Manning follows up on Haiti

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning made good on his promise to United States President George W Bush when he discussed the political situation in Haiti with Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington at Whitehall yesterday. During a meeting at the White House, Washington DC, earlier this month, Bush expressed concern about the political situation in Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela to Manning and asked if TT could assist in normalising tensions in these hemispheric hotspots.

During yesterday’s meeting, the Prime Minister and Carrington discussed Caricom’s approach to dealing with the current situation in Haiti. Manning has also been in contact with Caricom chairman, Jamaican PM PJ Patterson and St Lucian PM Dr Kenny Anthony (who has responsibility for governance in Caricom) to discuss Caricom’s role in dealing with the socio-political tensions in Haiti. Prime Minister Manning stressed: “Caricom states are inextricably bound and therefore, Caricom is deeply concerned with the situation in Haiti and must quickly determine its way forward in dealing with Haiti’s current crisis.”

Over the last four weeks, thousands of anit-government demonstrators have marched throughout Port-au-Prince calling for president Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s resignation. There have been incidences of violence between demonstrators and police or Aristide supporters. Also involved in yesterday’s talks at Whitehall were Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Mission to Haiti, Ambassador Colin Granderson, Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Patrick Edwards.