NALS, let us clear up some of your blatant falsehoods, once and for all.
Ooookay!
the gorgon said:
to say that Ralph Gonsalves is one of the reasons why the DR has not moved from observer status to full member is absolutely inaccurate.
Oh...
the gorgon said:
actually, he was one of two people within Caricom who were spearheading the efforts to get full membership for the DR, right up until the time when this citizenship debacle reared its head. the other was the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
Aha...
the gorgon said:
ironically, they are the two main protagonists who are pushing for reprisals against the DR for the court decision.
Right. Let me quote myself from my original post:
"The PM was one of the main reasons for why the DR was not accepted into the CARICOM as a full member".
Maybe its me, but I don't see how what you said and what I said are in conflict. :surprised
the gorgon said:
he was a firebrand socialist as a young man, and he still believes in fairness today. he is tenacious and unwavering, and he has taken to this issue like a pit bull.
Interesting...
the gorgon said:
let us clear up a few misconceptions that you seem to be laboring under. Caricom is not a trading agreement. it is a Common Market.
Right, but I don't know where I have even mentioned what type of a relationship CARICOM consist of.
Plus, maybe its me, but I have a hard time understanding how something that is not a trading agreement can be a common market.
the gorgon said:
it had a political component.
This is no secret.
the gorgon said:
it is comprised of mainly black majority nations
And in much of the Caribbean distinctions are made between blacks and mulattoes, despite in some countries the mulatto category is much more exclusive than in others. In any case, what is the majority of the DR? I think only Martinique resembles much more closely DR's racial demographics and even there its a little different. I always assumed this was an underlying issue.
the gorgon said:
the other political dimension is that in matters such as the Iraq war runup, the Caricom nations were severely reprimanded for not supporting the USA in the UN, while the DR actually sent troops. Caricom wondered how it could function as an integral political entity, when there was such a disparity in philosophy between members.
The DR was not a full member of CARICOM (never has been), so I don't see why a decision made by a country that is not even a full member would be a problem for its acceptance. This is assuming that the CARICOM group doesn't uses any excuse to prevent full membership to the DR, as they have done since the 1970s.
Care to explain how the CARICOM countries came to the conclusion to not support the USA? Unilaterally? Multilaterally?
I want to incline towards the second one, but you probably know more than I do about this. In any case, if it was multilaterally and all of them voted against it, then why would anyone think that DR fully integrated into CARICOM would be able to go against the multilaterally decided decision of CARICOM?
Some how the Central Americans didn't had any issues in accepting the DR in the Central American Parliament and neither have any other group of nations with whom we have signed agreements with.
the gorgon said:
the size of the DR was also considered to be an obstacle
This is obvious, but the DR also has the ability to benefit the most considering that its precisely with other Caribbean countries that the DR has the greatest trading advantages, some of which are not fulfilling because these islands keep using any excuse to put a roadblock.
the gorgon said:
as to the visa issue with the Haitians; that is a big problem for everyone, something with which the DR is very familiar.
That's precisely my point with the added bonus that CARICOM countries are not internationally condemned and continually derided for not allowing the free flow of Haitian migrants. Do we really need a recap of what the DR goes through the moment we even think about controlling the border? I don't think so, it should be clear. All those CARICOM countries should open the gates to Haitian migration, at least until the Haitian colonies make up 7 to 10% of the population of each island. Then they should control it and then they have a true basis from which to criticize the DR concerning the Haitian migration problem. The percentages are not coming out of thin air, in case you are wondering.
the gorgon said:
other nations are allowed to move freely because the travel is normally temporary. people going on vacations, or business. the Haitians, on the other hand, seek political asylum as soon as they land. there are usually not grounds, and they end up clogging the administrative system, only to be sent back home.
There is no other group of people in the Caribbean that understand the Haitian dilemma better than Dominicans. Everyone else simply theorizes, probably based on what they notice is happening to the DR, but I think they would get much more credibility with a little experience under their belt. Open the gates and close them once they hit 7% of the population. Then begin the attacks against the DR. Its not much to ask, especially with the small populations of these islands (except for Trinidad and Jamaica -I'm not sure if Jamaica is part of CARICOM, but I'm assuming it is) the experiment would probably last a few months.