Barbados trade sanctions 'act of hostility' - T&T foreign minister
-denies Venezuela pact prejudices Guyana's interest
Stabroek News
February 21, 2004
Trinidad and Tobago will respond accordingly to "the act of hostility" by Barbados in imposing economic sanctions on imports, says Foreign Minister Knowlson Gift.
In a strongly-worded address broadcast on television and radio yesterday, Gift described the sanctions as hostile and sourced it to economic problems in Barbados, a report from the Trinidad Express said.
Gift is also quoted as saying that Trinidad would not repudiate a 1990 Maritime Delimitation Treaty signed with Venezuela that is the source of the dispute with Barbados.
The swiftly deteriorating diplomatic row has its genesis in the arrest of Barbadian fishermen in waters off Tobago. Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur on Monday announced the introduction of a system of monitoring licences on a wide range of goods from Trinidad. He did so while disclosing that Barbados had initiated a compulsory arbitration process under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) to settle the maritime dispute between the two countries. This was after failed talks between him and Trinidad's President Patrick Manning earlier that same day. Barbados also wrote to some of the world's major oil companies advising against any exploitation activity in the disputed waters while the matter is before the UN.
The dispute is sourced to a 1990 Trinidad\Venezuela Maritime Delimitation Treaty which also has serious implications for Guyana, which is locked in border controversy with Venezuela.
Before Gift's address, Trinidad and Tobago deployed helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft off the coast of Tobago. This was to protect its natural resources, said Manning. Trinidad's Coast Guard also warned that it would arrest Barbados fishermen found in Trinidad's territorial waters.
The move by Trinidad is believed to be in response to statements by Barbados deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who encouraged her country's fishermen to continue fishing in the disputed waters while the matter was before the UN.
Gift described the statement as perplexing and said Mottley was only encouraging the fishermen to violate the laws of both countries, which would not be tolerated by Trinidad.
The Foreign Minister also outlined Trinidad's objections, beginning with Barbados' activation of the dispute-resolution mechanism under the UNCLOS.
Gift noted too that while Trinidad had submitted proposals for the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, Barbados has refused to do so. He noted that Barbados, during five rounds of negotiations between July 2000 and November 2003, steadfastly declined to put its proposal for a maritime boundary on the table.
Gift also rejected the claims that the Delimitation Treaty prejudiced the interests of Barbados and Guyana.
He restated that Trinidad will not repudiate the 1990 maritime pact with Vene-zuela because "international law imbues boundary agreements with a special status" and the grounds of objection have been found to be lacking in merit. Gift added that it was amazing that 14 years after the pact Arthur could make the claim that it purports to unilaterally appropriate to Caracas and Port-of-Spain large swathes of Barbados' and Guyana's maritime territory.
On Thursday Arthur cancelled a visit to Trinidad after discovering that while negotiations were ongoing between the two countries, Trinidad was negotiating with Venezuela over mineral rights in disputed waters.
Meanwhile, Manning met yesterday with Trinidad's opposition leader Basdeo Panday who offered his support to the stand by the Government.
Manning also met with St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves yesterday.