St. Lca: Caricom comes to Haiti kicking and screaming

St. Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have agreed to be part of a UN multinational force expected to supervise the restoration of democracy in Haiti .

The Community has indicated that it will not support the present interim Government following the ouster of Former Haiti President Jean Bertrand Aristide. But in this report CARICOM heads may have a change of heart ahead of their heads of government summit in July of this year.

Haiti was among key items being dealt with by the Caricom Heads Bureau at meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. At the opening of the meeting, outgoing Caricom chairman Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson said the regional grouping has a compelling obligation to do whatever it can to restore constitutional democracy and enhance political stability in Haiti as well as economic progress for the people.

Mr Spencer said the region had no choice but to commit troops to the cause. He also said the Haitian people must be educated to respect democratic institutions and systems and must be brought closer to the people of the English speaking Caribbean.

Though it has been agreed that Caricom will be part of the UN sponsored force, a final decision will not be made until the heads of government summit in July. The Caribbean Community has made it clear, it would not accept any government formed in the aftermath of a series of events which led to the ousting of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who went into exile on February 29. Gerald Latortue, a former Haitian Foreign Minister, who was living in exile in Miami , was appointed to lead the interim government.

In true Caricom fashion, instead of being decisive, they've agreed to delay deciding until later. Consider the state Haiti might be in had the U.S. not gone in after Aristide left; consider what might be the plight of Haitians absent American soldiers on the ground. Even in the heat of the crisis, Caricom decided to delay a decision until another date. Nothing that has happened in Haiti has encouraged them to speed up their decision-making process. This level of political paralysis does not augur well for the success of a regional government which is necessary for the success of a Caribbean Court of Justice.