ON Tuesday, Prime Minister Chastanet was challenged in the House on the issue of Saint Lucia’s handling of visa matters pertaining to Venezuela and China raised by Castries South MP, Dr. Ernest Hilaire.
Chastanet tried hard to defend his Government’s actions. He admitted that Saint Lucia has no diplomatic relations with China, but then proceeded to fuzzy the issue by comparing it to Saint Lucia giving visa-free access to Americans and Canadians, even though we require visas to go to the US and Canada.
But last I checked, we had diplomatic relations with the US and Canada. Ironically too, these are the very countries that this same Mr Chastanet, prior to the 2016 General Elections, promised that Saint Lucians would no longer need a visa to travel to under a UWP government.
His spinners and party hacks tried all manner of trickery to imagine-away the reality that this is what he said. But the implications of his statement were clear. Hundreds — if not thousands — of Saint Lucians seek a better life in the US and Canada and unfortunately out of sheer necessity and/or survival many do so illegally by overstaying their time on their visitor visas.
Does the PM not think that there is a very good chance that once visas-restrictions are removed from China, it would make it one step easier for Chinese to also do the same and flock here to seek a better life in Saint Lucia?
The Government had many other options. They could have provided a US visa-on-entry option, which would have still allowed the country to at least collect revenue. (After all, China is the world’s largest country with 1.3 billion.)
But then, last I checked, Saint Lucians need a visa to enter China. And it is a country we DO NOT have diplomatic relations with. So, how does this government policy make any sense whatsoever?
Furthermore, what is very telling about the entire episode in the House is that until today, the Government never even admitted or announced to the people of Saint Lucia that it was making such changes to our visa regime. No announcement whatsoever, but here came the Prime Minister, feebly trying to defend the indefensible.
What is at play is simply clear: The Prime Minister has signed the DSH Agreement, which is predicated on sales of passports to Chinese nationals. He has also admitted to signing MOUs with Chinese state construction companies to do work in Saint Lucia.
The sale of passports to Chinese will very likely mean an increase in Chinese coming to our island to set-up businesses.
This is what has happened in Dominica, for instance. It will mean that these Chinese will bring more Chinese to do domestic work (take care of their homes, children, etc.) and other work within their businesses. The government is therefore quietly but actively facilitating DSH and the Chinese state companies.
What is however very disturbing about this entire move is that in the face of such immense generosity to China, the treatment being meted out to Venezuela is mind-boggling.
Venezuela is a country we have had relations with from Independence. There has been a Venezuelan Embassy here for decades. Venezuela considers itself a part of the Caribbean. Venezuela has been an aid donor to Saint Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean for decades. When we are hit by hurricanes, they are the first to respond. But to please America, this government will punish Venezuelans with visa requirements. And the prime minister will tell Parliament that we are seeing a surge in guns from Venezuela, but without furnishing one feather of evidence.
As far as I’m aware, a country much closer to Venezuela than we are, Trinidad, still maintains visa-free entry for Venezuelans.
Such signals may be confusing to some, but they do show a lot about the PM’s thinking – as the actual Foreign Affairs Minister of Saint Lucia — in relation to the countries involved. (Simeon L. Pultie)