Another call has been made for the restoration of the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution.
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Sir Edwin Carrington, on Friday called on the United Kingdom, through its newly accredited Plen-i-po-ten-ti-ary Representative, Paul Brummell, to restore constitutional government in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Speaking at the Georgetown, Guyana Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, Carrington said that the Community saw the UKs imposition of indefinite direct rule in its associate member country as being totally at odds with the development of good governance, including improved fiscal and administrative management, in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
CARICOM contends that those objectives of Her Majestys Government cannot be met by the continued effective dis-enfranchisement of the Turks and Caicos Islanders or by the denial of their in-alien-able right to shape their own future, he said.
For this reason, Mr. Carrington said that CARICOM looked forward to the restoration by the UKs new administration of the islanders full franchise.
The Secretary-General noted that CARICOM and the UK had benefited over the years, from frank and open dialogue and had co-operated constructively in defense of common values such as good governance, democracy; respect for the rule of law and for the basic, in-alienable rights of all peoples.
We must strive to remain guardians of these all too fragile and important tenets of modern civilization. It is in all of our interests, Mr. Carrington said.
The CARICOM secretary-general said that the 7th meeting of the CARICOM-UK Forum due to be held in 2011 in Grenada, the first meeting between CARICOM foreign ministers and the new foreign secretary of the UK, William Hague, should be a most fruitful opportunity for the strengthening of UK-Caribbean relations.
