T&T: Caricom will be there after

Haiti’s now violent streets will very likely see the presence of T&T soldiers in the next three months, says Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Caricom troops will comprise a stabilisation force that will be the second phase of a United Nations resolution meant to restore peace and order in Haiti.

The first phase authorises a multinational interim force for a maximum of three months. That force is already on the ground in Haiti.

During yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference in Whitehall, Manning said this was one of the decisions Caricom leaders made on Haiti at during two-day meeting in Jamaica that began on Tuesday.

“The Caricom countries have resolved that they will participate in the stabilisation force stage of the emerging events in Haiti,” Manning said.

Asked if this meant some of T&T troops would be deployed in Haiti in the next three months, Manning said: “That’s very likely.”

He said the stabilisation force would also include humanitarian assistance, and Caricom has committed to giving financial aid to Haiti.

The rebels will have laid down their arms by then, so no Caricom soldier has to worry about getting hurt. Nobody wants to see one of their soldiers die ... unless they're U.S. soldiers, of course. Caricom should have put their money where their mouth is and had troops on the ground stabilizing Haiti and defending Aristide, if they were so interested in the constitutional process and the rule of law.