Caribbean Report 11-04-1994
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Date
1994-04-11
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Volume Title
Publisher
The British Broadcasting Corporation
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Table of Contents
1. Headlines with Carol Orr (00:00-00:28)
2. The timing of Cheddi Jagan’s visit to Columbia has raised questions, although the trip to Columbia was planned since last year. His visit comes one week after Guyana voted with five other countries to support César Gavaria’s bid to become the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). Orin Gordon reports (00:29-03:47)
3. A CARICOM advisor claims the recent Head of government decision on individual countries applying to join the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been misinterpreted. Professor Henry Gill says the statement has been seen as giving the green light to countries. Gill says that is not so since making an application to join NAFTA is premature (03:48-05:48)
4. A study conducted in Trinidad and Tobago by the government sponsored Centre for Ethnic Studies, has concluded there is discrimination in the public and private sectors based on ethnicity and social affiliation. The Centre held a public forum on the findings and recommendations proposed by the Centre. For example, the study finds that East Indians continue to be underrepresented in state jobs. Tony Fraser reports (05:49-07:54)
5. The racial divide in Guyana was the major concern raised at a seminar held in London over the weekend. Academics from the University of Warwick in the Midlands and North London University discussed the history of conflict between individuals of African and East Indian descent in Guyana. Analyst Clem Seecharan, head of the Caribbean Department at the University of North London, views constitutional reform as important in uniting both sides (07:55-09:46)
6. Dr. David Dabydeen from the University of Warwick disagrees with Clem Seecharan’s view of constitutional reform as important measure in uniting the two main ethnic groups in Guyana. He says the Guyanese government cannot consider constitutional reform before dealing with more pressing problems (09:47-10:53)
7. The focus on the political and economic disagreements by people of Afro and Indo Guyanese origin came under criticism from other participants of the seminar. Pauline Melville, who is part Amerindian says the destruction of forests on Amerindian land is largely ignored by the Jagan administration (10:54-11:49)
8. George Simon, an Amerindian and Arawak studying in London said he was not surprised that the land rights of Amerindian people were not addressed (11:50-12:20)
9. In Haiti, the Senate has voted to declare the Presidency seat vacant and the appointment of a Supreme Court Chief Justice as Interim President until new elections are called (12:21-12:46)
10. In Washington, black activists and civil rights leaders are to join protests against the Clinton Administration’s policy on Haitian refugees launched today by the Trans-African Organization, a Washington based lobby organization, which focuses on US policy toward the Caribbean and Africa. Yvette Rowe reports (12:47-13:39)
11. Further criticism of the Clinton Administration Policy on Haiti came from human rights groups over the weekend. Groups have described the Clinton administration’s treatment of Haiti as a human rights disaster (13:40-14:07)
12. Cuba is restricting its tourism industry beginning with the establishment of a Ministry of Tourism. The island attracted over 500,000 visitors in the last year injecting a gross revenue of 700 million dollars (14:08-14:31)
13. Wrap up (14:32-14:33)
2. The timing of Cheddi Jagan’s visit to Columbia has raised questions, although the trip to Columbia was planned since last year. His visit comes one week after Guyana voted with five other countries to support César Gavaria’s bid to become the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). Orin Gordon reports (00:29-03:47)
3. A CARICOM advisor claims the recent Head of government decision on individual countries applying to join the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been misinterpreted. Professor Henry Gill says the statement has been seen as giving the green light to countries. Gill says that is not so since making an application to join NAFTA is premature (03:48-05:48)
4. A study conducted in Trinidad and Tobago by the government sponsored Centre for Ethnic Studies, has concluded there is discrimination in the public and private sectors based on ethnicity and social affiliation. The Centre held a public forum on the findings and recommendations proposed by the Centre. For example, the study finds that East Indians continue to be underrepresented in state jobs. Tony Fraser reports (05:49-07:54)
5. The racial divide in Guyana was the major concern raised at a seminar held in London over the weekend. Academics from the University of Warwick in the Midlands and North London University discussed the history of conflict between individuals of African and East Indian descent in Guyana. Analyst Clem Seecharan, head of the Caribbean Department at the University of North London, views constitutional reform as important in uniting both sides (07:55-09:46)
6. Dr. David Dabydeen from the University of Warwick disagrees with Clem Seecharan’s view of constitutional reform as important measure in uniting the two main ethnic groups in Guyana. He says the Guyanese government cannot consider constitutional reform before dealing with more pressing problems (09:47-10:53)
7. The focus on the political and economic disagreements by people of Afro and Indo Guyanese origin came under criticism from other participants of the seminar. Pauline Melville, who is part Amerindian says the destruction of forests on Amerindian land is largely ignored by the Jagan administration (10:54-11:49)
8. George Simon, an Amerindian and Arawak studying in London said he was not surprised that the land rights of Amerindian people were not addressed (11:50-12:20)
9. In Haiti, the Senate has voted to declare the Presidency seat vacant and the appointment of a Supreme Court Chief Justice as Interim President until new elections are called (12:21-12:46)
10. In Washington, black activists and civil rights leaders are to join protests against the Clinton Administration’s policy on Haitian refugees launched today by the Trans-African Organization, a Washington based lobby organization, which focuses on US policy toward the Caribbean and Africa. Yvette Rowe reports (12:47-13:39)
11. Further criticism of the Clinton Administration Policy on Haiti came from human rights groups over the weekend. Groups have described the Clinton administration’s treatment of Haiti as a human rights disaster (13:40-14:07)
12. Cuba is restricting its tourism industry beginning with the establishment of a Ministry of Tourism. The island attracted over 500,000 visitors in the last year injecting a gross revenue of 700 million dollars (14:08-14:31)
13. Wrap up (14:32-14:33)