IN today’s column I wish to focus on two issues known to have continuing interest to member states of our Caribbean Community: First, the unravelling of initiatives between the United States of America and Cuba to end half a century of hostility and turn a new page for sensible diplomatic and rewarding relations with embassies in their respective capital.
Secondly, the recurring political squabbles in Jamaica over termination of the old colonial relationship with Britain’s Privy Council and accessing instead the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the nation’s court of last resort.  First Cuba-USA relations: This past week we hardly had time to evaluate the public expression of thanks to the Governments of our Caribbean Community by the USA for influencing a ‘new day’ in Washington’s relations with Havana when things started to dramatically fall apart.
After 52 years of punishing isolationist politics against Cuba for its Fidel Castro-led revolution of 1959, America’s first black President, Barack Obama, made the historic pre-Christmas announcement of an agreement reached with the Government of President Raul Castro to re-establish diplomatic ties.
The Vatican and the Government of Canada, as well as the ‘New York Times’ had played facilitating roles to make the announcement a reality. However, within weeks of applause from optimists for the promised new politics and the cynicism and criticisms from political opponents within the USA, came a jolting warning last week from President Raul Castro:

Guantanamo and VP Biden
Not so fast. There is the historical issue that also requires serious consideration within the overall framework for renewal of enlightened diplomatic relations: It relates to the old problem that followed the success of the Castro-led revolutionary triumph of 1959-Guantanamo Bay, the 45 square miles of territory which the USA has been leasing from Cuba and for which last payment was accepted in that same year of the revolution.
For Cuba, with its ailing, legendary leader still around, younger brother Raul considers it a virtual non-starter for new, practical and mutually satisfactory relations to exclude Guantanamo from new negotiations with ‘Uncle Sam.’ He made it clear in a speech delivered last week (on January 28) that the return of Guantanamo to Cuba’s sovereignty was fundamental to the “normalisation’ of Washington-Havana relations.
Well two days earlier, in addressing a Multilateral Meeting of Caribbean Heads of Government in Washington, US Vice-President Joseph Biden chose to praise CARICOM for its “encouragement” over the years that have helped to “signal change to today’s graduation position” involving Cuba and the USA.
It’s a rarity for a major nation of the world to express thanks to a group of small states for influencing its foreign policy in a positive direction. The significance becomes all the greater when such a development involves superpower USA and our own small Caribbean Region that constitutes the bridge between the two Americas.
The quartet of CARICOM states to bring Cuba out of the US-imposed global ‘diplomatic cold’ were Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados by a unique joint establishment of diplomatic relations with the then Fidel Castro-led Government in Havana. The quartet constituted the now late Prime Ministers Michael Manley, Forbes Burnham, Errol Barrow and Eric Williams.
Their  seminal diplomatic initiative was to subsequently result in a host of other nations across the continents to do likewise over the following years with condemnation of the US very costly trade, economic and financial embargo, ritually denounced annually by the UN General Assembly with no more than three votes in favour that included Washington’s and, inevitably, Israel’s.
This past Monday, the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown reported in a press statement that US Vice-President Joseph Biden officially thanked the Community for its “encouragement” that eventually resulted in last year’s change to the “graduation position´ currently underway.
In his response to Vice-President Biden, current Caricom chairman, Prime Minister Perry Christie of The Bahamas, referred to CARICOM and the USA as having a “kith and kin relationship” which allows them to have a “shared vision.” Well, so much of that for now.

Sad CCJ ‘dancing’
I consider it quite relevant also to reference the recurring failure by Jamaica to cease its ritual parliamentary debates on termination of Britain’s Privy Council as the country’s final appellate institution and resort, instead, to accessing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as its court of last resort. Differently, it shares company on this issue with Trinidad and Tobago.
For a people with a rich history in the struggles against slavery and colonialism, as well as robust contributions in the stirring of political passions for independence, Jamaica continues to invite ridicule—and not just among CARICOM partners—for continuing to hold on to the apron string of the Privy Council instead of resorting to the CCJ as its appeal court of last resort, for which the country has already paid it millions of dollars.
By so doing, Jamaica’s political culture is a tortuous replica of this country’s with which it proudly remains the first two CARICOM states to celebrate political independence from Britain 52 years ago-within weeks of each other.
Likewise, it continues to engage in a demeaning political choreography with an amusing reluctance to part company with the London-based Privy Council in favour of the CCJ, headquartered in Port-of-Spain.
However, a prevailing fundamental difference between Kingston and Port-of-Spain, is the recurring objections of the parliamentary opposition Jamaica Labour Party (currently under the leadership of Andrew Holness) for the governing  People’s National Party of Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller) to first agree to establish a final national appeal court before accessing the CCJ as the country’s court of last resort.
While in Trinidad and Tobago both the People’s Partnership Government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and the opposition People’s National Movement of Keith Rowley are currently focused on coming new national elections–which could occur within the first half of this year-Prime Minister Simpson-Miller, last week sent a clear message, warning if you like, to the JLP’s decision-makers:
The warning? All 63 elected Members of Parliament—currently dominated by the PNP—now have until this coming April 28 to either support or reject a trio of related bills to make constitutionally right for the CCJ to function as Jamaica’s final appeal court and the scrapping of any access to Britain’s Privy Council.
The irony of this expected development is the happiness it would also bring to enlightened British law lords who have themselves been openly advocating an end to appeals to the Privy Council from former colonies of the United Kingdom.
Rickey Singh is a Barbados-based noted Caribbean journalist.
Analysis by Rickey Singh