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DECEMBER 14TH-DECEMBER 21ST, 2013
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
CARIBBEAN NEWS
Protest in Haiti condemn Dominican court decision on citizenship question H
undreds of protesters gathered Friday to criticize a recent court decision in the Dominican Republic that could strip the citizenship of generations of people of Haitian descent living in the neighboring country. The crowd peaked at about 2,000 people but thinned out during the march uphill to the Dominican Embassy to protest the decision passed two months ago by that country’s court. The demonstrators urged people to boycott travel to the Dominican Republic. Riot police set up metal barricades on a major thoroughfare that block protesters from reaching the district where the diplomatic mission is located. The ruling has been met with sharp objection, from Caribbean leaders to the United Nations. On Friday, the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights became the latest international entity to oppose the court decision, calling on the Dominican government to take urgent measures to guarantee the rights of those people affected. Advocacy groups estimate 200,000 people, many of them of Haitian descent, could lose their Dominican citizenship because of the court ruling. Dominican officials say only about 24,000 would be affected. Haitian officials have said little about the matter. President Michel Martelly has called it a “Dominican issue” and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe posted on Facebook that a lot “is being done to solve the problem.” The lack of a robust response from the Haitian government was cited as one reason for the protest, which started out to oppose the Dominican court
ruling, then turned into an anti-government demonstration. Protesters carried a white wooden coffin spray-painted with the slogan “Down with Martelly,” then later burned it. Friday’s march is the latest of recent protests in Haiti, many of them critical of Martelly’s government. A few have turned violent, with anti-government demonstrators last week burning tires outside the U.S. Embassy as they pressed for the departure of Martelly, accusing the U.S. of interfering in Haiti’s domestic politics. Haiti and the Dominican Republic have long had a volatile relationship as neighbors on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. But the Dominican Republic put aside such differences and was among the first responders after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.
Higher economic growth predicted for the Caribbean in 2014 S ANTIAGO, Chile- The Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is predicting that the Caribbean will experience a recovery and post a 2.1 per cent economic growth next year after recording a 1.3 per cent growth in 2013. ECLAC said the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean will expand by 3.2 per cent, on average, in 2014, higher than the 2.6 per cent predicted for 2013. In it new report titled “Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2013,” ECLAC said that “less buoyant external demand, greater international financial volatility and falling consumption” were the factors determining the more modest economic performance of countries in 2013. “The next year is expected to see a moderately more favourable exter-
nal environment help boost external demand, and, in turn, the region’s exports,” ECLAC said, adding “private consumption will also continue to grow, although more slowly than in previous periods”. The UN body said that, in the meantime, increasing investment in the region “remains a challenge. “The world economic situation in 2014 provides opportunities and threats for Latin America and the Caribbean,” said ECLAC executive secretary Alicia Bárcena, who presented the report. “Opportunities include increased international trade and the possibility of harnessing currency depreciations to ensure sustained changes in relative prices,” she said. “This, along with industrial policies to support growth, boost regional integration and help small and me-
ST VINCENT PM SPEAKS OUT AGAINST SANITISATION OF MANDELA’S STORY
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INGSTOWN, St Vincent- Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has spoken out against the “sanitisation” of Nelson Mandela’s story, saying the allies of the former South African President, who died last week, included left wing countries, such as the former Soviet Union, Cuba, and Libya. “The ANC (African National Congress), in order to respond to the racist repression, had to up its game, in terms of its military operations. And in that regard, it received assistance from the then Soviet Union, from someone who is almost universally reviled, Moammar Gadhafi, in Libya, and someone in the western press who is demonized, Fidel Castro,” Gonsalves told Parliament while paying tribute to Mandela. Mandela, 95, who spent 27 years in prison for his fight for freedom and equality for all South Africans, and resorted to peace and reconciliation after his release, will be buried on Sunday. An official memorial service was held on Tuesday attended by world leaders and his body is now lying in state ahead of the private burial. “We cannot sanitize the history, because if we do so, we will be doing a disservice to Mandela and his ideals,” Gonsalves told leguislators. He noted that Mandela himself had said that his cell door was opened principally by a massive defeat suffered by the South African Army at the famous Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, at the hands of the joint
St. Vincent Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves forces of the Cuban Armed Force, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, and ANC patriots, who fought to defend Angolan independence. Gonsalves said that was why when Mandela was released from prison, among the places he visited were the former Soviet Union, Libya and Cuba. “And when asked by certain right-wing American journalists why he was going to those places, he said in our epic struggle against Apartheid, they were my friends and I am loyal and I am grateful … to those who have helped us,” Gonsalves said. “So that, Mr. Speaker, the notion that is spread by some that a few members of the Apartheid regime had a Damascus like conversion and with the support of construc-
dium-sized enterprises ? could help to increase investment in diversifying production in tradable goods and to reduce the region’s structural heterogeneity,” Bárcena said, noting the threats facing the region include ongoing volatility in the global economy and higher external financing costs, as well as a smaller contribution by consumption to gross domestic product (GDP) growth and a worsening regional current account. According to the report, regional growth in 2014 would be led by Panama followed by Panama and that the main challenge facing Latin American and Caribbean governments would be to “drive through social covenants for investment to boost productivity and growth with equality. “These social covenants must have an institutional framework that provides certainty and clear rules, short-
tive engagement that that is what brought about the end of Apartheid, history will show that that is not so. “And we must speak the truth, because our children and the young people may get a view that Nelson Mandela is just a dignified man who suffered and who is being embraced by celebrity — a sort of Oprah Winfrey. That is not Nelson Mandela,” Gonsalves said. He said the other matter “which we must not forget is that Mandela was so convinced of supporting all tendencies towards liberation, it did not matter him the ideological colouration of his allies. “Those who supported him in freedom and democracy, he went with them,” Gonsalves said, adding that’s why Mandela made important strategic alliances with the South African Communist Party. Gonsalves said commanders in the military wing of the ANC were members of the South American Communist Party. “We have to remember those who were with him. … but we must not also in honour of Mandela forget person who are not black Africans in South Africa who gave their lives in the struggle…. “Mr. Speaker, we should make an effort in the process from now on, to educate our people more, especially our young people about Mandela, his principles, his time, his work, to lift our understanding and consciousness for the present and for the future, because, of all time, only the future is ours to desecrate. We must try not to desecrate it,” Gonsalves told Parliament.
term policies to provide nominal and real stability and long-term policies that encourage more diverse investment in tradable goods sectors.” ECLAC said in 2013, consumption made a smaller contribution to regional growth because of a slowdown in the wage bill and credit. “The slightly higher contribution by investment and the smaller negative impact of net exports failed to offset reduced consumer buoyancy,” it said. In terms of the labour market, ECLAC said the unemployment rate remained “more or less stable,” going from 6.4 per cent in 2012 to 6.3 per cent this year. ECLAC said this dip was caused by a “lower overall labour participation rate,” adding that inflation remained below five per cent in most of the countries
NEW WORLD BANK STUDY SAYS DIASPORA COULD PLAY LARGER ROLE IN CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT
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ASHINGTON- A new study by the Washington-based World Bank says the diaspora could play an even larger role in contributing to the Caribbean’s development with the “right incentives and policies”. The study titled “Diaspora Investing: The Business and Investment Interests of the Caribbean abroad” was conducted by infoDev, a global innovation programme at the World Bank. The international financial institution said the assessment brought together knowledge and data gathered from over 850 self-identified members of the Caribbean Diaspora, and sheds light on their characteristics and investment interests. It said the Caribbean Diaspora was already “significantly engaged in the region,” with some 70 per cent being formal or informally affiliated to organizations in their home countries. The Word Bank said half of those surveyed send remittances and 85 per cent give back to the Caribbean either through financial help, or other support in kind. Moreover, it said nine out of 10 would like to be even more engaged in the future, potentially as investors. “With nearly one Diaspora member living in North America or Europe for every resident still in the region, this ability to engage represents a significant untapped potential,” the World Bank said. “There is also a growing community of angel investors among the Diaspora that are already actively involved both where they live and back home,” it said, adding that about 23 per cent of respondents have already invested in a start-up company of some sort in the Caribbean region. Looking forward, the World Bank said investors have expressed strong interest in financing sectors, with high development potential for the region, such as green energy, mobile applications, education, and agribusiness. But the bank said challenges remain, stating that the gap between real engagement and expressed interest “remains significant”.