and the Grenadines Parliament amended two laws in a package of offshore
legislation to tighten existing loopholes. The move comes in the wake of a financial
advisory issued by the United States, Canada and Japan against the country's offshore
centre. Finance Minister, Arnhim Eustace, presented the amendments to the International
Banks 1996 Act as well as the Confidential Relationships Preservation (International
Finance) 1996 Act, a week after the Offshore Finance Authority revoked the licenses of six
offshore banks which have been accused of failing to comply with the International Banks
Act.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
The Group of
Eight (G-8) countries vowed, yesterday at their summit in Japan, to assist poor nations to
join the information technology revolution, and create a task force to pool their efforts
to boost Internet access and lower its costs in Developing nations. A charter signed by
the G-8 specified, "Countries that succeed in harnessing (IT's) potential can look
forward to leapfrogging conventional obstacles of infrastructure development."
(Trinidad Guardian, p.17)
A major
breakthrough in alternative marketing of Windward Islands bananas was achieved with the
first ever shipment of 3,000 boxes of bananas from St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dominica to
the UK under the Fair Trade label. This week's inaugural shipment according to a statement
from the Windward Islands Farmers Association (WINFA) a major triumph for the Association
which has worked tirelessly over the past five years to make Windward Islands fair trade
bananas a reality.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
As the dome
of the deadly Soufriere Hills volcano in Montserrat continues to grow and an explosion or
dome collapse appears increasingly imminent, authorities July 22 warned persons at sea to
stay two miles away from the exclusion zone located on southern Montserrat. "There is
an official marine exclusion zone of two miles around the exclusion zone on land so this
is primarily to keep people away from potential pyroclastic flow activity," Interim
Director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) Dr Gill Norton noted. Anyone caught
in the marine and land Exclusion Zone can be fined up to EC$1,000.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Prime
Minister Owen Arthur will introduce a bill in the Barbados House of Assembly, July 25,
that seeks to amend the constitution. It seeks to make clear that certain acts of the
State are not inconsistent with or in contravention of the protection given under section
15 of the constitution. The prime minister will move the first reading of the bill, the
Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2000, which is also applicable to section 78. Here, the
amendment is to provide that a person does not have the right to be heard personally or by
a representative when the Governor General and the Privy Council are exercising their
prerogative of mercy functions under this section.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
24 July 2000
Trinidad and
Tobago and Barbados concluded the first round of negotiations for a maritime boundary
delimitation treaty, following discussions in Trinidad. A release from the T&T
Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified it was necessary to establish a precise maritime
boundary in order to facilitate and encourage offshore exploration and exploitation of
both living (fisheries) and non-living (oil and gas) marine resources. Discussions are
expected to resume in Barbados in October.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.10)
Japan
suspended aid to Haiti amid calls from the international community to withhold aid if
Haiti does not hold new elections. According to Japanese charge d'affairs to Haiti,
Hisanobu Hasama, "All financial assistance projects have been suspended temporarily
because of violent demonstrations and the ambiguity of the future of Haiti."
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Group of
Eight (G 8) nations pledged to assist poor countries reduce their debts and improve their
education, health care and computer technology, but provided little real money for the
initiatives. No statement was forthcoming on how the G8 would pay for the goals set,
except for a USA pledge of US$30 million in surplus farm crops to provide school lunches
in the developing world.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Guyana
deplored the behaviour of Suriname in a row triggered by an oil exploration bid in the
disputed maritime area between the two countries, the Chronicle newspaper reported
July 23. Prime Minister Sam Hinds, July 21, registered Guyana's protest against Suriname
with CARICOM, according to the report.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
26 July 2000
The EU and
Caribbean nations began discussions, yesterday in Brussels, on continued protection of
banana sales under any reform of the EU system. St. Vincent & the Grenadines Prime
Minister, Sir James Mitchell, specified, "We are very anxious to find a solution
which is fair and workable." Mitchell alluded to the continued need for protection
for the small banana producers of the Caribbean so they can compete against the large
scale, plantation grown bananas produced in Latin America and market by USA companies.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.13)
Trinidad and
Tobago's Foreign Minister Ralph Maraj July 24 noted that his country and Cuba were
enjoying close relations while trade between them is on the rise. "We have never been
as close as we are now in the history of the relations between the two countries,"
specified Maraj during a ceremony on the departure of Cuban Ambassador, Guillermo
Baptista, the first ever Resident Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. Maraj said Trinidad
and Tobago was also one of the first countries in the Caribbean to establish diplomatic
relations with Cuba.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
For the next
five-and-a-half months, CARICOM citizens will be further sensitised in relation to the
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and how it will affect their lives, especially with the
dawn of the Single Market and Economy (SME). As part of the region's move towards
establishing its own court, CARICOM has embarked upon a two-phase Public Education
Programme (PEP) that will, in some way, touch all CARICOM member states by yearend. The
first phase, according to a statement from the Barbados Government Information Service, is
ongoing and the second will run from September 1 to December 31. Thereafter there will be
a two-month review and evaluation of the entire programme.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
28 July 2000
Trinidad and
Tobago and Nigeria will start an historic meeting today to promote a renewed bilateral
agenda between the two countries. The Inaugural Session of the T&T/Nigeria Joint
Commission will convene in Port of Spain over a five-day period, where senior officials of
both countries will review and promote arrangements on technical, economic, education,
scientific and cultural issues. It is anticipated that the bilateral discussions at the
Inaugural Session of the Joint Commission would focus on energy matters, culture,
technical co-operation, education, immigration, diplomatic relations and regional
exchanges, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
29 July 2000
A grenade
explored in the driveway of the Canadian Ambassador to Haiti's residence and Haitian
police detonated another at the former UN Headquarters, as tension continues to mount
between the international community and Haiti over questionable elections.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
Riot police
clashed with protestors in Peru yesterday during the ceremonies making the inauguration of
President Alberto Fujimori to an unprecedented third term, following his victory in
elections which were deemed unfair by the Organisation of American States (OAS).
(Trinidad Guardian, p.11)
British West
Indian Airways (BWIA) and United Airlines (UA) recently agreed to a new bilateral
alliance, which will facilitate seamless travel between the two airlines.
(Trinidad Guardian, p.12)
The Monetary
Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) which met in Antigua and Barbuda this
week, called for the immediate lifting of advisories on some offshore financial sectors in
the region. It also called July 27, for an end to the "black listing" of most
Caribbean countries as harmful tax havens by the France-based Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Council calls "for urgent action to ensure
the withdrawal of advisories and the removal of countries from the lists issued by the
FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and OECD and the prevention of further advisories of
member countries", a statement from the body noted.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
Officials
from Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria, July 28, asserted that they were looking forward to
strengthening economic and cultural ties with each other. Trinidad and Tobago's Foreign
Minister Ralph Maraj and Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dubem Onyia made
the comments at the start of the inaugural session of a joint commission. The Nigerian
minister said even though the two countries belong to different geographic locations,
history, cultural and economies, ties between them cannot be ignored. Maraj said the
meeting of the joint commission marks an important milestone in the fraternal relations
between the two nations.
(Caribbean News Agency (CANA), Web Site)
30 July 2000
Trinidad and
Tobago and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation, July 28. T&T
Foreign Minister, Ralph Maraj, remarked, "This is an historic agreement. When we
bring Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago closer, together we serve to bring CARICOM and
Africa closer together."
(Sunday Guardian, p.3)
Two days
following Venezuelan announcements that it would grant oil exploration concessions in the
disputed Essequibo region, Guyana President, Bharrat Jagdeo, July 28 asserted that Guyana
would not tolerate interference from the Venezuelans. "My government categorically
rejects this policy of interference on the part of Venezuela, and will spare no efforts to
counter theses acts of interference," President Jagdeo professed. Venezuela has
reopened its claim to the Essequibo region of Guyana and rejected the 1899 Paris Tribunal
Award.
(Sunday Guardian, p.20)