SSP Diaries | Courting ‘Gaza’ in the Caribbean

AS CONFLICTS rage across the world, the Caribbean continues to be counted as one of the ‘hotspots’ globally. In the Central area, the Haitian situation remains unresolved for many years and, in the South, there is the blossoming impasse between the USA and Venezuela, a crisis likely to result in a high-intensity conflict very soon.

The Haitian situation continues to be of grave concern to the region. The talk of the withdrawal of Kenyan law enforcement resources and their possible replacement haunts the possibility of any return to normality in that country in the immediate future. The Kenyan deployment, though very much welcomed initially, proved to be less effective than it could have been, had the agreed resources been funded and deployed. Now that they have returned home, there is a void to be filled.

GANG SUPPRESSION

One hears of the use of ‘gang suppression’ resources out of the USA, as well as the UN putting together and deploying resources to stabilise Haiti and set the stage for democratic governance and development. We are left to speculate on how ‘gang suppression’ forces, UN sanctioned resources and the inputs from CARICOM states will operate in the same environment. What are the arrangements for the application of the law, command, communication and coordination of the effort?

The gang-suppressing element seems to comprise elements of what could be termed a private militia. The UN will need to identify and fund its involvement in an era when it receives less resources to carry out its commitments and no longer carries the clout as a world body it once had. Will it be willing to fund the ‘militia’ and, if so, under what terms and conditions?

Additionally, CARICOM was very late out of the blocks in intervening in Haiti and, now that it has blown out of all proportions, some governments are unlikely to commit their law enforcement and military resources in the environment. There is a strong fear of possible adverse political whiplashes, should lives be lost under the circumstances. This is an opinion held for some time.

CAUSE FOR ALARM

The use of the US military to summarily destroy boats originating out of Venezuela and Colombia under what appears to be suspicion that they are drug boats is more than cause for alarm. No explanation, proof, evidence has been offered, yet, to date, over 80 persons have lost their lives, killed by the US military operating in the Southern Caribbean. Its actions have been most high-handed, especially with its refusal to provide evidence.

It is also insulting to the law enforcement forces of the Caribbean when they insist that a drug boat destroyed by their force had 11 persons onboard! Drug boats, from what I gather, minimise the use of people to maximise their load-carrying capacity. They hardly travel with more than two people onboard. To compound their claims of supposed authenticity, the US military destroyed another vessel, this time rescuing two survivors, who were identified as Trinidadians and subsequently released to the Trinidadian authorities.

Is it that the objective is merely to wantonly destroy life, assuming that there can be no repercussions for those in uniform perpetrating what appears to be clearly an abundance of illegal actions? What is the actual message being sent to the Caribbean and Latin America?

ISRAELI/GAZA CONFLICT

There is a comparison to be made with the Israeli/Gaza conflict. The arbitrary and disproportionate actions suffered by Palestinians at the hand of the Israelis comes to mind. They continue to be unrelenting in annihilating a race, and their actions have been supported, throughout, by the US. Now it appears that the US is about to unleash the same strategy against the Maduro regime in Venezuela, and there is a possibility that Colombia could follow. It is not far-fetched to think that Haiti’s problems could be treated with the same type of strategy, should the US have its own way. Are we not courting our own ‘Gaza’ in the Caribbean?

These probabilities should be of immense concern to CARICOM. To issue a simple statement speaking to the desire to have the region remain a peaceful zone is not sufficient. To have a key member state in full support of premeditated, violent actions, lacking evidential support in our own backyard, against our own people, by a foreign entity, in my opinion, is unacceptable. To sit back and basically say nothing means that we seem to have ‘sold our soul to the devil’.

As a region under CARICOM, we were complacent when Haiti’s problems first came to the fore. Now, that country is bordering on being a completely failed state. There will be serious repercussions for countries like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and The Bahamas, to name a few, if that situation is not positively addressed. The same is likely for Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, Grenada, Guyana, and perhaps even the world, should hostilities break out in Venezuela.

These situations are never resolved using force, as Israel will no doubt learn in the years to come. CARICOM, as the representative of the region, needs to be far more proactive, effective and relevant in addressing these issues. It must play its part in canvassing international support for effective dialogue to resolve differences and uphold the tenets of good democratic practices. Like the UN, it has been failing far too often.

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