Maltreatment of Caribbean people within the region is repugnant
President Jagdeo tells Heads at the opening ceremony
PRESIDENT of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, in his first address to Caribbean leaders in his capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Community, declared last evening that maltreatment of Caribbean people within the region is repugnant.

The Guyanese Head of State was addressing the Heads of Government of member states and special invitees at the official opening of the 30th Meeting of the Heads at the National Cultural Centre, on Mandela and Homestretch Avenue, in Georgetown.

“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,” the new Chairman questioned.

He stressed that similarly, the average Caribbean manufacturing company will form its conclusions about regional integration by the ease with which its product can enter the market of another member state.

Further pointing out that if these manufacturers were to encounter problems that cause their products to be accepted in one market, but rejected in another, or face standards that are higher for regional products than for those for extra-regional goods, then regional integration becomes a fiction to them.

“These are the nuisances we need to fix if we are to arrest disenchantment with regional endeavours”, Mr. Jagdeo asserted.

He stated that whatever views there may be on the achievements thus far, “there is no alternative to integration”.

He pointed to the European Union, made up of some 27 countries and 491 million people, and their continued dedication to pursuing higher forms of integration.

“How much more should we, who are much smaller and certainly more disadvantaged, also seek to have greater unity and cooperation?

“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.

“We as leaders can set the example for such a glorious day” Mr. Jagdeo insisted.

Meanwhile, addressing the issues engaging the Caribbean Community and the world at large, concerning the financial crisis, the new Chairman stated that the in spite of the numerous set-backs encountered and the present gloomy international landscape, Caribbean people must not forget what the region has been able to achieve.

He insisted that 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 as the regional leaders answer these questions, the region must be prepared to define the space which it occupies 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.

However, Mr. Jagdeo acknowledged that in defining this space, the region has to first confront some harsh realities, one such being the region’s limited ability to influence global power structures and relations.

“As a region, we in CARICOM account for less than one fifth of one per cent of global merchandise trade, one tenth of one per cent of world output, and one quarter of one per cent of the global population.

“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”, Mr. Jagdeo said.

He also bemoaned the lack of adequate attention from the international financial community on issues that are important to the region, stating that they are seemingly unwilling to discuss at a senior level issues that affect the future of fifteen countries.

The Chairman stressed the region needs to make some required changes, outlining the miniscule influence the region as a whole has at the global level.

“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” Mr. Jagdeo insisted.

He further stated , that in this regard, countries such as ours simply cannot achieve the transformational prosperity over a sustained period within the global trade and financial architecture relations.

He posited 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.

Mr. Jagdeo stated that the global financial crisis has given the region the window of opportunity to restructure this architecture and the region needs to use this opportunity to articulate its position.

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.

Prime Minister of Belize and outgoing Chairman, the Honourable Dean Oliver Barrow, in remarks, stated that the integration enterprise has been made even more difficult by the global financial economic crisis.

He pointed out that there is one clear reason for the failure of success in combating the dislocation that the global crisis has visited upon the region, that of the failure of the developed world to discharge their responsibility to the Caribbean.

“The song and dance produced by the developed countries regarding the measures necessary to repay the crisis engendered debt to us, does not appear to possess even a dubious measure of sincerity,” Prime Minister Barrow stated.

The Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Ministers, Tillman Thomas and Winston Spencer, respectively, in remarks, both called on the regional heads to reaffirm their countries commitment to CARICOM and the integration movement.

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Edwin Carrington, also issued this call to the Heads, pointing out that over the next three days, the outcome of the debates on the issues confronting the Community must lead to 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 asserted.

In welcoming the new Chairman, he also paid tribute to the dedicated and insightful leadership of the immediate past Chairman, Belizean Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, for his dedicated and eloquent promotion of the interests of the Community.

The CARICOM Secretary-General further charged the Heads to remember the lofty ambitions as set out in the Grand Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the advancement of the integration process 20 years ago.

That Declaration reads: “We, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, inspired by the spirit of cooperation and solidarity among us, are moved by the need to work expeditiously together to deepen the integration process and strengthen the Caribbean Community in all of its dimensions to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by the changes in the global economy.”