THE EDITOR: The traditional difficulties hitherto demonstrated by our Honourable PM Manning to respond to and effectively preside over the challenging daily vagaries of our domestic affairs with due confidence and sagacity encroached on the conduct of our sub-regional foreign relations at the recently concluded 14th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the HOG Conference. In all honesty I felt that TT’s Caricom standing/image was unnecessarily tarnished from careless diplomacy, lack of pre-planning consultations, premature tabling of the issue of political unification on the agenda and regrettably by a voluminous UWI non-paper.

Was there not clear, unambiguous evidence since the recent Cuban visit that PM Patterson of Jamaica was not interested in any discussions on Caribbean political unification? After all the CSME, the precursor to political unification was not expected to come into force and effect until 2005. Time was not of the essence. The minimum one expected from the GORTT was the conduct of the necessary round-robin consultations to determine the political feasibility of tabling the issue and not imposing a fait accompli. Or was PM Manning using the expected negative Caricom riposte on political unification to justify and accelerate his planned, almost obsessive mini-Federation with St Vincent or “any other Caricom state” for which he has no mandate hitherto to prosecute from Trinbagonians. What are the benefits of graduating from economic integration (CSME) to political unification (Caribbean Union) surrounded by a disintegrative Caribbean Sea? One needs to conduct a sociology of the Caribbean Sea.

As a Trini to the bone I was palpably embarrassed seeing the TV images of two senior Caricom Prime Ministers, notably Patterson and Arthur, scheduling their own media conference and making patently undiplomatic and uncomplimentary remarks on TT’s virtual non-proposal for political unification (the notorious UWI Non-Paper). PM Manning and his advisers must appreciate their imperative to take pre-emptive action to insulate and safeguard Trinbagonians from exposure to Caricomesse and insults. To hear PM Patterson describe TT’s political unification proposal as a “… no ball” from which he was not going to be caught out was undiplomatic posturing. What was worse was hearing PM Arthur of Barbados impute that the unification initiative was a “… song that has an enchanting melody but no lyrics”. No opportunity should have been given for these Prime Ministers to borrow imageries drawn from two areas of national successes to lambaste us while enjoying our diplomatic hospitality.

Are we not in a Carnival season witnessing a rich harvest of soca/chutney in which both sweet melodies and lyrics are in full flight? Have not Ganga’s men peaked without no balls with two successive outright victories? In a very sarcastic vein PM Patterson found the Manning’s unification proposal such a compelling beneficial move for Caricom that he was willing to act as a facilitator/vector but not as a participant. For Jamaica a “community of sovereign states” (CSME) was its integration limit. In fact I concluded that PM’s Arthur and Patterson were trying to outdo each other in their common agenda to denigrate the Manning Initiative III. Is there more in the Caricom mortar than the pestle?

STEPHEN KANGAL Caroni

THE EDITOR: I have experienced the sugar cane fields and the factory operations. I have had the privilege to meet those who endured the trials of the eleven to seven shift, those who burned in scorching sun, and soaked in drenching rain.

Those who entered the fields at 4 am, and breathed soot and dust for the sake of sugar. These people were motivated by the challenge of the task, the job to be done, not by the pittance they were paid. But hard work and commitment do not by themselves guarantee profitability, so the industry entered decline more than twenty years ago. Restructuring has been long overdue, but it must be done in a fair manner, free from political expediency and graft. Otherwise we will be taking a large slice of TT back to the bush, creating ghettos where canes once grew. The workers do not trust the PNM to treat them fairly. They have instead their own apostle, the one who promised them a better quality of life once they gave him power.

They struggled for many years, until with sugar workers’ support he was hoisted into government. The workers had reasonable expectations that he would place their issues and concerns at the top of his agenda. Instead he migrated into the bosom of the once hated parasitic oligarchy, fitting easily into their social world. His working class supporters had to peer through the hedges like uninvited guests, while the big boys amused themselves with Miss Universe shows, international christenings and golf. The plight of the Caroni workers was easily forgotten in the comical quest to lure support in the East/West corridor. Now these children of the cane are utterly without direction or sound counsel. All they can hear are rantings about civil disobedience and protests.

This is the time for sugar workers to open their eyes and seek better counsel in this their hour of greatest need. I exhort them to engage the assistance of reputable economists, sociologists, and attorneys, to represent their interests to ensure that they can make the transition to a life out of the dying sugar industry. Forget the man who betrayed you while he was in power.

DAVID  SUBRAN Chaguanas

THE EDITOR: Whether the government’s decision to cut back on the work force of Caroni Limited is politically or economically motivated is of little consequence.

However, whatever this government’s motivation to further displace 10,000 more of the nation’s workforce, there can be no justification for it at this time in our country’s history. If the government’s motivation is political, then it is the most diabolical politics played by the PNM to date. If it is economical, then it further emphasises the lack of imagination and intelligence to deal with the issues that face the people and economy of this blessed land. I must admit that I am not intimately familiar with the problems that surround Caroni and I am uncertain as to its current ability to service the $3billion debt constantly advertised by the PNM.

However, I do know this: UWI has a premier faculty of agriculture in St Augustine. It was, I understand, the very first faculty set up by Imperial College of London here in the West Indies and was the forerunner to the UWI itself. Students from all around the world attend this facility and take the latest farming technology back to their respective countries. Why then doesn’t the government turn to this facility for a viable solution to the sugar cane crisis? With the requisite will power, I feel quite certain that they could devise a way to produce a more economical crop that would yield greater returns. In the interim there is nothing seriously wrong with government subsidising the production of sugar in Trinidad and Tobago.

The USA subsidises its farmers as do other governments around the world. It is not like the farmers are on the job two hours a day accomplishing little or nothing. Whilst on this topic, I should also like the government to consider subsidising the farmers in other areas of the country such as Paramin.  These farmers have the potential of providing a substantial chunk of the food we consume, but they are seeing hard times for a variety of reasons, which should be investigated. As the USA takes the world to the brink of another war, it would be prudent to address the issue of self-sufficiency, instead of aiming to increase our dependency on foreign markets for food.

The retrenchment of 10,000 farmers at Caroni conservatively translates to the hardship of approximately 70,000 persons. Thus further deteriorating the delicate social fabric that now exist. All for short term gain. Government officials cannot continue to run our country in such a short-sighted manner. They shouldn’t be allowed to. It should also be noted that a company with a $3 billion debt says nothing in itself. Some of the largest conglomerates in this country and the world operate with huge amounts of debt, it is the basis of trade financing. What we must hear from the government is the projected income and expenses of Caroni and the value of its assets.  We must also hear what reasonable steps it intends to take to protect the jobs and livelihoods that depend on these jobs. Selling out lands directly or indirectly vested with the State wily nilly is unacceptable.  As citizens, we are all shareholders in any venue funded by the government and so the government must properly report to us the citizens. I await your report.

GARVIN  NICHOLAS Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: As regards the threat to invade Iraq, the more I listen to Bush, Blair, Powell, Straw and the rest of the gang, the more I am reminded of the Nazi German/Fascist Italian assault on the rest of Europe circa 1939.

The big difference here is that a lot of the European countries could to some extent defend themselves. The Iraqis are almost defenceless as they possess a lot of outdated weaponry. The American/British way (invade no matter what) is the way of the cowardly jackal attacking the wounded prey.

If a war does take place and thousands of Iraqis are massacred in the process, who is going to summon Bush, Blair and others before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be tried as war criminals just as the Nazis were tried at Nuremberg and then executed. It is for this reason that I consider the International Criminal Court an utter and complete waste of time and an affront to International Law. Just suppose that our Government decided to join the Bush/Blair coalition and send members of our Regiment to Baghdad, and just imagine that a member of our regiment in company with an American soldier, whether by inadvertence or not, shot and killed a few Iraqi children. Our soldier could be brought before the ICC and if convicted spend a long, long time in prison. The American soldier is immune from prosecution by the ICC Prosecutors. He goes scot free. If this isn’t farcical, ludicrous and hypocritical then I don’t know what is.

It is this kind of two faced American (and now British) approach to world affairs that has spawned such a widespread opposition to the invasion of Iraq, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, where we are too preoccupied with playing mas and playing the ass to give a damn. Of course, if there is a war then the price of oil will escalate but for us that benefit would be nothing short of blood money – the blood of thousands of Iraqis especially the children. But does that bother us? Now, if drug money helps finance our building boom and business expansion, why not blood money? Karma or fate has a way of dealing with such situations.

M  HOTIN St  James

THE EDITOR: When the general looked at the dead men on the battlefield, he noticed that many dead bodies together indicated an artillery shell, and individual bodies spaced somewhat apart, were the result of rifle fire. From this information he deduced where the enemy’s artillery was located, and where there was infantry skirmishes.

When we look out at history’s different problems, we can deduce the forces that undermine ethical structures. Murder and robbery are the result of an individual’s lack of ethical structure, but when thousands of people are killed it is the result of a government’s or religion’s, lack of ethical structure. The state of Illinois in the United States of America is a good example. The last two governors of one party were put in jail for taking bribes. Now for twenty years the government has been run by the other party. No one takes bribes because campaign contributions are a part of the representative’s legitimate income.
This, to some extent, is the way it is around the world. Corruption is deep in the system. Perhaps, we can look at the world like a doctor looks at a sick patient.

If the corruption in the body is incompatible with life, the body will die. An international ethical structure might determine if the corruption in a particular nation is incompatible with the survival of the earth, and if so, take measures to correct it. At present we have Iraq, North Korea, and the United States of America. Do any of these countries exhibit corruption that is incompatible with the survival of the earth?

ROBERT W CARLSON
PO Box 5778, Elgin