Caribbean leaders should place more emphasis on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) instead of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA), said Tillman Thomas, prime minister of Grenada.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Grenadian Consulate in Toronto on Friday, Thomas said that his country only has observer status in ALBA at the moment and he believes that a nation with strong values is more important than money.
ALBA is made up of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador and St Vincent and the Grenadines and was in the news in a Caribbean context recently when leaders of all eight countries reportedly agreed to block any ships flying the Falkland Islands flag from docking in their ports.
At an ALBA summit in Caracas on February 4, participating heads of state and government approved a special agreement to back Argentina’s call for the restoration of the British Overseas Territory claimed by Argentina as Las Malvinas to Argentinean sovereignty.
The three Commonwealth Caribbean members of ALBA later backtracked on the reported agreement.
ALBA itself is perceived by some regional observers to be another attempt by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez to export his particular brand of socialism to the Caribbean and increasingly close ties between Venezuela and Iran have also raised some concerns about subversive and propaganda activity, terror and smuggling in what is often referred to as “America’s backyard.”
When asked about policies and programs in place to halt the problem of increasing crime that is now one of the main challenges threatening economies and livelihoods in Caribbean countries, Thomas expressed support for the Peaceful Caribbean Conference scheduled to be held in Barbados on April 20, which will bring together heads of government, criminologists, clergy, intellectuals and diplomats in order to focus on solutions to combat the ravaging influence of crime in the region.
By Rebecca Theodore
Caribbean News Now contributor
