Bharrat Jagdeo opened the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit in Georgetown Thursday with a plea to his regional counterparts to end the maltreatment of Caribbean people, which he described as "repugnant".The Guyanese president was speaking in his capacity as CARICOM chairman. “As I would have said publicly, our countries have our sovereign right to determine our own immigration policies; however, maltreatment of CARICOM citizens is repugnant to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas; not just to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, but to human decency.
“If we treat our people badly, how can we then expect other countries to receive them with respect?” Jagdeo asked.
While not mentioning Barbados in particular, it was clear that the Guyanese head of state was referring to the contentious Barbadian immigration policy that Prime Minister David Thompson has vigorously defended.
Barbados is giving illegal aliens in the country a six-month amnesty to regularize their status; if they fail to do so they would be deported.
Jagdeo and other regional leaders have stressed that such a policy is contrary to the spirit of the integration movement but Thompson insists that it's nobody's business to interfere with his country's domestic policies.
Jagdeo spoke of the necessity to live together, pointing to the European Union, made up of some 27 countries and 491 million people, and their continued dedication to pursuing higher forms of integration.
“In my view, our work will remain incomplete until the day that a child born anywhere in our region opens his or her eyes to a patrimony that sees no boundaries, discriminations and nationalities within our integration in the region," he said.
“We as leaders can set the example for such a glorious day” Jagdeo declared.
The CARICOM chairman also addressed the principal issue engaging the Caribbean Community and the world at large - the global financial crisis. He noted that in spite of setbacks and the present gloomy international landscape, Caribbean people must not forget what the region has been able to achieve.
He said with patient persistence, the region can accomplish much more.
“Going forward, we need to ask ourselves some important questions, the answers to which will determine or create in this 21st century, one: what are the challenges that will define this century, and do we have the regional strategy to take account of the new world in which we live.
“Two: what must be done to take our integration and our cooperation generally to a higher level and make it a more effective vehicle for taking us forward, and three: do our people understand what we are trying to do and are they sufficiently inspired to accompany us on the rest of the journey,” President Jagdeo stated.
He added that regional leaders must be prepared to define the space which their respective nations occupy in today’s and tomorrow’s world, by ensuring that the right polices are in place to fill that space, using the integration process to drive these policies.
But he noted obvious deficiencies caused by the insignificant population and geopolitical insignificance of member states.
“Since we do not pose a systemic threat to global stability, our collective voice often struggles to muster the barest minimum of attention on the global stage; this being the case, the likelihood of us being heard if we speak as individual voices is much more remote than if it speaks as one”, Jagdeo said.
“We must be mindful of reality, harsh though it may be, ... mindful of our space in the global context, we must likewise be attentive in the need for strong regional positions to be articulated and for the collective regional interest to be advocated for strident unison as we engage the rest of the world on global issues,” he said.
He suggested that the progress of the region will continue to be stagnated until there is in place a multi-lateral system that allows greater participation in the decision making process, and until trading arrangements are restructured to respond to the region’s particular needs.
He also pointed to the critical need for the region to advance its trade and development agreement with Canada.
“We must never be ashamed to speak out strongly for our own interest....this is natural in the world...we must never feel that we would be seen as backward if we stand up for our interest,” the CARICOM Chairman asserted.
CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington called on the leaders to work on a re-invigoration of the integration process and to a renewal of the commitment to the building of a Community for all.
“To achieve that goal, the debate must lead to a rekindling of the spirit of hope and expectation among the people of the Community and thereby to their re-engagement in the construction of our Community.
“Such an outcome would also send a clear message to the world that a strengthened Caribbean Community is ready to take its place in the post-crisis global arena,” Carrington said.
Visit the CARICOM website for full coverage of the summit
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