The fact that Haitian opposition officials are resisting a move for parliamentary elections to take place in their country in six months, could lead to bloodshed, further exacerbating the illegal migration problem facing The Bahamas, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.
Mr. Christie made the assessment Wednesday after returning from the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico.
“We have only recently learned en route here to The Bahamas that they [Haitian opposition officials] are not prepared to participate in elections within the next six months and so the situation is headed towards bloodshed,” the prime minister told reporters during a press conference at the Nassau International Airport.
The Bahamas is expected to host a special meeting next week with CARICOM Heads and leaders from Haiti, which is expected to include opposition leaders from that nation.
Regional leaders hope that the opposition will cooperate with the political process in Haiti in an effort to thwart any further instability in the problem-plagued country.
“It is our intention to meet with forces constituting the opposition in Haiti on this occasion,” Mr. Christie said.
Three CARICOM prime ministers, including Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, who presently serves as the CARICOM chair, will attend the meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Nassau on January 20-21.
Officials, say however, that Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide will not attend the meeting.
Mr. Christie pointed out that President Aristide has been cooperating with the demands of the international community, “committing himself to everything that has been required.”
Mr. Aristide announced that he would hold parliamentary elections in Haiti within six months on Tuesday at the Monterrey Summit.
With regard to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), Prime Minister Christie said he believed that the more developed countries seem to be more sympathetic to the needs of developing countries like The Bahamas.
“There seems now to be not only a recognition, but a commitment to making the necessary adjustments to small countries like ours in the region,” Mr. Christie said. “A commitment for significant adjustments suited to or tailored to the stage of development that the particular country is at.”
Mr. Christie also spoke about the joint declaration that The Bahamas made along with other CARICOM countries, the United States and the Dominican Republic to reaffirm a commitment to the Third Border Imitative.
“This is a commitment to regional security which acknowledges that each country in the Caribbean, including the United States, has a responsibility to ensure that its territory is safe and secure not just in the traditional sense of security, but including freedom from poverty, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy,” Mr. Christie said.
Additionally, Mr. Christie pointed out that due to the reality of the region it is important to have the right relationship with the United States.
“That does not mean surrendering our positions as we see them internationally or compromising on our sovereignty,” Mr. Christie said. “It does mean that if we looked at what makes our countries work – the capital inflows – then we will see that there is no escaping the conclusion that the region must necessarily work very closely with the United States of America.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
