Standing together in Basseterre
Editorial
Stabroek News
April 7, 2004
Caricom Heads of Government stood their ground on the question of Haiti when they met in their Inter-sessional Summit held in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis a fortnight ago. On this issue, fraught with grave complications for Caricom's future relationship with the USA there was none of the shilly-shallying such as occurred on another focus of US hostility, the US request for immunity for their nationals from prosecution before the International Criminal Court.
Although under intense pressure to do so they did not recognise the appointed regime in place in Haiti under the leadership of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue. According to reports in another section of the press by a distinguished Caribbean journalist who is known to have close links with several Heads of Government, the pressure was both personal and incessant. There must have been a great temptation to "loose" Haiti, to let it slip out of Caricom's fold. On the other hand, the Caricom leaders must have been aware of the deep historical significance for the Caricom identity of Haiti as the first black Republic in the world - a fact which resonates throughout Africa. They could not easily turn their backs on their heritage. Unlike Washington and Bolivar they were the descendants of slaves and indentured workers. It is perhaps lack of understanding of the abovementioned factor which led the US administration into a miscalculation of the strength of Caricom's position.
In any event, it would have been inconsistent to accord recognition in view of their reiteration of their call for an investigation under the auspices of the UN of the circumstances under which Arstide left. In the light of contradictory reports still in circulation concerning the departure of President Aristide from office, the Basseterre Declaration states, Heads of Government believed "that it is in the compelling interest of the international community that the preceding events and all the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power from a constitutionally elected Head of State be investigated."
Although non-recognition is in the circumstances the correct posture, it will not be an easy option for Caricom to maintain. At their meeting, the Heads of Government reaffirmed Haiti's membership of the Caribbean Community and their commitment to the social and economic well-being of the people of Haiti. This means that Caricom despite non-recognition must somehow find non-compromising ways of dealing constructively with the interim governing body in Haiti.
Prime Minister Latortue's utterances and behaviour have made it even more difficult for Caricom to establish relationships with him, what the Basseterre statement calls grandly "modalities for engagement between the Community and the Haitian nation." It will be recalled that Latortue in his first days in office had announced that he was freezing relations with Jamaica (a country incidentally in which he had once sought refuge while fleeing from Haiti) and that he was putting to sleep relations with Caricom. Moreover, ignoring the call by the Caricom Emergency Summit in Jamaica on March 3 that "no action should be taken to legitimise the rebel forces", Latortue had gone on to visit in Gonaive the rebel leaders and their supporters and had declared them to be freedom fighters. One of the leaders Chamblain, well-known as a mass murderer, has since declared his intention to kill Aristide. The Basseterre statement records that it was such ill-conceived behaviour which made it possible for the Heads to accede to Latortue's request to meet with them in Basseterre. However, in view of an apparently conciliatory letter received from Latortue after the Summit had begun, Heads of Government committed themselves to review this request at the next meeting early in July in Grenada.
In order to discharge the Community's responsibilities and commitments to Haiti the Summit identified a number of mechanisms. First, they reconstructed the core group of Caricom Prime Ministers on Haiti (namely, the Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, St. Lucia and Jamaica), with Antigua's Prime Minister Hon. Baldwin Spencer, who is the new chairman of Caricom, as leader. Spencer is very much the new kid on the block, but this has come about because the original venue of the summit was Antigua; it was shifted to St. Kitts at the last moment when it was decided to hold the Antigua general elections on virtually the same date.
In addition there will be two "operational" mechanisms, first a Task Force under Caricom's Secretary- General to coordinate Caricom's assistance and second a Special Envoy as an adjunct to the core group to assist with the relations with Latortue's regime and to coordinate Caricom's relationship with the UN, OAS and other partners.
These new undertakings will strain to the limit the already overstretched resources of the Caricom Secretariat and there may not be much assistance forthcoming.
Nevertheless, it is certainly the case that as remarked by Caricom's outgoing chairman Prime Minister P. J. Patterson of Jamaica, though member states were small in size and made no claim to military power "our influence in the hemisphere cannot be ignored." Caricom's "dissenting" position apparently led to an uproar in the Chilean parliament over that government's decision to send troops to Haiti. It may well turn out to be the case that Caricom's principled position may precipitate a situation in which few if any other states in the hemisphere will be willing to assign troops to a multinational force - a situation which may pose grave difficulties for Mr. Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary when he tries to withdraw US forces, as he stated, after a three month period, a not dissimilar situation to that which ensued in Iraq.
In their Declaration the Heads of Government described the situation in Haiti as being an "interruption of the democratic process." This unusual phrase is used twice in the Declaration. Its significance lies in the fact that it resonates with the language used in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, adopted by the OAS General Assembly in Lima, Peru on 11th September 2001. In short it appears that Caricom is endeavouring to locate the Haitian situation in the hemispheric consensus on democracy as reflected in the Charter. The Charter provides that in the event of an unconstitutional interruption or alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order in a members state, any member state or the Secretary-General may request the immediate convocation of the Permanent Council (of the OAS) to undertake a collective assessment of the situation and to take such decisions as it deems appropriate.
Yet although the OAS Secretariat had been closely associated with Caricom in its endeavours to resolve the conflict situation in Haiti (and indeed there had been several OAS resolutions on Haiti) Caricom did not seek to take the issue into the OAS. Nor was there any indication coming from the OAS itself. The OAS remains curiously disengaged. Indeed Caricom Heads in Basseterre in their Declaration thank for their support only the African Union and the ACP, no reference whatever to the OAS. It may well be that the Caribbean is being isolated from Latin America as a matter of deliberate policy.
The true dimension of the problem confronting Caricom diplomacy is that it confronts action being taken by three powerful members of the world's most dominant military pact namely NATO. Whatever may have been the motivation for Canada (the Haitian community in Quebec) and France (its Caribbean colonies and garrisons and historic linkage), it is certain that their rapid entry into Haiti beside the American forces lay in the objective of mending fences in the wake of Iraq. Chile may have been similarly motivated. Here was a small operation in which they could stand side by side with the US at little risk to themselves. But power finds its own level. Could anything else be afoot? Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, visited on Monday (5th April) and France's former Foreign Minister Villepin had announced his intention to visit, he has now been shifted to the Interior Ministry. At this very time African delegates are discussing in Dublin with the European Union the establishment of a rapid intervention force for Africa.
Caricom Heads seem keenly aware that there are developments on which they are not being consulted. What else could be the meaning of the concluding paragraph in which they "emphasised the critical importance of transparency and the fullest engagement in free, fair and open dialogue and communication in the interface between the community's partners in the international community and itself in order to avoid misunderstanding and misconceptions."
Having taken wise decisions in Basseterre, Caricom will now have to move quickly in implementation. Canada has invited Caricom to participate in a donors' conference to be held in Port-au-Prince within a few days and has offered to pay expenses including travel expenses. There will be no room for Caricom's usual slow-paced approach.