VZCZCXRO4057
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHKG #0248/01 0891514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301514Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7459
INFO RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 5188
RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0555
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0561
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2360
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASH DC
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000248 
 
SIPDIS, SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR - ANDRE CADIEUX 
WHA/EPSC - DAVID SILVERMAN, ROBERT SCHWARTZ 
 
TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG ETRD PGOV PREL IBRD IDB CDB TRSY
KSUM, JM, XL 
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: PROMINENT FIGURES ADVOCATE CARIBBEAN AGENDA FOR 
UPCOMING FIFTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (SOA) 
 
REF: (A) KINGSTON 167 (041610Z MAR 09) 
(B) KINGSTON 837 (222015Z SEP 09) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.(U)  At the launch of the newly established Roxborough Institute, 
prominent figures urge Caribbean leaders to speak with one regional 
voice and to seek immediate liquidity support to weather the global 
economic storm at the upcoming Fifth Summit of the Americas (SOA). 
End Summary. 
 
"Caribbean Agenda for the SOA" 
------------------------------ 
 
2.(U)  The respected Member-of-Parliament (MP) for East Central St. 
Andrews and former Minister of National Security in the previous 
People's National Party (PNP) government, Dr. Peter Phillips, 
launched his newly established Roxborough Institute in a 
well-attended public forum on "The Caribbean Agenda for the Summit 
of the Americas" on the evening of March 25.  Featured speakers 
included: 
 
-- former CARICOM Secretary General and economist Sir Alister 
McIntyre; 
 
-- Professor Don Robotham of New York City University; 
 
-- financial analyst and editorialist Keith Collister; 
 
-- Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) President and 
editorialist Dr. John Rapley. 
 
(Note: former Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur also had been 
scheduled to participate, but was unable to be present.) 
 
Roxborough Institute: a "non-sectarian, non-partisan 
grouping...against the background of a severe crisis" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
3.(U) In welcoming remarks, Phillips underscored his intention that 
the newly-formed Roxborough Institute should be a "non-sectarian, 
non-partisan grouping which wishes to stimulate a dialogue around 
Jamaica's (and the Caribbean's) development options in all its 
facets.  We seek through seminars, discussion groups, lectures and 
publications to engage the widest possible participation of persons 
interested in creating a more equitable, secure, peaceful, and 
culturally expressive society...Roxborough Institute is being formed 
with a view to stimulating a public debate about the future of 
Jamaican nationhood.  This desire comes against the background of a 
severe crisis which in some quarters is seen as threatening the very 
survival of the Jamaican State." 
 
SOA: "an opportunity for Caribbean views to be taken into account" 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
4.(U) Phillips then noted that the Fifth SOA would be the first such 
meeting in the Caribbean, coming on the heels of the G-20 meetings 
in London and preceding the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting 
in Port-of-Spain, and called it "an opportunity for Caribbean views 
to be taken into account."  He outlined three "sets of issues" that 
should be addressed at the SOA: 
 
-- seeking solutions to the economic crisis which will protect 
social gains; 
 
-- Caribbean interest in a long-term integrated financial 
architecture; 
 
-- and social issues such as education, training, crime, drugs, and 
migration. 
 
Political Implications of Economic Crisis "Extraordinarily Serious" 
----------------------------------------- 
 
5.(U) Robotham painted an ominous picture of the impact of the 
global economic crisis on the Caribbean, recalling that the global 
crash of 1929 eventually had led to large-scale riots in Jamaica in 
¶1938.  He decried the "passivity of the developing world" as 
 
KINGSTON 00000248  002 OF 002 
 
 
wealthier nations set the global agenda, and warned of the dangers 
of the current high level of unemployment, particularly among youth: 
"it would be foolhardy to think that an economic and financial 
crisis of this depth and duration could only have economic 
consequences...the political implications are extraordinarily 
serious."  He predicted that Jamaica soon would be forced to seek 
assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and called 
for expansion and extension of the IMF's "Vulnerability Fund" to 
heavily indebted middle-income countries (HIMICs)." 
 
"Muddling Through" Not An Option This Time 
------------------------------------------ 
 
6.(U) Collister noted that for decades Jamaica had managed to 
"muddle through" various financial, economic, political, and social 
crises, but then warned pointedly that, this time, an attempt simply 
to "muddle through" would lead to disaster.  Over four decades, the 
country had failed to diversify its economy, grow the productive 
sector, and become self-reliant.  An additional social safety net 
now would be necessary to replace dwindling remittances from abroad. 
 He called for a "gateway strategy" to integrate large-scale 
investment from the Far East aimed at North and South America, and 
the formation of new industries, such as hospitals to provide 
high-quality, low-cost health care to Americans. 
 
SOA: an opportunity for Caribbean to speak "with a coordinated 
regional voice" 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7.(U) Rapley maintained that the Caribbean had fallen off the agenda 
of first world countries like the USA and UK, leaving Canada as the 
only large country showing increased interest in the region.  He 
viewed  the SOA as an opportunity for Caribbean leaders to speak 
"with a coordinated regional voice."  He expected "no 
breakthroughs," but saw the SOA as a chance for the Caribbean to 
"send coordinated signals" and "articulate a regional message."  He 
said Caribbean leaders needed to approach the U.S. Congress with a 
clear plan on the issues on which it wants cooperation and support. 
 
 
SOA: "Deliberative Meeting" Rather Than "Negotiation" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
8.(U) Finally, McIntyre reminded the audience that the SOA was not a 
"negotiation," but rather a "deliberative meeting."  He said the IMF 
and World Bank had "neglected" the middle-income countries (MICs), 
and that Jamaica would need further liquidity support to finance its 
upcoming budget.  He called for international monetary reform, 
defense of the Caribbean's offshore financial sector, a "new 
dialogue on migration," and closer cooperation with the USA on 
environmental matters. 
 
9.(SBU)  When asked how the Roxborough Institute would convey its 
views and advice to the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) in advance of 
the SOA, Phillips assured the audience that the evening's forum 
would be well documented and publicized, and its recommendations 
conveyed to the GoJ - but did not specify how.  ((Comment:  Despite 
having lost a challenge for the presidency of the PNP to the 
charismatic Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson Miller 
(PSM)(reftel B), Phillips commands considerable respect among the 
ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government and across the 
political spectrum.  The extent to which his Roxborough Institute 
may directly influence the GoJ's positions at the SOA is unclear, 
but the views expressed at the forum were generally in consonance 
with those of Prime Minister Bruce Golding and SOA Coordinator Amb. 
Paul Robothom (reftel A).  Whether, in Jamaica's intensely tribal, 
partisan, and occasionally violent political culture, the new 
Institute can long endure as a "non-sectarian, non-partisan 
grouping" remains to be seen.  End Comment.)) 
 
HEG