HOLIDAY EDITION
December 2006
ORANJESTAD, ST. EUSTATIUS (BBC/CARIBBEAN-10/11/06)- The 3
smaller islands of the Netherlands Antilles have taken an historic step.
Following talks in the Hague, they have signed an agreement with the
Netherlands to become a part of the European nation. St. Eustasius, Saba
and Bonaire are to become a type of Dutch municipality.
The 17,000 residents are happy they have their direct links with Holland
in place before the central government of the Netherland Antilles is dis-
solved next year. They have made it clear what they want and will soon
have Dutch mayors and a say in Dutch national and municipal elections,
as well as voting for the European Parliament. Together, the 3 islands
make up less than 1/10th of the population of the Netherland Antilles.
Curacao and St. Maarten opted for more autonomy from Holland. While
they have developed a tourism-based economy, the 3 smaller islands
claim they don't have enough income and want assistance from the
Dutch. They already enjoy a certain level of autonomy and expect to
maintain that under the new status.
However, without the agreement of all 5 islands on a new structure for
the Dutch Caribbean, the people of the 3 tiny islands may not become EU
citizens.
SAN FERNANDO, TRINIDAD (T&T EXPRESS- 10/14/06)- Eleven Vene-
zuelans arrived at Kings Wharf by fishing boat, sneaking past both
nation's coast guards in a last resort to get the attention of their presi-
dent, Hugo Chavez. From the village of Guiria, these 11- including 2
women- are protesting the proposed takeover of their port by oil com-
pany ConocoPhillipsVenezuela(COPVen), for use as an oil terminal.
After 5 hours at sea, they were taken in by fishermen who live along
T&T's west coast. Speaking through an interpreter, the group gave this
statement:"The fishermen in Guiria use the port as their main livlihood.
The governor and the mayor are trying to get rid of the fishermen and
hand the port over to the oil companies....They want to destroy the whole
fishing industry without giving us any compensation."
The group said over 1,000 people are protesting and that their protest had
brought operations and the port to a standstill. "We are carrying out a
peaceful protest right now, but it may reach civil unrest proportions very
soon because noone is paying us any attention. The police and army
come and beat some of us. This is not right. We are being told that the
orders to give the port to the oil company is coming from higher political
powers, but we believe President Chavez does not have any idea about
what is taking place. We want him to send his people to investigate and
bring peace back to Guiria."
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (BBC/CARIBBEAN- 11/23/06)- New American
passport rules will come into force in late January, 2 weeks later than plan-
ned. The new date,January 23, was announced by US Homeland Security.
Until then, US citizens returning from some Caribbean countries are al-
lowed to show a driver's license or other form of ID. After Jan. 23, they
must show a US passport.
A study by the World Travel and Tourism Council projects losses of $2
billion and more than 180,000 jobs in the Caribbean once the law goes into
effect.
ST. JOHN, VIRGIN ISLANDS (BBC/CARIBBEAN- 11/3/06)- There will be
virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if
current trends continue, according to a scientific study. Stocks have col-
lapsed in nearly 1/3 of sea fisheries and the rate of decline is accelerating.
The international team of researchers says fishery decline is closely tied
to a broader loss of marine biodiversity. But a greater use of protected
areas could safegaurd existing stocks.
Steve Palumbi, from Stanford University in California stated: "Unless we
fundamentally change the way we manage all ocean species together, as
working ecosystems, then this century is the last century of wild sea-
food."
Historical records from coastal zones in North America, Europe and Aus-
tralia show declining yields, not just of fish, but of other kinds of seafood
too. Zones of biodiversity loss also tended to see more beach closures,
more blooms of potentially harmful algae and more coastal flooding.
The study does not attribute damage to any individual activity such as
over-fishing, pollution or habitat loss; instead it paints a picture of the
cumulative harm done across the board.
A key implication of the research is that more of the oceans should be
protected. The benefits of marine-protected areas is quite clear: more and
larger fish and less vulnerability.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP- 12/5/06)- Latin America's leftward swing,
cemented by Hugo Chavez's landslide re-election here, Rafael Correa's
triumph in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega's return in Nicaragua, is all about
delivering life's basics- food, shelter, healthcare- to people excluded from
the benefits of the free market that the US has championed in the region
for more than 2 decades. It's delivering houses, credits and vehicles to
people. There's more liberty and equality than ever.
It's easy to find Venezuelan's who have benefited from Chavez's efforts to
more equitably distribute the nation's oil wealth. While Chavez opponents
complain they can't get government jobs or contracts, millions of people
now enjoy subsidized food, free healthcare and education and low-inter-
est loans to get businesses kickstarted.
Malnourished, landless Amerindians helped propel Correa to power and
a year ago elected Bolivia's champion of the excluded, Evo Morales. One
in four Latin Americans live on less than $2 a day, which helps explain the
resurgence of the political left.
Latin America has the world's most unequal distribution of wealth, out-
side of Sub-Saharan Africa. Its richest 10% earns 48% of total income,
while the poorest earns 1.6%. Although most Latin American and Carib-
bean leaders embraced the US push for privatization of state industries
and a lifting of trade barriers in the '80s and '90s, GDP in those regions
stayed relatively unchanged. Now the legions of the poor have expressed
their displeasure.
After his victory, Chavez told adoring crowds that "socialism is love" and
promised to take it further.
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS- 10/2/06)- Disap-
pointed with a federal judge's ruling that upholds the US government's
authority to deny American citizens in unincorporated territories full
voting rights, the Virgin Islander who first brought the case to court said
he will appeal the decision.
In the long-awaited ruling, New Jersey District Judge Anne Thompson
dismissed a case filed by Krim Ballentine- a St. Thomas-based activist-
which asked the court to strike down as unconstitutional the Revised
Organic Act of 1954, which establishes the status of the Virgin Islands as
an unincorporated territory of the U.S. Ballentine argued that his constitu-
tional rights were being denied by not having the right to vote for presi-
dent or to be represented by a voting member of Congress. Thompson
ruled the U.S. Constitution does not grant residents of unincorporated
territories those rights.
Ballentine, 69, filed the lawsuit in District Court in 1999. It claimed he was
a disenfranchised voter because he is a U.S. citizen but has no real repre-
sentation in the federal government. The former deputy U.S. marshal said
when he was transferred from the mainland as part of his job, the govern-
ment did not warn him that he would be losing his right to vote.
Judge Thompson ruled that Ballentine has no standing to challenge the
authority of Congress to grant citizenship to Americans who reside in
unincorporated territories. Ballentine argues that citizenship is the birth-
right of all born under the American flag and that therefore it is not a
status to be granted by Congress, as stipulated by the Revised Organic
Act.
Ballentine says he believes there are racist underpinnings to the laws
that deny Virgin Islanders and inhabitants of other U.S. territories the
rights enjoyed by other Americans. (To read an article on the history
of this case, click on our ARCHIVED NEWS page and then click where
you see Ballentine's name.)
Editors Note: As this year end's, so ends the way we have been
formatting our Caribbean News Page over the last 5 1/2 years. Next
year, watch for a new look geared more toward Entertainment and
Cultural events in the Caribbean region.
However, we wish you to stay informed on issues affecting the
Caribbean region. Below you will find a list of the resources we used
when preparing our News page. Thanks for your support over the
years!
www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean
www.virginislandsdailynews.com
www.trinidadexpress.com
www.nationnews.com
www.jamaicaobserver.com
www.thetobagonews.com
www.jamaica-gleaner.com
www.jamaica-star.com
