BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Prime Minister David Thompson has said that some Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders may be getting 'mixed up' about the difference between Barbados meeting its obligations to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and its right to set out its own immigration policy.

Speaking on a local radio programme here over the weekend, Thompson once again defended his government's decision to implement a six-month amnesty for CARICOM nationals living in the country illegally to regularise their status or face deportation.

"Countries have the right to develop their own immigration policies within the context of [CMSE]," he said, referring to the amnesty that sets out a number of stipulations to be met in order for persons to qualify. Among the requirements is that applicants must have been residing in Barbados for eight years immediately prior to December 31, 2005, and must pass a security check.

The Thompson administration has received some flak across the region, with Guyana's President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines being the most vocal about the impact of the new Bridgetown policy on the regional integration process.

Differences

But Thompson said that there is a difference between introducing an immigration policy and acting counter to the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which sets out the obligations of regional states within the context of the CSME.

"There are a lot of people who obviously don't understand what our obligations are under the CSME so they get very mixed up. If you have a problem with the way some members of the Immigration Department dealt with the public, this should not be seen as the island shirking its responsibilities as mandates by the tenets of CSME," he said.

"If you have a problem with immigration officials and the way they carry out their duties, that is a separate and distinct manner from meeting our obligations under the single market and economy," the prime minister stressed.

Speaking days ahead of the July 2-5 CARICOM Heads of Government Summit in Guyana, Thompson pointed out that while many countries were questioning Barbados' commitment to the regional integration process, his country is ahead of the pack in that regard.

"And the recent audit has established - despite the cacophonic noise throughout the region, that we're now hearing from prime ministers and everybody who seems to be jumping on the bandwagon to say something of CARICOM - Barbados ranks number one in terms of meeting its commitments under the CSME.

"The CSME Unit itself has said so," he added.