Caribbean Report 27-05-1993
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Date
1993-05-27
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The British Broadcasting Corporation
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Table of Contents
1. Headlines (00:00-00:37)
2. Officials of the Brussels’ Secretariat of the ACP group of countries called an emergency session to discuss a ruling by GATT against the current EC banana regime. Carl Greenidge, a former Guyanese Finance Minister and Deputy Secretary of ACP who was at the meeting spoke on the implications of the ruling on member countries (00:38-03:24)
3. UN envoy to Haiti, Dante Caputo has called for tougher sanctions including an oil embargo against the de facto government in that country. Mr. Caputo was also bitterly critical of the objections by the authorities in Haiti of his latest plan of deploying a large international police force which will smooth the return to democracy. Jon Leyne reports (03:25-05:34)
4. In a BBC television documentary, the Privy Council and its role in the region’s judicial system was the subject of discussion. With Trinidad and Jamaica about to resume hangings, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will have to deal with an unprecedented number of life and death decisions. Lord Justice Scott indicated that it is not easy for them to be aware of the sensitive perception of societal needs in some countries whose special customs they are totally unfamiliar. Lionel Jones, former Trinidad and Tobago High Court judge agrees with Lord Justice Scott. However, Ramesh Maharaj, a Trinidad and Tobago lawyer recognized the importance of the Privy Council as detached and which give decisions according to law and not sway by emotions or how a particular society will react to decisions. British QC, Geoffrey Robertson who practiced in the Caribbean makes a case for retaining the Privy Council. Gregory Delzin, another Trinidad and Tobago lawyer supported the role of the Privy Council and was reluctant in the support for a Caribbean Court of Appeal. British lawyer, Bernard Simms advocated that with Trinidad and Jamaica about to resume hangings, the scope of the Privy Council should be widened and the composition of the court be expanded (05:35-09:38)
5. On the question of how close is the Caribbean to creating its own independent Court of Appeal, Brent Pollard, Legal Advisor to the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana says that governments are committed to creating the court but will have to resolve issues of consultation with the legal fraternity in Trinidad and the passage of legislations and a referendum in the OECS countries (09:39-11:47)
6. The prospects of the Caribbean under NAFTA may be bleak for some products. Bennett Marsh, Director of Trade Policy with Caribbean and Central America Action in addressing regional businesses indicated that the region already has a comparative advantage in some areas which should be exploited more vigorously (11:48-13:55)
7. Cuba is appealing for international help to combat a mysterious nervous disease that has afflicted more than 30,000 people. The government says more than US4 million in assistance is needed in the next year to combat the disease. Cuba’s Deputy Health Minister, Julian Alvarez says that foreign scientists still have not pinpointed the epidemic and its cause (13:56-15:04)
2. Officials of the Brussels’ Secretariat of the ACP group of countries called an emergency session to discuss a ruling by GATT against the current EC banana regime. Carl Greenidge, a former Guyanese Finance Minister and Deputy Secretary of ACP who was at the meeting spoke on the implications of the ruling on member countries (00:38-03:24)
3. UN envoy to Haiti, Dante Caputo has called for tougher sanctions including an oil embargo against the de facto government in that country. Mr. Caputo was also bitterly critical of the objections by the authorities in Haiti of his latest plan of deploying a large international police force which will smooth the return to democracy. Jon Leyne reports (03:25-05:34)
4. In a BBC television documentary, the Privy Council and its role in the region’s judicial system was the subject of discussion. With Trinidad and Jamaica about to resume hangings, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will have to deal with an unprecedented number of life and death decisions. Lord Justice Scott indicated that it is not easy for them to be aware of the sensitive perception of societal needs in some countries whose special customs they are totally unfamiliar. Lionel Jones, former Trinidad and Tobago High Court judge agrees with Lord Justice Scott. However, Ramesh Maharaj, a Trinidad and Tobago lawyer recognized the importance of the Privy Council as detached and which give decisions according to law and not sway by emotions or how a particular society will react to decisions. British QC, Geoffrey Robertson who practiced in the Caribbean makes a case for retaining the Privy Council. Gregory Delzin, another Trinidad and Tobago lawyer supported the role of the Privy Council and was reluctant in the support for a Caribbean Court of Appeal. British lawyer, Bernard Simms advocated that with Trinidad and Jamaica about to resume hangings, the scope of the Privy Council should be widened and the composition of the court be expanded (05:35-09:38)
5. On the question of how close is the Caribbean to creating its own independent Court of Appeal, Brent Pollard, Legal Advisor to the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana says that governments are committed to creating the court but will have to resolve issues of consultation with the legal fraternity in Trinidad and the passage of legislations and a referendum in the OECS countries (09:39-11:47)
6. The prospects of the Caribbean under NAFTA may be bleak for some products. Bennett Marsh, Director of Trade Policy with Caribbean and Central America Action in addressing regional businesses indicated that the region already has a comparative advantage in some areas which should be exploited more vigorously (11:48-13:55)
7. Cuba is appealing for international help to combat a mysterious nervous disease that has afflicted more than 30,000 people. The government says more than US4 million in assistance is needed in the next year to combat the disease. Cuba’s Deputy Health Minister, Julian Alvarez says that foreign scientists still have not pinpointed the epidemic and its cause (13:56-15:04)