HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr. Roger Luncheon has said that the resolution of the issues facing Guyanese and other CARICOM nationals in Barbados is not going to be advanced solely on the basis of ‘public scrutiny’.

He made this comment during his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, about the growing uneasiness among Guyanese in Barbados.

Guyanese in Barbados, concerned about their immigration status as of June 1 next, following Prime Minister David Thompson’s recent announcement of a new immigration policy, have bonded themselves together and are discussing ways in which to deal with the situation.

On that date, a new immigration policy will take effect, throwing not only the lives of the undocumented in disarray, but even the lives of some on the island legally.

According to the Prime Minister, undocumented immigrants have from June 1 to November 31 to present themselves to the Immigration authorities and have their status regularised, or face being forcibly removed from the island. The amnesty would only apply to persons who had been in the island eight years or more prior to 2005, and all others ‘would be removed.’

The ruling would not only affect Guyanese nationals, but several other CARICOM nationals, including, Jamaicans and Vincentians.

The Cabinet Secretary said that that matter has to be put in context and two aspects cannot be ignored.

“One, the trials and tribulations of CARICOM nationals who for various reasons are not residents in their state of origin, has been a matter that probably is as long in gestation and handling as the Revised Treaty (Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas) itself,” he said.

He added, “Maybe even older than the Revised Treaty.”

“Although you might not feel that we have to be so comprehensive in our analysis of the issue as to recognise other CARICOM nationals are similarly affected – it does indeed occur that way, that the Heads have sought through the mechanism of freedom of travel to provide some measure of control on the movement of nationals within the CARICOM community, and consequently their treatment.”

Pointing out that this is a perspective that should be given particular attention, he put forward, “I think what our colleagues in Government in Barbados focused on was, and I admire the term they used, the ‘undocumented’.”

“Presumably not going as far as some go to say ‘illegal immigrants’ and such like – you are undocumented,” Dr. Luncheon said.

He said the other aspect of the matter is the Revised Treaty, adding, “What of course is of equal concern to us is what the Revised Treaty provides for explicitly and what it is that we could infer that the Revised Treaty allows.”

“It is a ‘grey area’ but one that not only CARICOM has had to address,” the HPS said.

“Many nations where the phenomenon is also taking place have had to deal with what the law explicitly provides for and how you deal with the actual situation of ‘undocumented’ within their boundaries,” he observed.

“The records would show from time immemorial that the Government of Guyana has taken a principled position on this matter and indeed many of the CARICOM Heads have also taken a principled position,” he said.

“The specifics of the situation would have to be gotten into and this is where we rely on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and its consular offices in the CARICOM countries to articulate the Government of Guyana’s position and to defend the interest of Guyanese who are affected,” he stated.

“If the focus remains on the ‘undocumented’, then the onus on all those who are contributing in a very productive way for solution is to address the issue of the ‘undocumented’,” he reiterated.

“So we are going to be operating on a number of different trends. Certainly at the Heads and the appropriate institutions within CARICOM to continue to belabour the Guyanese cause,” he assured.

“I want to believe in consort with the Heads of other CARICOM Governments whose nationals are similarly exposed and similarly affected,” he said.

Also, he said occasions such as the Heads of Government and other gatherings of the institution of CARICOM should be used to perhaps reduce the lack of clarity by introducing additional norms and practices that over time would build a more healthy and realistic approach to the problem of the ‘undocumented’.