Manning serious about political unity in region

By Rickey Singh
The Trinidad Express
Port Spain
Petroleumworld.com 02 12 06

TWO KEY messages on future governance of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) went out yesterday from the current and immediate past chairman of the 32-year-old regional economic integration movement

First, from current chairman, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, the serious pursuit of political union-but avoiding the pitfalls which had contributed to the collapse of the short-lived West Indies Federation some 43 years ago.

Secondly, from past chairman, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of St Lucia, this firm warning:

There must be no recurrence, whatsoever, of the unlawful imposition in Caricom of a government to replace one constitutionally elected-as happened in the case of Haiti two years ago this month.

Articulating their separate but related messages on governance in Caricom came from the two Prime Ministers at a brief opening session of the 17th Intercessional Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government that got underway at the Hilton Trinidad yesterday morning.

Manning and Anthony were the only two speakers at the opening session that lasted for approximately 40 minutes-in contrast to a normal two and three hours for such events.

As Secretary General Edwin Carrington noted in his own estimated five-minute less welcoming remarks: "There is an absence here of the pomp and ceremony of the regular (Heads of Government meetings). To work without delay seems to be the motto of the chairman (Prime Minister Manning)..."

Manning said that while political unity was ultimately an issue to be determined by every individual member state, he felt it was his "responsibility" to point to both "our possibilities and challenges" as the Community moves forward from a single market (CSM) to beyond a common economic space (CSME) in 2008.

In this context, he placed "deeper union (political integration) as something that "we cannot sweep under the carpet. Or", he added, "placed in the remotest closets of our consciousness... Closer unity, pursued on an incremental basis, is in the interest of our collective security and stability..."Â

Anthony on the other hand, who has lead responsibility for Governance and Justice in Caricom, in commending the people of Haiti for once again embracing with "incredible enthusiasm" the electoral process, as they did on Tuesday, hammered his note of warning:

"This time the voice of the people of Haiti must be allowed to prevail. Never again should the Haitian people be made to suffer the dishonour and indignity of having a government imposed upon them"-(as happened in February 2004 when the Jean Bertrand Aristide administration was forcibly ousted from power).

Signalling that Caricom stood ready to welcome back Haiti to its fold once the official results of last Tuesday's elections were made known, and ex-president Rene Preval emerges, as expected, as the clear winner, Anthony declared:

"There are lessons to be learnt from Haiti... A clear and unambiguous message must be that our Community will not tolerate or accept the unlawful and unconstitutional interruption of the democratic process..."

He called for Caricom to immediately amend the Charter of Civil Society and other related instruments to "authorise the expulsion of any member state which repudiates the democratic process by violence and intimidation".

The Trinidad Express
Friday, February 10th 2006

Copyright © 2006 The Trinidad Express. All rights reserved

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