Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders will resume their talks on the Haiti situation today, but it appeared last night that they were attempting to fashion a response to the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in concert with South Africa, the world's most powerful black nation....
News Source: Jamaica Observer
Likely to coordinate response with Mbeki
Patterson apart, the other leaders at the summit are: Owen Arthur, prime minister of Barbados; President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana; Prime Minister Perry Christie of The Bahamas; Dr Kenny Anthony, prime minister of St Lucia; and Patrick Manning, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
There would be further talks with Mbeki after the Caricom leaders conclude their summit, Patterson said, although he did not say precisely when or what form the follow-up discussions would take.
Although Patterson offered no details of the nature of the discussion with Mbeki, it was being surmised last night that the South Africans were being asked not only to provide an exile home for Aristide, but to make common cause with Caricom in responding to what regional leaders stopped just short of branding as a coup d'etat against Haiti's elected leader.
"The Caricom countries are all very small, relatively weak countries although they have numbers and substantial voice," explained one analyst last night. "South Africa, on the other hand, is Africa's leader, a relatively significant power and one which, with Caricom, can help to make effective representations about the developments in Haiti. Indeed, if Mbeki is on board in a joint response with Caricom, it would not be surprising if Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo is also brought into the mix."
Full Story: Caricom draws South Africa into the loop
