The nation’s top diplomat said Wednesday that in his opinion, the problems plaguing the processing of the two Cuban dentists recently released after 10 months at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre could have been avoided.
Joshua Sears is the Bahamas’ Ambassador to the United States, and he consulted on what turned into a seemingly contentious matter with American officials in South Florida.
Congressman Connie Mack and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of South Florida had vehemently called for economic sanctions against The Bahamas over the detention of Drs. David Gonzalez and Marialys Darias-Mesa.
“I think clearly in this case, in terms of process, some things could have happened differently which would have avoided this particular problem,” Mr. Sears said.
According to Mr. Sears, The Bahamas did consult with Cuba over the fate of the two dentists, but did not ask Cuba’s permission.
“All I would say is that, as I have said, we have a treaty obligation with Cuba and that treaty requires us to act in a particular way. So clearly, if you want to honour the sanctity of that arrangement one would clearly have to talk with them and that’s what we did,” Mr. Sears said.
“I wouldn’t say (we asked their permission to send the two Cuban dentists to Jamaica), no.”
Mr. Sears would not say how long the consultation between the Bahamas and Cuba took, but said he was sure the Cuban government was satisfied with the outcome of the matter.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, while explaining the matter to the House of Assembly on March 15, thanked Cuba’s Foreign Minister Felipe Roquez, and Cuba’s Ambassador to The Bahamas Felix Wilson, for the Cuban government’s good will and harmony in the matter.
Mr. Sears assured that the ‘exception’ made in favour of the two Cuban dentists who were released to Jamaica instead of shipped back to Cuba will not affect The Bahamas’s future immigration policy.
After being escorted to Kingston by a pair of Bahamian immigration officials, Drs. David Gonzalez and Marialys Darias-Mesa boarded a Florida-bound jet, and were reunited with their families in Ft. Lauderdale.
“The minister was very clear in his communication to Parliament that this is an exception. We don’t expect, nor do we anticipate that we will be expected to do a similar thing,” Mr. Sears said.
“This is a case where we think, certainly from our point of view, it’s an exception, but governments always have to act prudently because we have international obligations.”
In Mr. Sears’ view, the question of the two dentists was a question of maintaining the integrity of a treaty relationship while “respecting the elements of humanitarian consideration.”
While acknowledging the view that the matter ought to have been handled more swiftly, Mr. Sears said that “sometimes due process requires that kind of time.”
He also noted that the government had to consider the question of setting a precedent. He said that once a vehicle (for migration) succeeds, it presents “a tremendous attraction for people to follow.”
Regarding the vehemence of Congressman Mack and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Sears pointed out that the two South Florida representatives have significant numbers of Cuban-Americans in their constituencies.
“And so what you saw being played out by them was (them) acting in response to their constituents’ interests,” he said, adding that the American officials understood “without question” the difficulty The Bahamas faced in releasing the two Cuban dentists.
U. S. Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the top American diplomat, was in the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with foreign ministers from within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In a half-hour closed session with The Bahamas Cabinet, Dr. Rice reportedly thanked The Bahamas for the manner in which the matter of the two dentists was resolved.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
