Dear Editor,
Ever since CARICOM was established 46 years ago the regional body has been accused of not carrying out its functions. From Trinidadian William Demas in 1973 to Dominican Irwin LaRocque in 2019 there have been endless criticisms on the operations of the regional body which was established to work in unison for the 15 members and five associate members. The main grouse is the failure to allow freedom of movement and obtain work permits. The reluctance to carry out decisions is another issue as well as tardiness.
A new complaint is its failure to condemn the coalition government and President David Granger for not upholding the Constitution and the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which is the judicial arm of CARICOM. It is unbelievable that the Georgetown-based organization of which Guyana was one of the four signatories when it was established, would completely ignore a blatant wrongdoing by the coalition government while the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union have issued a joint statement calling for compliance with the CCJ ruling as well as the constitution.
CARICOM’s silence does not augur well since the CCJ is an important arm of CARICOM and it is clear that the Court’s ruling is being ignored. I recall CARICOM through the instrumentality of former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir James Mitchell organized a hurried meeting on the Grenadines island of Mustique where the then President Desmond Hoyte, now deceased, made certain commitments after it was disclosed that the 1985 elections were rigged. The meeting was called after Dominica Prime Minister Eugenia Charles was advocating for Guyana to be kicked out of CARICOM and the headquarters be removed from Georgetown. Mitchell said enough was not being done by CARICOM and the OAS to ensure there was a fair and free election process. So far Sir James has not commented on the current state of affairs in the Republic. Guyanese-born Sir Shridath Ramphal, former Common-wealth Secretary General who was instrumental in the brokering of the Herdmanston Accord which forced the 1997 PPP/C government to reduce its term of office by two years, is also mum on the issue.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet
