The Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Joshua Sears on Thursday gave Cuban-American Members of Congress the results of the investigation into the recent events at the Carmichael Road Detention Cente.
But he did not reveal what the results of the investigation are.
Mr. Sears, who was in Nassau this week, told The Journal that he has agreed to meet with the members of Congress – who represent what he termed a “very powerful, very influential constituency in America” – on his return to Washington early next week to hear their response to the report.
“Detention centres are not very popular places around the world,” Mr. Sears said, pointing to the recent UN report blasting the US military’s Guantanamo Bay facility. “I think the issue is ensuring that there are minimum standards of treatment.”
Mr. Sears said the very powerful image of a Cuban-American journalist bleeding after an alleged altercation with a Bahamian Defence Force officer – broadcast by many stations – has brought a renewed focus to discussions with the Cuban-American representatives.
“The perception is that if a member of the press outside the facility could be assaulted, in their (the Cuban-American congresspersons’) thinking, we have to be concerned with what is transpiring within the facility,” he explained.
Mr. Sears said the members of Congress understood that there would always be dissatisfaction in the Cuban-American community because The Bahamas can never allow uncontrolled migration through its borders.
“By and large the Cuban-American community will never be satisfied because we (The Bahamas) cannot fulfill what they consider one of their basic interests, which is allowing persons to stay or to facilitate their onward travel to the United States if they don’t qualify,” he said.
The tension between Florida’s Cuban-American population and The Bahamas was also high among the concerns the congresspersons expressed, especially considering the tremendous amount of trade between Florida and The Bahamas.
Mr. Sears said that while he understands the frustration of Cuban-Americans whose family members make it as far as The Bahamas before being repatriated, he insisted that neither Cuba nor America would allow uncontrolled migration either.
Mr. Sears also told the Journal that America is not overly concerned with The Bahamas’ relationship with Cuba. This country’s top diplomat to America said that while Bahamians may perceive the country’s relationship with America as endangered through trade and other relations with Cuba, this is not necessarily so.
“The United States has no interest in determining which countries The Bahamas has relations with, but clearly there are issues which the United States would have an interest in which impact our relationship with the United States and with Cuba,” he said.
Regarding US Ambassador John Rood’s recent remarks concerning The Bahamas’ human rights record, Mr. Sears said that Mr. Rood’s statements are a representation of his government’s position.
He said he had received a call from the US State Department asking for The Bahamas’ support on the vote to which Mr. Rood referred. Mr. Sears that such votes occasionally have “sensitive parts” which led The Bahamas to abstain, but he thinks The Bahamas and America are “at one on this issue (of human rights).”
“It’s part of diplomacy,” he said. “I don’t think one ought to attribute more to it than that.”
Mr. Sears also said it’s a bit early to tell whether The Bahamas’ diplomatic relations with Haiti will be normalized after the election of Rene Preval as president of Haiti.
The ambassador did, however, tell the Journal that he is “hopeful.”
“That he is a known quantity, to a great extent, having been president of Haiti and having associated his country with the Caribbean Community does give us hope as well,” Mr. Sears said.
The ambassador pointed out that President-elect Preval was the Haitian leader who actually made application to CARICOM to join the community in Montego Bay.
Mr. Sears echoed recent statements by Prime Minister Perry Christie that once Mr. Preval is inaugurated and has designed a strategic plan, The Bahamas would support Haiti’s reentry into CARICOM.
“That means supporting Haiti internationally, as we have always done historically; in the United Nations, in the International Development Bank, and in the European Union where we all work together to ensure that Haiti has that kind of support which [it] actually needs to help [it] build and strengthen [its] institutions,” the ambassador said.
Mr. Sears said the CARICOM’s tradition of parliamentary democracy seems to be important to Haitian diplomats he has spoken to. He said there are several avenues through which The Bahamas can support Haiti in its aspirations.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
