A glorious opportunity missed
published: Thursday | March 4, 2004
THE EDITOR, Sir:
CARICOM has lost a glorious opportunity to be at the forefront diplomatically, to resolve the Haitian crisis.
CARICOM countries have watched impotently while a fellow member state disintegrated. Haiti is in close proximity to Jamaica, hence military assistance by fellow CARICOM countries spearheaded by Trinidad and Jamaica could have bolstered a democratically-elected president.
CARICOM's failures to take a decisive role only sums up the peripheral role of Caribbean countries (with the exception of Cuba) in international geo-politics and begs the question as to whether we are independent in name only.
On the other hand, some leaders may be ardently seeking to prevent such in their own countries, where apart from a strong democratic tradition and civic institutions, the symptoms of rampant poverty, corruption and a struggling economy are all too present.
