GEORGETOWN, Guyana, January 17, 2011 - Chairman
of the Council of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Monday criticised the
return of Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier to Haiti, saying that his return
could further inflame the already shaky political situation in the French
Speaking CARICOM country.
"The
return of Baby Doc would be an unwelcomed distraction in the current volatile
situation and just when the international community is trying desperately to
sustain the fragile security gains in recent years," said Deneth Modeste,
who is also the junior foreign minister in Grenada.
The
Council, the second highest decision-making body of the 15-member regional
grouping, Monday began a one-day meeting here that will also approve the
non-reciprocal trading arrangement agreed for Haiti over a three-year period.
Modeste
said that Haiti's political landscape tended to be driven by personality rather
than principles and that he viewed with "intense unease the return"
of 59-year-old Duvalier whose mode of governance from 1971 to 1986 "was
not consistent with such democratic edifices as the rule of law”.
Duvalier,
who had been living in exile in France since he was ousted in a popular revolt
in 1986, returned to the French speaking country on Sunday.
His
return coincides with the problems facing electoral officials in Haiti as they
sought to deal with the inconclusive presidential and legislative elections
that were held on November 28 last year.
A
joint electoral mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has delivered a report on the elections to
President René Préval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.
Officials
said Préval did not reject the official report but expressed concerns over its
recommendations.
OAS
Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza is scheduled to meet with Preval here on
Monday.
Duvalier,
who was met on arrival by some supporters, is scheduled to hold a news
conference later on Monday.
But
various human rights groups, including the London-based Amnesty International,
have called on the authorities to bring former president Jean-Claude Duvalier
to justice for human rights abuses before he was ousted.
SOURCE:
CMC
REMARKS
BY SENATOR THE HON. DENETH MODESTE, MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, FOREIGN TRADE AND EXPORT DEVELOPMENT, GRENADA, ON
THE OCCASION OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS, GEORGETOWN, GUYANA, 17 JANUARY 2011
(CARICOM
Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) - As a Community, we have
just concluded a year that was marked by several incidences, some of which were
specific to individual Member States; in other instances, several states were
impacted at the same time. We will recall the devastating earthquake in Haiti
which claimed the lives of not only Haitians, but the lives of nationals from
some of our other Member States who were in Haiti on business of the Community;
the hurricane which affected the OECS; the financial crisis which began in 2009
and continued to negatively impact the economies of our Member States.
I believe
that I am correct in saying that even if only one Member State of our Community
is impacted negatively, the effect is felt and shared by us all collectively in
one way or the other. I do believe that herein lay our strength for as a
Community we are each other’s keeper; and indeed the peculiar circumstances of
2010 has only served to strengthen our resolve to deepen our integration
initiatives.
In the
midst of this all, I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the
sterling contribution of Sir Edwin Carrington, who has served us, the people of
this Community, with distinction over the past eighteen years.
Ambassador
Applewhaite, our Secretary General (ag), in her remarks reminded us all of the
pivotal role of our Council, the Community Council, in the governance and management
of the affairs of the Community. Today we will have the opportunity to see the
progress made with respect to several of the matters which have engaged our
attention over the past six months; and to chart the way forward in other
initiatives of our Community.
As we take
time to reflect on our programme of work over the past six months, we would
wish to acknowledge the stewardship and leadership provided by the outgoing
Chairman of the Community Council the Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, the Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and in particular
in the area of Governance of the Community.
In our
reflection as well and as we mark the first anniversary of the devastating
earthquake in Haiti, we would wish to recall the contribution of the Community
to the efforts of reconstruction in our Sister State. This contribution began
within the critical first 48 hours of the disaster under the system established
by one of our regional institutions, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management
Agency; and included the deployment of medical personnel and security forces to
Haiti from Jamaica, the respective focal point of the CDEMA. Since then, other
regional institutions (UWI and CARDI), CARICOM Member States and Associate
Members have contributed. Indeed, 2010 was the Annus Horribilus of the Haitian
people. In addition to the magnitude 7 earthquake, they have to grapple with a
devastating cholera outbreak and inconclusive elections.
Haiti has
enormous potential for economic take-off, but a precondition for economic and
social development is the consolidation of a climate of peace and security. For
most of Haiti’s history, the armed forces arrogated the right to govern or to
choose who would govern the country. Under pressure to liberalise the political
system, decent elections were held for the first time in 1990. The political
centre of gravity moved from the barracks to the Electoral Council. But most of
Haiti’s elections since 1990 have been clouded by a crisis of confidence in the
electoral councils and failure to observe universal standards of fair play.
Haiti’s
politics tend to be driven by personalities rather than principles. It is in
this context that I view with unease, the return to the country yesterday, of
one of those personalities whose mode of governance from 1971 to 1986 was not
consistent with such democratic edifices as the rule of law.
The return
of Baby Doc could be an unwelcome distraction in the current volatile situation
and just when the international community is trying desperately to sustain the
fragile security gains in recent years.
Despite
our limited resources, our Caribbean Community has contributed immensely to the
political, economic and social stabilisation of Haiti and our efforts are on-going.
The
Community has remained active in responding to President Preval’s request that
the Community should spearhead advocacy and engagement with the international
donor community to fulfil their pledges to finance the reconstruction and
rebuilding of Haiti.
As we look
towards the future, one area of importance for the Community, which it is
proposed that we must consolidate and begin to demonstrate progress, is in the
area of Information and Communication Technologies for Development. It will be
recalled that at its Thirtieth Meeting (July 2009, Guyana), the Conference had
mandated that preparation of an Action Plan for this Sector. The importance of
this sector was further emphasised during the deliberations of the Thirty First
Meeting of the Conference (July 2010, Jamaica). On that occasion, the
Conference had endorsed the recommendations of the Prime Ministerial Committee
on External Negotiations namely, that Information and Communication
Technologies must be one of the areas to be included in a major CARICOM Aid for
Trade Project to be presented to international development partners. It is my
hope that during the Chairmanship of the Community, this portfolio which falls
under the remit of the Honourable PM of Grenada will be further advanced.
Hon.
Ministers, Delegates,
We look
forward to fruitful deliberations of this the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the
Community Council.
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