Manning to meet Bush

Prime Minister Patrick Manning and US  President George Bush are making arrangements to meet each other to discuss bilateral issues.

The proposed visit of the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister to the US was described as “very delicate and very important” by Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift yesterday. In fact Caricom countries are pinning their hopes on the possibility  that Manning could be able to persuade the US authorities to move from their position to cut military aid to those Caricom countries which refuse to sign bilateral immunity agreements, exempting US citizens from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Until this meeting takes place — and Manning reports to Caricom on it — all Caricom countries would be holding fast to the position not to sign any bilateral immunity treaties with the United States, Gift said.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that Manning’s Washington encounter, was conceived as  a completely bilateral meeting. The invitation to the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister to meet with US authorities preceded the   meeting of Caricom Heads in Montego Bay and as well as the implementation of the US decision to cut military aid from several countries, including some Caricom member states.  Gift noted however because there were times when it was very difficult to separate bilateral issues from Caricom issues, “where they criss-cross the matters would be addressed.” The issue of the ICC is expected to be discussed. Gift, stressing that the arguments which would be presented would apply to all Caricom countries, said: “I am sure that given the persuasive nature of the arguments to be presented by Trinidad and Tobago. I have every expectation that the arguments will fall on receptive ears.” Gift conceded that Caricom’s expectations of the meeting placed a burden on Trinidad and Tobago. He quoted from a letter from Bird, in which he stated: “I propose to my colleagues that Prime Minister Manning should be given full authority by us to raise the matter of the waive for our Caricom region during the discussions with President Bush and that this initiative should be allowed to proceed before any of our states attempts to negotiate bilateral non-surrender agreements with the United States.”

Asked what Caricom expected from this meeting, Gift quoted from the letter from President of Guyana, Jagdeo Bharat to Lester Bird, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, in which he (Bharat) stated that he was prepared to wait until Manning undertakes his visit to Washington before he decided whether Guyana would sign a bilateral immunity agreement. In the letter, dated July 18, Bharat stated : “Although I have been publicly quoted as expressing a desire to sign in Guyana’s interest a bilateral non-surrender agreement with the US, you may be assured that this will not be done before Prime Minister Patrick Manning is allowed the opportunity to raise the possibility of the waiver for Caricom countries.” This correspondence was copied to all Caricom heads.  Gift said the six Caricom countries affected by the US decision had been talking among each other.  Gift said the meeting would take place at a mutually convenient date. He said what the Trinidad and Tobago team was currently doing was preparing itself to adequately and competently deal with the number of issues it planned to raise, while on the US side they have to prepare a response to objectively deal with the matters presented. “We are in the process of preparing the briefs,” he said, adding that the first dossier should be completed by early next week.