CARICOM AND ITS MANIFEST INCOMPETENCE by Mike Singh

What the present Dominican Republic regime in power is doing to the innocent Haitians born raised there is no different than what was done to the innocent Jews of Europe during the early days of the Third Reich and later on the world witnessed for itself – the dreaded consequences of an unchecked power. Six million Jews perished whilst the world at that time twiddled its thumbs. First it started with the ‘Rape of Austria’ in 1938 (Anschluss) and then the illegal annexation of The Sudetenland also in 1938 (large part of the Czech Republic back then) but which the ‘brolly’ carrying British PM at the time – one Sir Neville Chamberlain referred to as ‘Peace for Our Time’ in his senseless appeasement of Hitler.

In fact, even some parts of Caribbean Region was complicit in its ill treatment of the Jews given the fact that hundreds were detained on an island off the coast of northern Trinidad & Tobago under the most dismal conditions cut off from the rest of society under the guise that there might be German collaborators amongst them which sounds quite insane. In 1939 , the M/S Louis was denied entry into Canada, the US and even Cuba it was reported. Sadly, only 22 were allowed into Cuba and the remaining 915 were forced to return back to Germany where they ended up in  the Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps. It will be instructive that the World Jewish Congress start reparations talks with the Government of Trinidad & Tobago for the detention of Jews during World War II. Time to pay up Trinidad & Tobago. Kotch Magazine.

In the case of the Venezuelan territorial claims of Guyana’s mineral rich Essequibo Region – it be will useful if not instructive if there is ‘real unity’ within CARICOM for Guyana because as we all know national interests are permanent and friends are not. Please do not be surprised if some of these ‘rocks in the ocean’ start cutting some backroom deals with the Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his vile cohorts. It is sad that Guyana remains at the mercy of Venezuela for the sale of its rice under the Petro-Caribe Agreement because sooner or later this can be used as an economic weapon against Guyana should the diplomatic heat against Venezuela gets going.  Guyana must find alternative markets for its rice sooner rather than later. Appeasement is not an option in this matter much like a promise is a comfort to a fool. The late Ronald Reagan once said we must negotiate from a position of strength and the reality is Guyana’s negotiating position is abysmal to put it quite charitably.

The latest in the Petro-Caribe saga is that Venezuela is claiming Guyana owes it US $580 million whilst Guyana is contending that it owes only US$194 million despite the press reports that Venezuela had written off some US $100 million . Could someone summon Sherlock Holmes to bring clarity to this otherwise murky state of affairs?  It is obvious that President Maduro could care less about what CARICOM thinks as he has not turned up at the recent CARICOM Heads of Government jaunt in Barbados but sent an emissary of sorts in the form of his Vice President Jorge Arreza. The best thing Guyana can and must do to safeguard its butt is to join NATO as an observer nation because this will send a chill down the spine of the Venezuelans. It can easily get its former colonial master of the United Kingdom ably supported by fellow NATO members – the US and Canada to support its observer status. Venezuela is armed to the teeth compliments of the rogue states as mainland China and Russia and let us not forget our Jihadist brothers in Iran whom are deeply imbedded in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

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MIKE SINGH

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