POLITICS: Caribbean, Britain Explore New Ties

By Zadie Neufville Reprint | | Print |

Zadie Neufville

KINGSTON, Aug 1 2001 (IPS) - Caribbean leaders are lobbying Britain on a broad range of issues following Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pledge to revitalise the “special relationship” between the region and the former colonial power.

These include maintaining preferential European markets for Caribbean exports; supporting efforts to fight crime and the drug trade; and releasing aid for Haiti.

The push follows the first summit, held here Sunday, between the British head of government and his counterparts from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The leaders agreed that the old special relationship, which had been based on preferences for former colonies’ banana and sugar exports, “is no more,” said Bahamas Prime Minister and CARICOM Chairman Hubert Ingraham. The new relationship, he added, would “have to encompass and include countries like Suriname and Haiti.”

Thus, regional leaders are seeking Britain’s immediate help in releasing more than 500 million dollars in aid needed by the cash-strapped government of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The money was frozen in a dispute over the elections that brought Aristide to power last year.

Jamaica is prominent among Caribbean states seeking improved cooperation in police and security matters.

Britain has lifted a ban on arms transfers to Jamaica, clearing the way for weapons purchased by the island’s police force. It had imposed the prohibition last year amid reports of human rights abuses by the Jamaican constabulary but was persuaded to ease its stance following gun battles this month that killed at least 29 people in West Kingston.

Political violence and crime – much of it tied to drugs – have claimed nearly 600 lives here since the year began, officials said. For their part, British officials linked an average of 30 murders per year in their country to the Jamaican drug trade, which supplies an estimated 65 percent of Britain’s cocaine.

“We really have to strengthen not only our trade and investments ties but also on issues of police and law enforcement so we can tackle this evil trade that has done so much damage here and in the UK,” Blair said following Sunday’s summit.

Setting aside human rights concerns, Blair said his government had agreed to “give the help and provide the proper training that the police need” out of “understanding (of) the dilemmas the police force have when dealing with armed gangs.”

Over the long haul, however, trade and economic diplomacy appear destined to dominate CARICOM-British dialogue.

Since preferential agreements are under pressure at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and from new trade agreements, CARICOM wants Britain’s voice at the European Union (EU) and within the Group of Eight (G- 8) leading industrial and political powers.

With little hope of winning approval for a small nations group within the WTO, CARICOM states are anxious to maintain favourable access to European markets. They are exploring the possibility of extending the Cotonou Agreement and of establishing a bilateral trade agreement.

British help could come in handy in dealing with what regional officials consider unfair treatment by the Financial Action Task Force of the rich nations’ Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which has blacklisted a number of Caribbean financial centres.

Not that everything will be plain sailing. Ingraham said a number of leaders protested policies, enacted in the 1980s, that reduced Caribbean students’ access to British universities and training programmes.

The leaders who attended Sunday’s talks did not formalise a mechanism to revamp the special relationship. Proposals are expected at their next summit, planned for October to coincide with the Commonwealth meeting in Brisbane, Australia.

The following leaders joined Blair, Ingraham, and CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington at Sunday’s talks: Prime Ministers Owen Arthur of Barbados, Denzil Douglas of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Ralph Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Basdeo Panday of Trinidad and Tobago and PJ Patterson of Jamaica, President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana, and Vice President Jules Adojdeo of Suriname.