The meeting of those Caricom Heads of Government present in New York yesterday to plan their approach to today’s breakfast with US President George W. Bush, was no substitute for a meeting of all the leaders where they could have hammered out a common position.

This is the view of UWI Professor and former St Lucia Prime Minister, Dr Vaughn Lewis in an interview with Stabroek News yesterday from Castries, St Lucia.

He said that if the region can see differences in the approach of Caricom countries to US policy, then so could the US. “Naturally, in the new climate of “you are either with us or against us” policy of the Bush administration, we can expect, and our governments will know how to accept, both sanctions and rewards - subtle and overt; and in accordance with their situations in these serious economic times, they therefore appear willing to risk regional division.”

Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Ministers Keith Mitchell, Kenny Anthony and Perry Christie of Grenada, St Lucia and the Bahamas respectively are the four Caricom Heads invited to the meeting. Other leaders, most notably those of Barbados and Trinidad, were not invited because of their support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and refusal to conclude agreements with the US exempting US servicemen from prosecution by the court.

Stabroek News was unable to ascertain the outcome of yesterday’s meeting of the leaders in New York as Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally was unavailable up to press time for a comment.

However, because of their various vulnerabilities, be they geo-political or economic, Dr Lewis in a comment to the Caribbean Investor says that in accordance with the economic situation of their country, Caricom Heads appeared willing to risk regional division.

He told Stabroek News that it was his view that the preferred approach to the breakfast by those invited should have been to meet their colleagues to hammer out common positions.

Dr Lewis points out that yesterday’s meeting was no substitute for a meeting of all the heads as it could have reached conclusions which one or more of those heads not at the meeting did not subscribe to.

He said that in recent times the Caricom leaders had been taking divergent positions in response to US policy initiatives. Some of the initiatives include the invasion of Iraq where Barbados and St Vincent took different positions, and the signing of bilateral treaties exempting US servicemen from being placed before the ICC Court. Guyana’s position diverged from that taken by Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. (Patrick Denny)