ST LUCIA SUPPORTS REGIONAL SECURITY UNIT

By Voice Reporter

The Government of Saint Lucia has thrown its support behind the idea to build a security force for the region almost on par with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States of America.

A meeting last week in Trinidad and Tobago attended by Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and other representatives of most CARICOM countries was primarily to discuss that idea and present a way forward for its fruition.

“The main purpose of the meeting was continual discussions about how we were going to build up a stronger regional security force,” Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said Monday, adding that Saint Lucia is “absolutely supportive of the initiative.”

“The critical thing here is not why we have to do it, it’s not how we are supposed to do it, but where we are going to get the resources to do it,” Chastanet said. “Saint Lucia’s position is that we support the idea of utilizing part of our airport tax, and assigning it specifically to fund our regional organisation.

According to the Prime Minister, the opening up of the Caribbean due to recent initiatives by CARICOM, such as the free movement of goods and services and people throughout the region makes it imperative for the region to have a single security unit.

“We have the Venezuela situation. The world is changing very fast, there is a constant fear of terrorism and it is important to this region to do what it can to protect itself and have a more coordinated approach towards security,” Chastanet said.

The Caribbean Community is at present looking at ways in which it could finance this security unit.

“There were three mechanisms for financing and hopefully they will be presented at the Heads of Government meeting that will be taking place in Saint Lucia in July,” the Prime Minister said.