Caribbean Report 04-02-1993

Abstract

Major Trade Unions in Trinidad and Tobago are preparing massive protest against structural adjustment policies being adopted by the PNM government of Prime Minister Patrick Manning, and the government’s decision to defer payment of salary increases to public servants. The unions are also predicting large scale retrenchment as a result of these measures – correspondent Tony Fraser reports on the views of Gordon Draper and Errol McLeod - President General of the OWTU. A naval blockade of Haiti could be the final result of continued stalling of negotiations of the country’s de facto regime. Analysts looking at the Haitian crisis say the United Nations envoy Dante Caputo is being pushed in the direction of the harder options – correspondent David Adams reports. The United States policy towards Cuba seems unlikely to change if members of the congress have anything to do with it. Peter Hakim - Senior Acting President of Inter-American Dialogue made a presentation to the US House Panel on Wednesday to urge reconciliation with a Cuba that is no longer a threat to the US fell on deaf ears. Two Caribbean leaders are scheduled to Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Erskine Sandiford of Barbados to meet with Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore on the occasion of the 44th Annual Prayer Breakfast hosted by the US President. St. Maarten and other Dutch territories in the northern Caribbean can soon have their positions changed to give them greater status in the European Community. Senior Dutch and local government officials are to meet at a meeting chaired by Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers and the Dutch Minister of Aruban and Antillean Affairs Ernst Hirsch Ballin to make the islands of St. Maarten, Saber and St. Eustatius a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, reactions to the proposal in St. Maarten have been mixed. Top Caribbean medical expert Dr. Michael “Mickey” Waldron, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI- Barbados has challenged the projections of the rate of increase of AIDs cases in the region as projected by the Harvard Based Global Aids Coalition. In an interview with correspondent Debbie Ransome, Dr. Waldron says that based on research conducted, there is s strong likely hold of a twenty fold increase of AIDS cases in the region.

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Table of Contents

1. Major Trade Unions in Trinidad and Tobago are preparing massive protest against structural adjustment policies being adopted by the PNM government of Prime Minister Patrick Manning, and the government’s decision to defer payment of salary increases to public servants (00:31-03:02).
2. A naval blockade of Haiti could be the final result of continued stalling of negotiations of the country’s de facto regime (03:03-06:28).
3. The United States policy towards Cuba seems unlikely to change if members of the congress have anything to do with it. Peter Hakim - Senior Acting President of Inter-American Dialogue made a presentation to the US House Panel on Wednesday to urge reconciliation with a Cuba that is no longer a threat to the US fell on deaf ears (06:29 -09:13).
4. Two Caribbean leaders are scheduled to Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Erskine Sandiford of Barbados to meet with Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore on the occasion of the 44th Annual Prayer Breakfast hosted by the US President (09:14-12:07).
5. St. Maarten and other Dutch territories in the northern Caribbean can soon have their positions changed to give them greater status in the European Community (12:08 -12:52).
6. Top Caribbean medical expert Dr. Michael “Mickey” Waldron, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI- Barbados has challenged the projections of the rate of increase of AIDs cases in the region as projected by the Harvard Based Global Aids Coalition (12:53 -14:52).
Headlines with anchor Yvette Roe (00:00-00:30)

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