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Caribbean News |
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 Caribbean
Headline News.....
Printed Thursday, February 21,
2008
Castro Praised By
Neighbors
Caribbean governments
have been paying tribute to Fidel Castro, who has announced
his retirement as Cuban leader. Jamaica's foreign
minister Kenneth Baugh praised Mr. Castro's achievements,
particularly in social services, education and health care.
The prime minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell said that by
choosing to resign, Mr. Castro had put the Cuban people
first. He is expected to be replaced by younger
brother Raul, who has been acting as president since Fidel
Castro took ill nineteen months ago. Fidel Castro was one of
the defining figures of the Cold War. He was then - and
still is - loathed by the United States but revered by his
allies, some of them in the Caribbean. St Vincent and the
Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has described Mr.
Castro as one of the towering political figures of the 20th
century. He said Mr. Castro helped Cuba move forward in a
number of areas such as agriculture, education and
health. Dr Gonsalves does not expect any ‘upheavals’
in Cuba post-Castro. The governments of Jamaica, Barbados
and Trinidad and Tobago have also paid tribute to the Cuban
leader, citing their longstanding individual country
relations and ties with the wider Caricom. The European
Union said it hoped to relaunch ties with Cuba that were
almost completely frozen under Mr. Castro. The US President,
George W Bush, said news of Mr. Castro's retirement should
herald a transition to democracy for Cuba.
 No
Tourists In Town For St. Kitts - Another Cruise Ship Turned
Away
The absence of a tugboat has once again,
caused the St. Kitts Port Authority to lose approximately
$60,000 after another cruise ship which was scheduled to
call at Port Zante on the morning of Monday, February 18th,
turned back without even an attempt at berthing. The
Crown Princess, a ship with a capacity of over 3,100, had to
“turn back” and disappointed shop and tour operators alike,
have stated that the tugboat is now a necessary vessel in a
country depending heavily on cruise tourism. With
winds at approximately 35 knots the captain of the ship
considered it dangerous to come alongside the pier without
the assistance of a tugboat. Alphonso
‘Big One’ Martin, a taxi driver, said he has been talking
about a tug boat for the last five years and now St. Kitts
has lost over half a million US dollars in one day because
of the lack of a tug. Another taxi
driver
pointed the finger to Prime Minister
Denzil Douglas saying that although the PM says he is a
caring minister, no one knows where he has been for the last
month or so. And the taxi driver added that though the
prime minister said that tourism is the main industry, to
date he has not seen anything from him proving that he is
serious about making tourism the major income earner.
 School
Violence In Jamaica Must Be Reported
In Jamaica, Education Minster Andrew
Holness said schools must start reporting violent incidents
to the police so they can be dealt with as criminal acts.
Referring to reports that a parent tried to assault a
teacher at the Ocho Rios High School in St Ann recently, the
Minister said all instances of disruption due to violence
must be reported to the police as a matter of course.
He said a new reporting system had been established at the
Ministry to record these reports so they can be dealt with
under the law. He added that he had asked the
Commissioner of Police to intervene in the case at the Ocho
Rios High School with a view to arresting and prosecuting
offenders. In the meantime, Mr. Holness said his
Ministerial team had also worked out policy guidelines
regarding access to school premises by the general public.
This controlled access will mean mandatory erection of
security fencing at schools. As part of the Ministry's
crack-down on the growing trend of violence Mr. Holness
noted that a new safety and security procedures manual was
being printed.
One Held In Bartica, Guyana, Killings
In Guyana, Police have
arrested one man in connection with last weekend's massacre in
the south-western gold mining township of Bartica.
Three policemen and nine civilians were killed when gunmen
invaded area. Twenty-three people have
died in separate assaults by gunmen in two communities in Guyana
in the past month. The Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee
believes the government and opposition can, despite their
differences, work together to solve Guyana's crime problems.
The former prime minister of St Lucia Kenny Anthony says Caricom
needs to pay more attention to the situation in Guyana. Dr
Anthony, who was responsible for governance in the regional
grouping, said seeking help from the international community
will not solve the problem.
Call For Release Of Political Prisoners
US presidential candidates
Barack Obama and John McCain have demanded the release of
political prisoners in Cuba, after Tuesday's announcement by
Fidel Castro that he was resigning as president of the
communist-run island. Democratic Senator Obama said in a
statement that Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban
people and not by an anti-democratic successor regime. He said
the prompt release of wrongly-jailed prisoners of conscience
would mark an important break with the past. Republican
Senator John Mccain also called for the unconditional release of
all political prisoners, the legalizing of all political parties
and other democratic measures.
Panday's Crime Threat
Trinidad and Tobago's
Opposition Leader, Basdeo Panday, has restated his warning that
he'll advise people to defend themselves if the police remain
helpless in bringing violent crime under control.
Members of his party met with national security officials to
discuss the violence which Mr. Panday fears is now spreading
from hotspots around the capital Port of Spain to South and
Central Trinidad. Mr. Panday wants police to outline
exactly what citizens can do to protect themselves.
Woman Named Red Cap 2007 In Antigua
In Antigua, the uniformed Red Caps are the
friendly ambassadors at the airport whose job it is to meet and
greet the island visitors and returning residents in their
uniforms and signature ‘red caps’. Their main sponsor for
the last two years has been JHR Caribbean Real Estate, who
remains happy to provide all the uniforms needed to keep the
team looking smart. Recently at
the Red Cap Association
annual general meeting it was unanimously decided that Carol
Nurse should be awarded the “Employee of the Year” Award for
2007. This
prestigious award provided by JHR is designed to honor a job
well done within the critically important field of customer
service. Lenroy “Scooby” Ambrose and Albert “Irad” King
were the first to reinforce this tribute to Carol, saying she
“definitely deserved it for her polite, pleasant attitude and
that winning smile.” Patrick Valentine, the association’s public
relations coordinator also congratulated Carol, stating that
“she is always smart, on time and a total pleasure to work
with." Carol Nurse was ecstatic on hearing the news that
she had been the one chosen from a team over 30 strong, and of
which she is the only female!
Black Knights' Gang Members Arrested
In St. Kitts on Sunday February 17th,
police arrested and charged Jervin Rawlins, Kevis Hughes,
Dave Charles, Crispin Carey, Javid Rawlins, Junior Stevens,
Dijorn Nisbet, Olanzo Carey, Jermaine Carey and Habush of
Tabernacle Village for the offence of obstructing police in
execution of their duty, committed on 11 Feb. Alsworth
Rawlins of Tabernacle was also arrested and charged for the
offence of carrying abroad an offensive weapon along with
Uriel Gibson also of Tabernacle Village for the offences of
refusing to give his name and obstruction. These people are
alleged to be known members of the Tabernacle area gang
known as the "Black Knights'. The gangs
members are identified by the black shirts they wear .
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