Holness and Persad-Bissessar urge pragmatic approach in CARICOM

Caribbean nations responding differently to emerging geopolitical “opportunities” should not be seen as evidence of a fractured Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness told leaders gathered for a summit on Tuesday.

The point was immediately echoed by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who welcomed his “balanced approach” on how members states pursue their foreign policy.

“We respect the sovereign right of CARICOM members with respect to your choice for national security for your nation and with respect to your choice for foreign policy… we expect no less from others,” she said in her address.

The two leaders' comments at the opening of the 50th regular meeting of CARICOM heads in St Kitts and Nevis come amid concerns over the fragmented response from the 15-member bloc to political and economic upheavals in Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba, and the role of the United States in the region. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with CARICOM leaders on Wednesday.

According to Holness, each country pursuing their own policy is the “natural” expression of sovereign democracies navigating an increasingly turbulent global environment. "We will at times assess risks differently, sequence priorities differently, or interpret geopolitical opportunities differently."

Holness said: “The measure of our integration should, therefore, not be uniformity of position, but effectiveness of cooperation,” he said in his address. He added that differences in national perspectives are often portrayed as fractures threatening the regional project.

“I submit they are nothing of the sort,” he said. “While there are undoubtedly circumstances where one voice has and will work for us to great effect globally, variations in national perspective is not a liability to be feared. It is a resource to be harnessed.”

He added that the diversity of economies, political traditions, development strategies, and governance approaches across the Caribbean are some of CARICOM’s under-appreciated strengths.

The Jamaican leader’s remarks were welcomed by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who praised Holness’ “balanced approach.”

“We all have different pathways to walk but our destination, our goal, our aim, is the same – it’s for a better quality of life for the people in our country and for the whole of the region,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar, who has previously criticised CARICOM’s position on the Caribbean as a “zone of peace” and supported US military strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the southern Caribbean, reaffirmed her country’s commitment to CARICOM while speaking candidly about its performance.

“How can it be when that regime was threatening violence against two CARICOM member states, there was no voice from CARICOM… my country is not a zone of peace because of the unreliable CARICOM… we cannot bind ourselves to the same political ideologies, the same foreign issues and the same security policies of the entire CARICOM. That’s why I welcome Prime Minister Holness’ words.”

She thanked US President Donald Trump and his military for “standing firm against narco-trafficking, human and arms-smuggling originating from Venezuela,” adding: “That is what we were facing in Trinidad and Tobago.”

On Cuba, Persad-Bissessar acknowledged the humanitarian crisis caused by the US oil blockade but stressed that political reform is needed in the communist country to allow citizens to freely elect their leaders.

“I empathise with the good people of Cuba but there’s a regime that is dictatorial and none of us want that in our country,” she said. “Why do some CARICOM governments and political parties believe that they and their supporters should have the right to contest democratic elections, but Cuban citizens have no route to free and fair elections?”

She added: “Trinidad and Tobago will not support a dictatorship in Cuba or anywhere else.”

In his comments on Cuba, Holness said Jamaica supports “constructive dialogue” between Cuba and the United States (US) “aimed at de-escalation, reform and stability.”

“We believe there is space, perhaps more space now than in years past, for pragmatic engagement that protects the Cuban people from any further deterioration in their circumstances and instead promotes national and regional prosperity,” he said.“We do not believe that long-term stability can exist where economic freedom is constrained and political participation is limited,” he said, noting that Jamaica is “sensitive” to struggles of the Cuban people. “Sustainable prosperity requires openness to ideas, to enterprise, to investment and to the will of the people.”

Meanwhile, Persad-Bissessar also criticized the practice of governing parties in member states sending party representatives to assist political allies in other territories’ election campaigns, saying it “should never happen”. According to her, it “leads to unneeded factional divisions and private conflicts between regional leaders and political parties, and hinders the progress of CARICOM.”

Regarding free movement in the region, she said Trinidad and Tobago is committed in principle but cannot implement it immediately due to illegal migration issues. “Not at this time, but we agree in principle to full and free movement,” she said.

- Livern Barrett

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