CARIBBEAN TODAY


-usw^caribbeantodj..c.


F nT U R 6


U.S. paints bleak picture of human rights violations in the Caribbean


WASHINGTON The United
States Department of State has
painted a bleak picture of
human rights violations in the
Caribbean.
 In its "U.S. Country
Reports on Human Rights
Practices 2007", released last
month, the State Department
accused the region
of a number of
violations,
ranging from
excessive use
of force by
police, to
poor prison
conditions, to '
discrimination
and violence
against women.
 The report described
prison conditions in Antigua
and Barbuda as "poor",
attributing overcrowding in
part to "a law that limited the
ability of magistrates to grant
bail to those accused of certain

 The State Department


said though the constitution
provides for freedom of speech
and of the press, the Baldwin
Spencer administration
respects these rights on a
"somewhat limited basis".

PROBLEMS
 In The Bahamas, the
report stated that while the
 ,-.overnment generally
 respects the human rights
 of its citizens, there were
 problems in some areas,
 including complaints of
 abuse by police and
 prison and detention cen-
 tre guards, lengthy pre-
 trial detention, poor deten-
tion conditions, delays in trials,
violence against women and
children, and discrimination
against persons of Haitian
descent.
 The State Department
identified alleged human rights
problems in Barbados as
excessive use of force by
police, poor prison conditions,
and societal violence against


women and children.
 In Belize, the State
Department said human rights
problems included brutality
and the use of excessive force
by security forces.
 The report stated that
human rights problems in
Dominica primarily involve
violence against women and
children and ad\ r,L condi-
tions" experienced by indige-
nous Kalinago or Carib
Indians.
 In Grenada, the State
Department said human rights
problems include allegations of
corruption, violence against
women, and instances of child
abuse.
 The State Department
said despite some improve-
ments, Haiti's human rights
record remains "poor".
 The report said while the
Jamaica government generally
respects the human rights of its
citizens, there were sLri s ,,


pr, blk 1,ms in some areas. It
identified these as "unlawful
killings committed by members
of the security forces; mob vio-
lence against and vigilante
killings of those suspected of
breaking the law; abuse of
detainees and prisoners by
police and prison guards; and
poor prison and jail conditions".
 In St. Kitts and Nevis, the
State Department said prob-
lems include poor prison con-
ditions, corruption, and vio-
lence against women.
 The State Department
said abuse of suspects and pris-
oners by the police, long
delays in trials and sentencing,
violence against women, and
child abuse are the major alle-
gations in St. Lucia.
 In St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, the State
Department said problems pri-
marily surround "impunity for
police who used excessive
force, poor prison conditions,


an overburdened court system,
violence against women, and
abuse of children".
 The report said problems
in Suriname include police
alleged mistreatment of
detainees at the time of arrest;
abuse of prisoners by guards;
overcrowded detention facili-
ties; an overwhelmed judiciary
with a large case backlog; and
lengthy pretrial detention.
 In Trinidad and Tobago,
the report highlighted police
killings during apprehension or
custody, inmate illness and
injuries due to poor prison
conditions, high-profile cases
of alleged bribery, violence
against women, inadequate
services for vulnerable chil-
dren, and unsafe working con-
ditions as some of the alleged
major human rights violations.

- CMC
0


 RM. Golding says all the right things in

meeting with Jamaicans in South Florida


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11)
ernment pay for all this?
 Here Prime Minister
Golding returned to the issue
of the more affluent members
of society obeying the laws of
the country. The government
intended to close tax loop-
holes, he said. While wage and
salary earners had their
income taxes deducted at
source under the country's
Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) sys-
tem, self-employed people,
many of whom were lawyers
and doctors, were not paying
their fare share. He said that
at present just two percent of
registered companies paid 70
percent of corporate taxes.
That had to change.
 Just prior to leaving
Jamaica Golding said he met
with the country's energy
chiefs to work out solutions in
that area. While he was not in
a position to make a specific


announcement at this time,
Golding said, he expected the
solution (or solutions) to be
built around the use of natural
gas, coal or both.
 Another question from
the audience elicited an
announcement on foreign poli-
cy. The government would
establish embassies in Haiti,
Brazil, Spain and a Gulf State.
 When moderator Winston
Barnes called an end to the
proceedings, some 40-minutes
after the scheduled close, sev-
eral people were standing in
line to ask questions. Given
that fact, and the sustained
standing ovation he received,
Golding can chalk up this first
meeting with Jamaicans resi-
dent overseas as a resounding
success.

Patrick Smikle is freelance
writer for Caribbean Today.
0


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9)
my business up and I thought
one day I was gonna put my
teams together here to play
cricket. The time's now.

G.W.: The adaptation of cricket
in the U.S. has always rested
with the ex-pats. How impor-
tant is it for you that the
youngsters, the American-
born, catch on to the game?

M.A.Q.: See, any game (from
outside) America, they're
never gonna promote it.. .So
you are a promoter and (if
you) really want to promote
the cricket you have to start
with the youngsters. Bring
them so the parents come in.
When the parents come in and
participate, county, city and
state they'll be watching the
game and recognize it...

G.W.: Stanford 20/20 has
shown to the Caribbean and a
lot of the world that a tourna-
ment like that can be very suc-
cessful. A shorter version of
the game, properly promoted
and the exposure. Have you


looked at the Stanford 20/20
tournament and taken any
kind of lesson from it?

M.A.Q.: If you remember...
back in 1999 I'm the first one
who created the 20/20 tourna-
ment in Dania Beach park
(Florida). After that the world
started playing (that version of
the game). So I had the vision
prior to (Stanford 20/20 and)
what anybody started in the
world. So we are the ones who
created this thing and people are
learning from our creation. So
we don't have to go back to learn
from others' creation. Even the
ICC (International Cricket
Council) did a tournament after
us. Any good thing we always
want to learn. Anything. (But)
our organization was there (at
Stanford 20/20) to watch. We can
be as successful to learn from
other things.

G.W.: This (20/20) idea, you've
been in it from the beginning.
You say you'll be in it for the
long haul this tournament on
Memorial weekend and the
others. How long do you think


you think you'll be in it before
you determine if this is a suc-
cess or not a success?

M.A.Q.: It's gonna be a yearly
project...I was planning to put
the stadium in Orlando. We
own the land up there by
Disney. So we're gonna build a
stadium similar like this (in
Lauderhill).. .So once we kick
off from here we need more
stadiums. We're already ready
for a next stadium. So it'll take
a year to promote the whole
game so we're gonna spend a
lot of money during the year.
Several million dollars just to
promote these games until
2009...Then we will have a suc-
cessful result...
 Every country is playing,
except America, which is not
playing very much exposure-
wise. They've been playing,
nobody's been promoting. So
here we are. We're trying to
promote this game...One day
we're going to bring the (U.S.)
team to World Cups and bring
the cups to home in America.
0


I v 1


(305)251-3975
9275 S.W 152 Str t. Sute 204
 Miami. Fl 33157


*in Soth Dde Aea


 The rredicaI Dracfice of


Dr. Olive Chung-James and Dr. John T. McAdory
 have join frCaes to bring you the new
 MedChoice Health Center of South Dade Arca.
 Privite practice with all the personalized services
 of a great Medical Center,


r(lI


(305)253-2655
9380 SW 150 Srel, Suite 100
 Miami, Fl 33176


 WOOMI I -t m5nyMedicaM-Pl0
YorbstCocei eicS al oe!3DC O


'MAQ' targets Caribbean love for cricket in the U.S.


April 2008