Bird blasts bureau
ST JOHN'S, Antigua, (CANA) -- Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Lester
Bird has strongly rebuked the Bureau of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for making decisions he feels are outside its mandate.
His criticisms, outlined in a letter to CARICOM's current Chairman, Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell, and the Community's Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, followed a meeting last week in Barbados of the Bureau, which functions as a management committee.
At the core of Bird's objections is the Bureau's release of a statement to the media that contains decisions which he feels should first have been referred to the heads of government, in accordance with established practice, and not conveyed to the public as "decisions", when, at best they could only have been "recommendations".
Bird, who has been critical of a discriminatory initiative by Venezuela in its special oil facility on concessionary terms to some CARICOM states to the exclusion of others, said he was not consulted, as he and other heads of government should have been, on decisions taken by the Bureau at its meeting on October 16.
The Bureau is normally comprised of current, past and incoming heads of government of CARICOM and including the Secretary General.
Those, therefore, who participated in the October 16 meeting were current Chairman, Sir James, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines; Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis (previous Community Chairman); and the Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, Miss Billie Miller, who represented Prime Minister Owen Arthur as the incoming CARICOM Chairman.
Decisions and statements resulting from the Bureau meeting included approval of the oil facility offer from Venezuela -- an issue of current controversy; objection to the European Union Council's decision on a new regime for banana imports by the EU; and CARICOM's concerns over electoral democracy in Haiti.
Prime Minister Bird said he wished to make it clear that "none of these decisions of the Bureau was discussed with me, and I do not consider them binding on the government of Antigua and Barbuda..."
"The matter would have taken on a different character", added Bird in his letter, a copy of which was obtained yesterday by CANA, "had there been consultations with each Head of Government before the statements were made public or any decision taken".
Bird said he must "regrettably also protest the assumption of authority by the Bureau, which it was not accorded by the Conference of Heads of Government, and the distribution of its statements to the press in a manner which suggests that it is speaking for "CARICOM" and "the Caribbean" as a whole.
"I sincerely hope", said, Bird, "that there will be no repetition of such actions which are not conducive to harmonious and constructive relations within our Community."
The Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister said that it may also be "beneficial for Heads of Government to review the utility of the Bureau, especially in light of the proposals for a CARICOM quasi-cabinet".
Heads of government are due to meet for an Inter-Sessional Meeting in Barbados by late February.
Guyana Foreign Minister Clement Rohee was due to meet Sir James yesterday on the Venezuela cheaper oil offer.
Rohee told the Chronicle he is carrying a message from President Bharrat Jagdeo on the issue and was to discuss this with Sir James.
Rohee said he raised the matter of the Venezuela oil proposal with Douglas and and Miller during a joint meeting Friday of Cariforum (Caribbean members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries) and the European Commission.
Venezuela has officially informed Guyana about the concessionary oil deal it is offering some other CARICOM members but the Foreign Ministry here last week said it was not yet clear whether the offer extends to Guyana.
Guyana, which has been importing oil from Venezuela with which it has a longstanding border controversy, had drawn the attention of CARICOM to its exclusion from the proposed agreement because of a statement attributed to Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Mr Vicente Rangel, that "petroleum has been used as a political weapon throughout history".
Sources here felt that by excluding Guyana from the proposed oil deal for other countries in the region, Venezuela was using oil as a bargaining chip in the controversy over the Essequibo.
Bird, who has come out against the Venezuela cheaper oil offer that excludes Guyana, has urged Trinidad and Tobago to look at making oil and oil products available to CARICOM member states at concessionary prices.
 Follow the goings-on in Guyana
|