NEW YORK, New York – It is a question some Barbadians are asking ever since it was published that the United States was withholding military aid to Barbados and some of its neighbours because they declined to yield to a request from Washington.
The question is: is Washington being vengeful or is it a matter of the price some Caribbean nations are willing to pay for standing up to Washington?
Whatever the answer, the bottom line, according to New York Newsday, one of Americaﾴs leading suburban newspapers, is that the Bush White House is withholding millions of dollars in military and other assistance from some Caricom countries that range from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago to St Vincent.
Thatﾴs because Caribbean nations have refused to go along with Washingtonﾴs demand that they sign a waiver that would exempt American soldiers and diplomats from a provision of the international convention establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) .
Washington doesnﾴt want Americans to be hauled before the ICC for criminal behaviour, including war crimes committed outside of United States borders, and so it is pressuring countries around the world to sign what is being called Article 98 exemptions.
For instance, Barbados and St Vincent have reportedly forfeited an estimated US$1 million and Trinidad and Tobago about US$450 000 for their decision to stand up for what they consider to be an important principle, which is that no one should be shielded from being held accountable for criminal acts committed on foreign soil.
Other Caribbean countries have either lost funding altogether or Washington is withholding the money.
Dominica is an interesting case. The island, which is in the throes of its worst economic crisis brought on, in part, by Washingtonﾴs attack on the European Unionﾴs banana regime with the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, is yet to see a penny of the (US)$450 000 which President Bush promised to give to the financially beleaguered country. Unlike Barbados, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica agreed to give Americans the Article 98 exemption. But after signing the waiver, the money is still being withheld.
Mary Ellen Gilroy, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Barbados, which covers Dominica and other Eastern Caribbean States, was quoted by Newsday as promising that Dominica ﾓwill get its moneyﾒ, but she acknowledged, ﾓI donﾴt know whenﾒ.
In the meantime, a lack of funds has forced Dominica to tie up its coast guard vessels in Roseau, thus reducing the countryﾴs anti-narcotic efforts that seek, among other things, to curb the flow of illegal South American drugs through the Eastern Caribbean and into the United States.
As of July, Antigua, Belize and Dominica have given in to United States pressure and have signed the waiver.
The Bahamas and Guyana, which supported the ICC at every stage of its creation at the United Nations, may give the United States what it wants.
More than 90 UN mmber-states have agreed to be bound by the convention creating the court,but only 30 have agreed to exempt Americans from prosecution. The upshot: some have seen funds withheld. Ecuador, South Africa, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mali and Malta are on that list.
St Vincentﾴs Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has said his country had to shift money that would have been spent on hurricane relief to keep its coast guard vessels afloat. So instead of helping people repair their homes damaged by Hurricane Ivan, the government diverted the funds into security arrangements after losing $300 000 in United States funds.
ﾓItﾴs been quite a strain on us,ﾒ he told the New York paper. ﾓBut because we need to keep our tourists, I have to protect my borders.ﾒ
A.N.R. Robinson, a former Trinidad and Tobago president and the person who led the drive at the UN for the ICC was harsh in his criticisms of Washingtonﾴs action.
ﾓThe principal superpower, which should guide other nations towards the rule of law, is turning into a bully of the world,ﾒ said the former president.
But why is the United States behaving in this fashion?
State Department officials, White House aides, Justice Department lawyers and United States diplomats in Barbados and elsewhere have said they simply want to protect American soldiers from capricious action by foreign prosecutors, biased judges and haters of America.
ﾓUnaccountable judges, prosecutors, could pull our troops, our diplomats up for trial,ﾒ said President George Bush during the first of three presidential debates.
By Tony Best, http://www.nationnews.com/
