Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer
AT LEAST one leading academic wants CARICOM to recognise the interim Government in Haiti quickly, despite lingering reservations about the ouster of the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the American role in his departure.
Professor Neville Duncan, head of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of the West Indies, Mona, believes it is time for CARICOM to move on.
ACKNOWLEDGE
"They need to acknowledge that President Aristide has been deposed and work with the interim Government to ensure that elections are held as quickly as possible in as free and fair a manner as possible. The long-term interest of Haiti is dependent on that. So while it might be morally offensive to work with thugs, it is nevertheless important that the positive elements in that country be supported to ensure a prompt return to political normality," he said.
His comment comes in the wake of the postponement of two security-related meetings between the American Government and CARICOM at the senior ministerial level. The meetings were postponed, reportedly because of lingering disagreements between the two sides over the situation in Haiti. With CARICOM refusing to recognise the interim administration in Haiti, much to the disappointment of the United States Government, the Caribbean representatives objected to the prospect of Haiti's involvement in the talks.
One meeting, which would have been attended by the U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, was set for May 3-4 in the Bahamas, while the other was scheduled for St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
Orna Blum, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, has insisted that it was appropriate to postpone the meetings.
INCLUDE ALL
"One of the things that the United States felt strongly about was that if we were going to have a meeting with CARICOM, we would want to include all of the countries, including the country that has the largest population, Haiti," said Mrs. Blum.
"We do recognise that the Caribbean Community is in discussions right now as far as its recognition of the Government of Haiti is concerned, and we think it would be premature at this time to proceed with the meetings until these issues are addressed," she added.
One Jamaican Government official, when asked by The Sunday Gleaner about the delays, expressed great disappointment. It was mystifying, he said, that important security matters, in a time of significant vulnerability, should be postponed because of a disagreement over Haiti, which, according to the official, "is a separate matter."
Mrs. Blum disagreed, however, that regional security would be undermined in the interim.
"The United States still has very close communications and relations with all of the countries in the Caribbean community. We continue to move forward in our bilateral relations; we're continuing to work on a number of programmes, both bilaterally and regionally. But when it comes to those negotiations the United States would want everybody to be there at the table, including Haiti," she maintained.
LOGGERHEADS
CARICOM and the Bush administration have been at loggerheads, ever since February 29 when President Aristide, under pressure from rebels advancing on the capital Port-au-Prince, departed suddenly for the Central African Republic. During the last inter-sessional meeting of CARICOM Heads in St. Kitts-Nevis in March, there were reports of several calls being made to various heads of Government by high ranking U.S. officials seeking to influence a change of heart on the matter of recognising the Govern-ment of Gerard Latortue in Haiti.
Professor Duncan is of the view that CARICOM should recognise the interim Haitian administration, sooner rather than later. In the meantime, he wants CARICOM to work with those groups in Haiti seeking to make a difference in the lives of ordinary Haitians. These groups he has identified as those NGOs and even members of the Lavalas party (Aristide's party) who want the country to be as participatory as possible.
"The NGO groups have been trying to build an alternative, repair the failings of the Aristide Government, and they need CARICOM's support," he said
He said CARICOM should take a practical approach to the Haitian issue in relation to the United States, the most powerful military machine in the world.
"Power determines the evil that it fights. The U.S. has power and it uses it to fight selectively and we don't have that power. All we can do is to ensure that we clean up the pieces and do all we can to help those groups on the ground, which need our support. We have to accept that we are not militarily strong and true morality lies in ensuring that the situation on the ground does not deteriorate further. This is how the Caribbean governments will achieve victory, only this time they will achieve the victory for Haitians, not for Aristide," he said.
