Caribbean Report 10-06-1993

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1. Headlines (00:00-00:40)
2. The British government is to proceed with the phasing out of its garrison in Belize. Prime Minister, George Price says he has been assured by the British government that his country’s security will not be compromised. Mr. Price has been in London, meeting with British Prime Minister, John Major and Defense Minister, Malcolm Rafkind. Mr. Price visit to London comes in the midst of his campaign for the June 30th general elections. The campaign has been dominated by the future of the British garrison and Guatemala, largely fuel by the opposition’s United Democratic Party. Interview with George Price, Prime Minister of Belize (00:41-05:32)
3. New sanctions against Haiti could be approved by the UN Security Council by next week. It is reported that the US has won the support of key security allies for the use of force against the military regime. The US also plans to freeze the assets of supporters of the regime. Dante Caputo, UN Envoy to Haiti says the force will be parallel to the new sanctions (05:33-06:20)
4. The London based Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) which makes long term loans to developing countries is to lose its funding from the British government. Last year, it provided 175 million pounds to almost 100 commercial enterprises in 32 countries. It is active in eleven Caribbean countries supporting projects such as telephone services in Jamaica, rice production in Guyana and electricity generation in several countries. This year, the Corporation receives 94 million pounds and funds will disappear in 1994. However, present projects will not be affected by the cut in funds (06:21-08:25)
5. A story in the Times says that hoteliers in the region are concerned about the lack of competition on air routes from Britain to the Caribbean. They claimed the disproportionately high British Airways fares make the region an expensive destination and a deterrent for even well-heeled sun seekers. Another concern of the hoteliers is the overbooking of seats on flights. British Airways says its fares are the subject of bilateral agreements between the British and the various governments and that the overbooking of seats was a temporary glitch which is being rectified. Interview with Graham Todd of the Economic Intelligence Unit (08:26-12:27)
6. Britain’s Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) says ethnic minorities are still grossly underrepresented in all areas of British society. The ECRE published its annual report and Guyanese Chairman, Herman Ouseley says although five percent of the British population is made up of ethnic minorities, recruitment in key areas does not reflect this (12:28-14:18)
7. In Portugal, customs officials have seized 170 tons of bananas which were smuggled into the country in vehicles registered abroad. Portugal is protective of banana growers in its mid-Atlantic island of Madeira (14:19-15:02)

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