It comes as no surprise that several Caricom members – Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and St Kitts and Nevis – will not support the Palestinian bid for statehood. Washington and Tel Aviv have successfully pressured these countries to not vote for a Palestinian state.
These five countries wasted their vote last week in Paris by abstaining during the Palestinian Unesco membership vote. They will also abstain when the Palestinian Statehood vote reaches the United Nations General Assembly soon.
Afraid of Washington, and punishing the victims, who have been living under occupation for over 60 years, Barbados, the Bahamas, St Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Trinidad are on the wrong side of history. Sitting on the fence and not taking a stance does not exonerate these countries from their moral responsibility. They have basically sided with the US and Israel, and no explanation can justify this cowardly stance in supporting the colonizing regime in Israel.
Did these Caricom states support the apartheid regime in South Africa? Every Arab and Muslim nation except the Shah’s Iran supported the Black liberation of South Africa. The leaders of Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad quickly forget history.
Yours faithfully,
Ray Chickrie
Source: Stabroek News
Georgetown, Guyana
