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Pyongyang’s quixotic diplomacy

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The tension that has made the Korean peninsula a global flashpoint for much of 2013 appears to have subsided  with the toning down  of North Korea’s nuclear rhetoric directed at the South and the US and Pyongyang’s call last week for “senior level” nuclear talks with Washington.
Still, the two states on the peninsula remain in a state of high military alert, that being a function of the quixotic nature of North Korea’s ‘diplomacy’ which is characterized by a propensity to adjust its posture with unnerving speed.

Lessons from Turkey

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - What began on May 28 as a protest against the planned redevelopment of a park in Istanbul, to accommodate the construction of a replica Ottoman-era barracks and a mosque, has snowballed into a national political crisis for Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish acronym, AKP). But, with at least five deaths and thousands injured and imprisoned, Mr Erdogan does not seem to be dealing with the crisis very well.

Food security talks in Guyana

Georgetown—Around 80 participants from the Caribbean, including government, civil society, academia and private sector representatives, will meet in Georgetown June 19-21 to discuss and analyze implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.

Sino-Caribbean relations: Priorities and tradeoffs

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The visit to the Caribbean earlier this month by Chinese Leader Xi Jinping and the simultaneous announcement that the region would be the beneficiary of yet another huge tranche of financial aid from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) lends a predictable continuity to Beijing’s pursuit of the use of economic diplomacy as a tool with which to deepen its influence in the region. This is not the Cold War era.

CARICOM worried about OAS budget cuts

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries have told the Organisation of America States (OAS) that budget cuts are threatening the provision of scholarships and the activities of OAS national offices in the Caribbean.
A Caricom Secretariat statement issued here last Friday said that Caricom foreign ministers, who attended the 43rd General Assembly of the OAS that ended in Guatemala on Thursday, met with OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin.

Latin America’s Pacific Alliance

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Even as Chinese President Xi Jinpeng was making his way around the region to promote more trade and cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean, visiting Trinidad and Tobago (where he also held bilateral talks with those Caricom countries with which Beijing enjoys diplomatic relations), Costa Rica and Mexico, there was a buzz coming from the western rim of Latin America with the consolidation of the one-year-old Pacific Alliance.

Stalemate over appointment of Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - The appointment of the Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary seems to have hit a dead-end, as President Donald Ramotar and Opposition Leader David Granger differ on who should fill the posts. During talks last month, Ramotar suggested that Chief Justice Ian Chang and Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh be appointed to the substantive posts, however Granger suggested that the posts be advertised in the Eastern Caribbean. According to Granger, while he does not oppose the suggestions made by the President, he wants transparency.

Government seeking assistance from Argentina regarding claim of Iranian terrorist cell

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government Wednesday said it will ask Argentina for information regarding claims that Iran has been setting up terrorist cells in several Caribbean and South American countries including Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Government spokesman Dr. Roger Luncheon told a news conference that The Donald Ramotar administration was very much interested in the information that was made public last week regarding the terrorist cells. “I expect that not only Guyana.

Government hints that Local Government elections will not be held this year

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government has hinted that the long awaited Local Government elections may not take place this year and is blaming the opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) for deliberately delaying the process. The state-owned Chronicle newspaper Tuesday quoted Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud as saying that the work of the committee tasked with dealing with the legislative amendments is yet to be completed and that the time required by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would be inadequate to stage the elections this year.

Guyana signs Global Arms Trade Treaty

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana Monday signed the United Nations Global Arms Trade Treaty. The treaty calls on states to explicitly consider the risk that an arms transfer could facilitate serious acts of violence against women and children before allowing it to proceed, said Susan Bissell, UNICEF’s Chief of Child Protection. “This is critical given that weapons are now one of the leading causes of death of children and adolescents in many countries, including many that are not experiencing war,” she added.

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