In an exclusive article in today’s Guardian, Ambassador Rood said he believes the two nations have moved toward a trend of disagreement on the diplomatic front, despite conceding crucial areas of success, such as cooperation in fighting drug trafficking.
“While we recognise that Bahamian and U.S. interests are not always the same, and that on many issues friends can disagree, I nevertheless believe the downward trend in the commonality of our perceptions on important international issues points to a trend that deserves more of my attention in coming years,” he said in his regular monthly column. “It simply should not be that such good friends, who share so many of the same values, cannot find common ground in addressing human rights violations, seeking peace in the Middle East, and promoting global prosperity,” he added.
The American. envoy highlighted the Bahamian government’s “failure” to condemn Iran and Sudan for human rights abuses and its support for Cuba on the United Nation’s Human Rights Council as examples of increasingly divergent views on diplomatic matters.
Ambassador Rood pointed to recent cooperation between the countries on .security, fire safety, trade, tourism, crime fighting, aviation and environmental protection. “For that I am both extremely proud of my first two years here and grateful to The Bahamian Government for its cooperation and open communication,” he said.
However, the Ambassador added: “But as in any close relationship, I also see areas where I believe we can and should be doing more and cooperating more closely in the coming years. For example, in the United Nations, the strong bilateral friendships we enjoy is not always reflected in common approaches to major international challenges.”
Ambassador Rood noted that the U.S. State Department, in its 2005 report to Congress, found The Bahamas and the United States had agreed only 11.9 per cent of the time during individual voting in the United Nations (UN). This, he said, was down from 39 per cent agreement in 2000.
On human rights issues involving countries such as Sudan, Iran, and Cuba, he revealed The Bahamas government’s position was compatible with Washington’s only 16.7 per cent of the time, down from 44 per cent in 2000.
As for “commonality” with the U.S. on individual voting at the UN, Mr Rood said The Bahamas ranks 29th of the 33 nations in the Western Hemisphere, down from 16th in 2000, and was only more compatible than Cuba, Venezuela, Dominica and Saint Lucia.
The Christie administration faced heavy criticism in May after it was reported to have voted in favour of Cuba – the country is the hemisphere’s only communist state and is frequently criticised for human right’s violations – becoming a member of the UN Human Rights Council. The council replaced the UN Human Rights Commission.
Meanwhile, last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell officially opened the Bahamian Embassy in the Havana, Cuba.
The minister has frequently had to defend the Christie administration against charges that it was becoming too close to Cuba, at the risk of weakening ties with Washington. Attempts to reach Mr Mitchell yesterday were unsuccessful. A member of his staff said he was in Jamaica with Prime Minister Perry Christie who attended the commencement exercise of the Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville.
By: Raymond Kongwa, Nassau Guardian
