PM Davis wants self-determination for UKOTs to be on CARICOM’s agenda
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis wants CARICOM leaders to include self-determination for Britain’s remaining Caribbean colonies on the agenda.
Davis informed leaders at the commencement of the 45th Regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Port of Spain yesterday that self-determination was a founding principle.
“This fundamental principle—that the people of the CARICOM region should have both a ‘say’ and a role in their governance—is part of the bedrock of our community,” he stated.
CARICOM is already safeguarding internal democracy in its member states. We joined the Bermuda, Cayman, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and Anguilla summit and reaffirmed their right to self-determination and self-governance.
“As a matter of principle, we strongly support the proposition that this dialogue should become a standing item of the CARICOM agenda, to take place before each meeting of the Heads of Government,” he said.
CARICOM members have advocated for independence for the six British Overseas Territories (BOTs) for decades, even before they became associate members of the integration movement.
CARICOM leaders joined the British Virgin Islands in its fight to have the UK Government rescind the Order in Council it received from the Privy Council to force local politicians to fix governance issues identified in a Commission of Inquiry report.
At last year’s heads of government summit in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves called suspending the BVI’s constitution disgusting.
That’s archaic and a return to Crown colony administration. “The sword of Damocles hanging over a free people in the third decade of the 21st century is unbecoming of the British government,” he remarked.
