Caricom to hold emergency talks in TT

CARICOM LEADERS will hold an emergency summit in Port-of-Spain this week to discuss how the regional body could bring relief to the people of Grenada and other Caricom nations which endured the fury of Hurricane Ivan as it powered its way through the Caribbean last week. This was confirmed yesterday by Prime Minister Patrick Manning as he toured flood-affected areas in the Caroni River Basin. Manning said the issue of granting asylum to Grenadians in other Caricom nations while military forces and relief agencies rebuild their battered homeland will be a top priority at the impromptu summit, which Government officials said could take place within the next 48 hours. “We are considering it right now. We are trying to put together the Caricom Heads of Government Conference. There is an issue of possible refugees out of all of this. This is an important issue for discussion along that line,” Manning said. 

Asked whether Trinidad and Tobago would give refugee status to Grenadians, the Prime Minister replied: “It’s a matter that has to be carefully considered. It has not been considered by the Cabinet of TT.” Manning revealed that he spoke with Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson on Saturday night about the damage caused in that country by Hurricane Ivan. “Jamaica has been pretty badly hit. By the time I spoke to him, they had not had a full report but there are teams out and they are making their assessments. Contrary to what is being said, Jamaica has been badly hit. “Even though they did not get a direct hit, what they got was bad enough. There have been deaths in Jamaica. There are a number of people homeless. At the time I spoke with him, it was about 12,000 people. The Government of Jamaica is taking steps as it considers appropriate and I ensured the Prime Minister of Jamaica of the assistance of the Government of TT,” the Prime Minister said.

Manning hinted that TT’s help for Jamaica may not be as extensive as it is in Grenada, with a total of 500 TT soldiers on the ground in Grenada spearheading security and relief operations in that island. “He’s going to tell us what kind of assistance (Jamaica needs). We anticipate it will be mainly be in terms of building material and that is mainly galvanise and nails. Let’s see what Jamaica requires,” he added. Contacted yesterday, Whitehall officials said they had no information about when the Caricom Emergency Summit would be held but other Government officials said arrangements for the summit are proceeding apace. Executives at both the Hilton Trinidad and Crowne Plaza, the most likely venues to host a Caricom Summit, said they had no official record of the event but if it is an emergency session, arrangements to host it would be instituted at a moment’s notice once they are informed through official channels.