Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

US Defense Secretary – Robert Gates

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 16, 2010 (CUOPM)

United States Secretary of  Defense Hon. Robert M. Gates said he hopes Friday’s regional security summit in Barbados and President Barack Obama’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative send a strong signal that “the United States is reengaging with this region” after drawing down its presence following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Speaking at a joint news conference Friday with seven Caribbean government and national security leaders Gates said he’s impressed by the innovative approaches being taken to promote collective security through the initiative.

Following what he called a “very productive” meeting to discuss furthering those efforts, Gates lauded the Caribbean nations’ work toward marshalling limited resources to address common threats such as narco-trafficking and violent crime.

These challenges touch U.S. shores as well, and demand that regional nations mount a united front to confront them, Gates said during a joint news conference with Barbadian Prime Minister Hon. David Thompson and St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Hon. Sam Condor.

Gates conceded that the drug trafficking problem has worsened due to the success of the Merida Initiative and Mexico’s crackdown on drug cartels there.

“Narco-trafficking is a problem for the hemisphere as a whole,” he said, “and wherever you put pressure, the traffickers will go where there is less resistance and where there is less capability.”

Going forward, Gates said he would like to see broader efforts to connect the regional security system here with efforts under way outside the Eastern Caribbean. This includes efforts by the French, Dutch, Colombians, Peruvians and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force.

The secretary praised Barbados as a strong U.S. security partner and a leader in promoting security cooperation in the Eastern Caribbean.

“The United States stands steadfastly with you as you pursue long-term solutions to these problems,” Gates said after meeting with the Prime Ministers and national security ministers.

Much of that support is provided through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative that President Barack Obama proposed last April during the Summit of the Americans in Trinidad and Tobago.

The initiative has been built with extensive input from Caribbean nations with a central role for the regional security system, Gates noted Friday, all aimed at helping regional governments face up to transnational threats.

The $45 million the United States has committed to the effort this year will help improve regional maritime patrol and interdiction capabilities and domain awareness and provide for additional joint training and exercises, he said.

Gates said details about how these funds will be allocated are being hammered out by technical working groups, with one convened Friday in Washington.

He emphasized that regional nations will be the ones to help determine how the funding can be most effective. The United States already has committed three interceptor boats and communications equipment, but Gates said he heard suggestions on Friday about the need for more law enforcement training and the stand-up of major crimes units.

However, Gates emphasized that the Caribbean initiative represents more as it provides a comprehensive approach to regional security. Its scope extends beyond military and security assistance to address equally critical components of the region’s economic and social stability.

The initiative aims to provide, “not just improved security capabilities to confront immediate threats, but also development assistance in hopes of addressing the root causes of regional problems, such as the lack of educational and employment opportunities, particularly for youth,” Gates said. “That is a strategy we strongly support.”

Fifteen Caribbean Basin nations are included in the security initiative: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Related posts:

1. US Defense Secretary To Meet Eastern Caribbean Leaders
2. Caribbean and US Officials To Discuss Security Issues
3. Better Relations With Cuba, Venezuela, and The US?
4. Eastern Caribbean Security Workshop To Be Held In St. Kitts
5. St. Kitts – Nevis PM Attends Defense Meeting

Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Flag

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
December 02, 2009 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas says the results of the referendum in St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week are an indication that there is need to fully study and analyse the existing constitutions of the members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) before any attempt is made to change them.

“We have a serious situation in St. Kitts and Nevis with our constitution. A lot of the problems that we have experienced between St. Kitts and Nevis and even the problems we are experiencing now (as they relate to the constituency boundaries and the general elections) go back to the type of constitution that we have,” he said.

But Douglas, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)’s Peter Richards during an interview in Port of Span, Trinidad where he attended the just concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that unlike his counterpart in St. Vincent and the Grenadines he was not pushing for constitutional reform “at this time” preferring instead, to look at electoral reform.

“And a lot of the electoral reforms that we could have pursued were dependent upon constitutional reform. But it is not easy to change the constitution and so what we have been seeking to in St. Kitts and Nevis over the years is to have confidence measures introduced to build a capacity of our people to appreciate and be better able to study the constitution and make changes if they have to,” he said.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government fell far short of the 66.7 percent required to change the 30 year-old constitution that had been handed down to the island when it gained political independence from Britain.

The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), which had mounted a “Vote No” campaign, said it was pleased that 55.6 per cent of the electorate had rejected the document.

According to the CMC Report, Prime Minister Douglas said while there were some measures in the constitutions handed down by Britain to its former colonies in the Caribbean that would need a simple majority to change, “some clauses however are entrenched where you would need to have a 66 and two thirds.”

“I think that wherever it is possible to have a clear majority to make changes to the constitution one should do that,” he said, pointing out that in the case of St. Kitts and Nevis “it is being stated that someone who is a minister of religion cannot stand for parliament…these are aspects of the constitution that can be revisited without having the 66 and two thirds.

“So it depends really on what is the fundamental issue that is before the electorate or the citizens of the country in terms of changing the constitution. Our own constitution, I can say very, very, clearly that was negotiated with Great Britain is not a good document at all.

“There are several aspects…that need to be revisited and we shall do so and we have been on the path of constitutional reform for several years since back in 1998 when the Nevis part of the federation tried to secede ,” he said, indicating that the authorities have been working with various international stakeholders to build confidence “so that we could either work together and accept the constitution as it is or to be at one in agreeing as to what aspects of the constitution needed to be changed.”

Prime Minister Douglas said that while some of the OECS countries would need to hold a referendum in order to become full members of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that is not the case for his twin-island federation.

“We are one of those constitutions I understand that does not necessary have a referendum in order to advance to the CCJ. But we have never advanced because we are part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and we have always said if we are going to advance we would want to do it together as part of the collective court we have in the Eastern Caribbean states.”

He said some Eastern Caribbean countries needed to hold a referendum, but “we in St. Kitts and Nevis do not need to have that referendum.”

Related posts:

1. Prime Minister Douglas Has Not Breached Court Order
2. PM Douglas Assumes Chairmanship of OECS Authority
3. Libya To Set Up Commercial Bank In The OECS
4. OECS Meeting Regarding T&T To Be Held In St. Kitts
5. St. Kitts – Nevis PM To Attend OECS Meeting In St. Lucia

Her Excellency Susan Rice

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
November 13, 2009 (CUOPM)

Climate change and the global financial and economic crises were among issues discussed last week between Caribbean and United States diplomats at the United Nations.

St. Kitts and Nevis‘ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Ambassador Delano Bart, Q.C., chaired the meeting between CARICOM Member States and the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Her Excellency Susan Rice.

The meeting, regarded as a very frank and candid exchange, also discussed the Arms Trade Treaty and the Permanent Memorial of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and Slavery.

The general consensus was a desire to work together, to respect each other’s views, and to bridge the divides that remain on these issues.

It was clear that differences remain on the climate change negotiations. However Ambassador Rice stressed that climate change is extremely important to the Obama Administration, and the cooperation with island states and the most vulnerable, was key to moving forward.

There was genuine support for finding initiatives to assist middle income small island developing states to counter external shocks, and strong commitment to finding areas of cooperation on the Arms Trade Treaty including Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The USA was thanked for their continued support to the Slave Trade Memorial which was a CARICOM initiative.

The Meeting was viewed by all participants as very constructive, and Ambassador Bart was thanked for initiating this first in a series of discussions between CARICOM and the United States at the UN.

Related posts:

1. Elected Caribbean Officials Must Not Hold Allegiance To A Foreign Power
2. UN Promises Caribbean Help On Tackling Crime
3. Tax Information Agreement Talks To Be Held With Holland
4. St. Kitts – Nevis Votes To End Cuba Embargo
5. St. Kitts – Nevis U.N. Ambassador Leads Federation’s Delegation To CARICOM meeting