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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 052016Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2231
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0240
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0355
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRIDGETOWN 000593 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR 
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL CPAS CVIS EAID EAIR ETRD PHUM PINS
SMIG, SNAR, KCRM, CH, CU, FR, HA, XL 
SUBJECT: THE WINDIES - SPOT REPORTS FROM THE EASTERN 
CARIBBEAN - MARCH 2006 
 
BRIDGETOWN 368 
BRIDGETOWN 60 
 
REGIONAL 
 
- Caribbean Development Bank President Re-elected 
- European Union/Caribbean Trade Negotiations 
- British Airways Shuts Caribbean Call Centers 
 
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 
 
- Former Prime Minister Sued Over Corruption Allegations 
 
BARBADOS 
 
- Two More Large Drug Seizures 
 
DOMINICA 
 
- Passport Scam for Haitians But No Visas for Dominicans 
- LIAT Ends Flights to Canefield Airport 
 
GRENADA 
 
- Newspaper Editor Detained by Police 
- No Tolerance for Police Corruption 
 
ST. LUCIA 
 
- EU to Provide US$24.2 Million for Hospital 
- St. Lucia Warns Chinese Contractors on Wages 
 
-------- 
REGIONAL 
-------- 
 
Caribbean Development Bank President Re-elected 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶1. (U) Dr. Compton Bourne was re-elected to a second five- 
year term as President of the Caribbean Development Bank 
(CDB), beginning May 1, 2006.  Although generally seen as an 
effective leader of this organization that lends funds to 
Caribbean development projects, Bourne has endured criticism 
for the CDB's slow disbursement of money to the borrowing 
countries in the region.  (Note:  Members of the Barbados- 
based CDB include several non-borrowing states from outside 
the region, including the U.K., Germany, Italy, China, and 
Venezuela, which contribute funding to the bank and take 
part in its decisionmaking.  The U.S. has contributed 
funding to the CDB but is not a member.  End note.) 
 
European Union/Caribbean Trade Negotiations 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Representatives of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the 
Dominican Republic) and the EU met in Barbados March 27-28 
to negotiate a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that would 
replace the existing Cotonou Agreement, which grants the 
African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states preferential 
trade status with the EU.  (Note:  The EU is calling this 
FTA an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to avoid the 
sometimes unpopular term "free trade."  End note.)  Not much 
concrete came of the negotiations, which appear to still be 
in a preliminary stage.  The next step is for both sides to 
prepare a draft text of the agreement for the December 2006 
Ministerial meeting in Santo Domingo. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment:  The two sides are running up against a 
deadline in 2007 - the year when the Cotonou Agreement comes 
up for review in the WTO, which is likely to rule against 
it.  The CARIFORUM/EU negotiations are worth watching as the 
U.S. could encounter similar positions on preferential 
treatment for the Caribbean if the USG and CARIFORUM 
eventually negotiate a FTA.  End comment. 
 
British Airways Shuts Caribbean Call Centers 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) British Airways (BA) announced the closure of all its 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000593  002 OF 004 
 
 
Caribbean call centers.  In a rebuff of the trend toward 
outsourcing call centers to low-wage countries, BA decided 
that the calls handled by its Caribbean facilities will now 
go through its existing call center in Jacksonville, 
Florida.  (Comment:  While BA's move will impact only a 
small number of employees, this could hurt Eastern Caribbean 
efforts to attract call centers and other information and 
communication technology outsourcing operations to the 
region.  End comment.) 
 
------------------- 
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 
------------------- 
 
Former Prime Minister Sued Over Corruption Allegations 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5. (U) Three former government ministers, including ex-Prime 
Minister Lester Bird, have been named in a lawsuit filed by 
the Government of Antigua and Barbuda (GOAB) alleging 
corruption in the repayment of a loan that allowed the 
Government to purchase a desalination plant in 1984. 
Attorney General Justin Simon filed the lawsuit alleging 
that Swiss investor Bruce Rappaport was overpaid more than 
US$14 million for re-negotiating the loan.  This lawsuit is 
the third filed against Lester Bird by the GOAB as it 
attempts to reclaim millions of dollars in public funds 
allegedly lost to corruption during Bird's reign as PM from 
1994 to 2004. 
 
-------- 
BARBADOS 
-------- 
 
Two More Large Drug Seizures 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Barbados police made two major drug seizures on March 
16 and 17, seizing 847 and 228 pounds of marijuana, 
respectively.  The March 17 operation was conducted by 
members of the police drug squad and marine unit working 
with the Coast Guard and customs officials.  The marijuana 
was discovered hidden in metal containers attached to the 
underside of a ship from Jamaica that was docked in the 
Barbados capital, Bridgetown. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  These two seizures top the 137 pounds of 
marijuana confiscated in January and February, suggesting 
that while law enforcement remains vigilant, traffickers may 
be increasing their activity in the region.  One concern is 
that the limited capacity of law enforcement in the small 
island states of the Eastern Caribbean could result in their 
being unable to adequately monitor and intercept drug 
trafficking during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, when tens of 
thousands of people are expected to travel to the region. 
End comment. 
 
-------- 
DOMINICA 
-------- 
 
Passport Scam for Haitians But No Visas for Dominicans 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶8. (U) Authorities in Dominica have charged three 
individuals with using forged documents to illegally obtain 
Dominican passports for Haitian citizens.  Several passports 
appear to have been wrongly issued to members of the 
substantial Haitian community in Dominica, many of whom are 
in the country without documentation, hoping to use it as a 
transit point to other Caribbean islands (ref B).  Dominica 
and France, meanwhile, reached an agreement that would allow 
Dominican citizens to travel to the French Departments in 
the Caribbean without first having to obtain a visa. 
 
LIAT Ends Flights to Canefield Airport 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Leeward Islands Air Transit (LIAT) decided to end 
service to Dominica's small Canefield Airport March 12, 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000593  003 OF 004 
 
 
shifting all flights to the larger Melville Hall Airport. 
Canefield sits next to the capital, Roseau, while Melville 
Hall is on the other side of Dominica, a grueling hour-and-a- 
half drive through the mountainous interior of the island. 
A spokesman for LIAT said the company switched the flights 
to Melville Hall because they were losing money on the 
Canefield routes.  (Comment:  Tiny Canefield Airport does 
not appear to have much of a future.  Melville Hall is 
likely to become the island's sole airport after completion 
of an EU/Venezuelan/Cuban assistance project to expand the 
existing runway and terminal (ref A).  End comment.) 
 
------- 
GRENADA 
------- 
 
Newspaper Editor Detained by Police 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Grenada police detained newspaper editor George 
Worme on March 14 to question him about an article printed 
in his paper, Grenada Today, which was considered 
potentially libelous.  The article was related to the 
Government's ongoing effort to have opposition member Peter 
David removed from Parliament for holding both Grenadian and 
Canadian citizenship.  The Association of Caribbean Media 
Workers and the Media Workers Association of Grenada 
criticized the authorities for seeking to intimidate the 
media and demanded that the Government investigate the 
matter.  The media workers noted that in 2004 the police 
also detained a journalist who was investigating allegations 
of corruption against Prime Minister Keith Mitchell. 
 
No Tolerance for Police Corruption 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Reacting to allegations of wrongful activity by 
Grenada police officers, Einstein Louison, Minister of State 
for National Security, warned new police cadets that there 
would be "zero tolerance" of illegal activity or police 
brutality.  Among the recent charges against police was an 
incident in which a member of the Prime Minister's personal 
security detail shot a civilian over a personal dispute and 
a case of a police officer stealing another officer's 
service weapon.  The Minister also announced that Acting 
Police Commissioner Winston James had been named 
Commissioner. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  The recent allegations of wrongdoing 
have continued to batter the reputation of the Grenada 
police, which has yet to recover from the force's inability 
to maintain order after Hurricane Ivan devastated the 
country in 2004.  Their ineptitude was underscored by 
reports that police officers participated in the widespread 
looting that followed the storm.  End comment. 
 
--------- 
ST. LUCIA 
--------- 
 
EU to Provide US$24.2 Million for Hospital 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶13. (U) The EU will provide a US$24.2 million grant to St. 
Lucia for construction of a new general hospital that will 
replace the existing, 100-year-old facility.  The new 
hospital will house a cancer care center that will treat 
patients from throughout the Eastern Caribbean. 
Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2006 as part 
of a multi-year plan to reform the nation's health care 
system that includes the introduction of national health 
insurance.  Staffing at the hospital will include 70 new 
doctors who are expected to return to St. Lucia from Cuba, 
where they are presently attending medical school. 
 
St. Lucia Warns Chinese Contractors on Wages 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) The Government of St. Lucia publicly warned Chinese 
contractors engaged in construction projects on the island 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000593  004 OF 004 
 
 
that they cannot pay local workers less than the required 
minimum wage of 50 Eastern Caribbean dollars (US$18.50) per 
day.  The Government received reports that local workers 
were receiving as low as 35 Eastern Caribbean dollars 
(US$12.90) per day on several construction projects carried 
out by Chinese companies as part of the Government of 
China's assistance to St. Lucia.  It is not clear, however, 
if the legal minimum wage also applies to the typically low- 
paid Chinese laborers brought to St. Lucia by the 
contractors specifically to work on the aid projects. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Comment:  By offering rare criticism of the manner 
in which Chinese aid is delivered to St. Lucia, the 
Government appears to be responding to the opposition's 
complaints about the negative impact Chinese workers are 
having on local wages.  End comment. 
KRAMER