This was the indication given by Prime Minister Pierre Charles of Dominica, current Chairman of CARICOM, in a telephone interview last night with the 'Chronicle' from the Ritz Carlton Hotel, venue of the two-day CARICOM Bureau in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Most of the CARICOM member states were represented at various levels, but it is understood that Prime Ministers P.J. Patterson of Jamaica and Dominica's Charles were the only heads of government who could have made the journey in time for the meeting that got under way on Saturday afternoon and concluded yesterday.

The heads of government on the current Bureau, the management committee of CARICOM between conferences of heads of government are: Prime Minister Charles, Prime Minister Patterson, who assumes the chairmanship in July when he hosts the 24th regular Community Summit, and the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo.

An official source in Georgetown disclosed yesterday that Jagdeo could not attend since he had returned only on Friday from a ten-day official visit to the People's Republic of China, but that Guyana would give careful consideration to decisions arrived at the Bureau's meeting in Montego Bay.

The meeting was arranged by the CARICOM Secretariat to deal specifically with the implications for the Caribbean of the war in Iraq, including its vital tourism and financial services sectors and investment for economic development.

While CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington was unavailable for comment following the conclusion of the meeting, Prime Minister Charles said that the decisions arrived at would be forwarded to all absent heads of government before an official communique is released.

He said he did not wish to go into details, but in response to questions said, "Basically, we figured that the United Nations should have a central role in post-war Iraq".

Asked whether there was reaffirmation of the collective CARICOM statement of February 15 in Port-of-Spain opposing the war against Iraq without the endorsement of the UN Security Council, Prime Minister Charles said: "I am not aware that we have repudiated that statement, even after the war got under way".

It was also learnt that Barbados's Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, who had confirmed his participation in the meeting, sent a message regretting his absence due to "illness".