As the war in Iraq continues to evoke divided response to the United States government from the international community, U.S. officials have warned The Bahamas not to attend a special meeting on Iraq because that attendance would be frowned upon.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, who was in Haiti attending a special Organization of American States (OAS) meeting Thursday, confirmed that The United States did make such representations to The Bahamas with regard to participating in such a meeting.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of which The Bahamas is a part has petitioned the president of the general assembly to call a special meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the situation in Iraq.
International reports have said that America is opposed to CARICOM’s participation in the meeting because the U.S.-led war in Iraq would most likely be condemned.
Minister Mitchell said he was not sure when the meeting would take place.
It was also reported that Jamaica and Barbados government officials have confirmed receiving a similar strong warning from the U.S. State Department.
But Minister Mitchell said that the NAM is not a priority for The Bahamas.
He said that The Bahamas did not attend the last NAM Summit, which took place in Malaysia last month.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said, however, that if such a meeting were convened, The Bahamas would be represented at the meeting through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations which is headed by Ambassador Paulette Bethel.
But The Bahamas’ participation will be limited, according to Minister Mitchell.
“Our position is quite neutral on the matter. We won’t vote or participate in any way except to attend and report,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, A. Missouri Sherman-Peter said that The Bahamas’ representatives did attend the NAM meeting but reported that no request to hold a special UNGA meeting was made. Joshua Sears, The Bahamas Ambassador to Washington where the U.S. State Department is based, told the Journal Thursday that such a request by the U.S. government should not be surprising to anyone, although he said he had not heard of the request.
“I would consider it a normal strategy,” Mr. Sears said, “It’s a diplomatic game. If we were in their situation we would probably do the same thing.”
The Bahamas government, along with the rest of CARICOM, in February supported the UN position regarding a military strike against Iraq.
CARICOM leaders agreed on their position at the 14th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Trinidad and Tobago.
CARICOM agreed that UN weapons inspectors should be given more time to complete their work in Iraq.
The opposing Free National Movement, however, sided with the Bush administration on the matter saying, “the United States of America has been and is our most important friend and ally in good times and in bad.”
“We in the FNM believe that THE Bahamas has an historic opportunity to act in its pragmatic and enlightened self-interest and to avoid a painful and lasting scar on a special and vitally important relationship,” the statement said.
“We in the FNM, therefore, abhorring war and accepting conflict only as a last resort, stand with America in its fight against terrorism and in support of the disarmament of Iraq by force, if necessary.”Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy here in Nassau, Brian Bachman, declined to comment in detail on the U.S. warning.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship in a statement on the war issued on Thursday said that his government would continue to work closely with the government of The Bahamas in these “high risk” times “to coordinate security measures and ensure the safety of Bahamians and Americans alike.”
He indicated that U.S. officials had not received any information about specific threats to The Bahamas or to Americans traveling or residing here.
Mr. Blankenship did caution, however, that the war in Iraq “could be longer and more complicated than many expect.”
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
