21447: Esser: Caricom foreign ministers to discuss Haiti tomorrow (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

The Jamaica Observer
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com

April 21, 2004

Caricom foreign ministers to discuss Haiti tomorrow
by Balford Henry, Observer writer

Regional foreign ministers will discuss recent developments in Haiti
and Caricom's position on those issues, as well as United
States-Caricom relations, when they meet under the umbrella of the
Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR VII) in Barbados,
which begins tomorrow.

However, Caricom leaders are not expected to make a decision on their
future relationship with the interim Haitian government prior to
their Heads of Government meeting in Grenada in July, according to
minister of information, Senator Burchell Whiteman.

During Monday's post-Cabinet press briefing, the minister said that
the Cabinet did not discuss the Haiti issue at its earlier meeting
and that he had been given no formal information on the issue of
where the former Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, would be
headed after leaving Jamaica. But, Whiteman said that he expected an
early departure.

The information minister said that the COFCOR meeting would also
discuss positions that will be recommended to the Heads of
Governments on the United Nations-approved multilateral interim
force, which Caricom has said it will not support. Regional foreign
ministers will also receive reports from the community's special
envoy to Haiti and decide on how to coordinate assistance during the
stabilisation phase there, which is expected to start at the end of
May.

But, Whiteman said, "in terms of the general diplomatic arrangements
between Caricom member states and Haiti, that has not been discussed
at Cabinet".

He said that tomorrow's meeting would put Caricom in a position to
update the secretariat and advise the heads but, "as we speak, there
is no firm decision on the part of Caricom or on the part of Jamaica".

Recent reports have suggested that the US State Department had
written Caricom leaders, suggesting that they support the interim
government in Haiti.

An Associated Press report on Sunday quoted St Vincent and the
Grenadines' prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, as saying that the US
State Department was, "essentially demanding" recognition of the
interim Haitian government.

The seventh meeting of COFCOR, scheduled for April 22-23, was
preceded by a preparatory meeting of officials on April 19-20. To
complement that meeting, a presentation is scheduled to be made today
by Professor Hilary Beckles, principal of the Cave Hill campus of the
UWI, on the theme, "Ways to strengthen the roles of the UWI as a
think-tank in the integration process, and its relevance to the
substantive policy-making on regional and global issues that will
impact on the development of Caricom".

COFCOR VII will consider a number of other issues of importance to
Jamaica and the wider region including:

. implementation of the revised Caricom foreign policy strategy;

. preparations for upcoming summits and ministerial meetings;

. relations with third states and international organisations;

. candidatures; as well as

. rights, entitlements and obligations of associate states.

Jamaica's four-man delegation will be headed by minister of foreign
affairs and foreign trade, K D Knight, and will include high
commissioner to Barbados, Lorne McDonnough, who is based in Trinidad
and Tobago.
.