Protests paralyze Jamaica amid Caribbean oil summit
Reuters AlertNet - Protests paralyze Jamaica amid Caribbean oil summit
By Horace Helps
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Caribbean leaders met to sign oil accords on Tuesday in Jamaica, where protests against rising prices left one man dead, paralyzed parts of the capital and hampered access to the city holding the summit.
There were no reports of violence in Montego Bay, the tourist area where Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were among leaders finalizing the Petrocaribe accord allowing Caribbean states to buy 185,000 barrels of Venezuela oil daily at favorable terms.
Protesters blocked the roads leading to Montego Bay and staged a demonstration near the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where the Caribbean leaders gathered, but authorities said security was adequate to protect them.
"This is one of the most powerful security details that you could see anywhere," a policeman said. "We are taking no chances, because these two leaders are targets and we cannot afford to drop our guard," he said of Castro and Chavez.
Cuban government spokesman Jose Louis Ponce said by telephone that Castro and his delegation did not have much information about the protests, but said, "We are OK here, we are safe."
In Kingston, 110 miles (180 km) southeast of Montego Bay, police said dozens of areas were paralyzed by roadblocks and chaos.
One man was shot dead during an argument with protesters and dozens of people were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, including a mayor and 11 municipal leaders accused of blocking roads in the central area of St. Catherine.
A police officer was shot and wounded as he tried to remove debris blocking a road, and gunmen fired at police along the road connecting the capital with the Norman Manley International Airport, police said.
"As soon as the police clear roadblocks, the citizens blocked them again," a police statement said.
Schools suspended classes, public transportation shut down and some businesses closed early.
The opposition Jamaica Labour Party called for peaceful islandwide protests against rising prices for electricity, transport, food, animal feed and other necessities, but urged Jamaicans not to erect roadblocks or close schools and businesses.
"The government has gone deaf. They are not listening to the people and this is a time for them to start listening," said opposition leader Bruce Golding, who condemned the roadblocks and violence.
Chavez, a left-wing former soldier and vocal critic of Washington, promotes the Petrocaribe initiative as part of his campaign to counter U.S. economic influence in South America and the Caribbean.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has signed several energy deals with South American nations. But officials from Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean's largest oil producer, have expressed concern the Petrocaribe deal could cut into its market share.
Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson called the Petrocaribe deal a trailblazer for regional cooperation that could ease rising prices in his country, which will buy 21,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil per day.
Under the Petrocaribe deal, Venezuela will convert part of the buyers' payments to loans at 1 percent interest over 25 years, freeing up funds for social and economic development in the purchasing nations.
"Caribbean nations will avert a severe reduction of our foreign exchange reserves and thereby ease the pressure for currency devaluation, which would trigger inflation and consequently increase the plight of the poor," Patterson said.
By Horace Helps
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Caribbean leaders met to sign oil accords on Tuesday in Jamaica, where protests against rising prices left one man dead, paralyzed parts of the capital and hampered access to the city holding the summit.
There were no reports of violence in Montego Bay, the tourist area where Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were among leaders finalizing the Petrocaribe accord allowing Caribbean states to buy 185,000 barrels of Venezuela oil daily at favorable terms.
Protesters blocked the roads leading to Montego Bay and staged a demonstration near the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where the Caribbean leaders gathered, but authorities said security was adequate to protect them.
"This is one of the most powerful security details that you could see anywhere," a policeman said. "We are taking no chances, because these two leaders are targets and we cannot afford to drop our guard," he said of Castro and Chavez.
Cuban government spokesman Jose Louis Ponce said by telephone that Castro and his delegation did not have much information about the protests, but said, "We are OK here, we are safe."
In Kingston, 110 miles (180 km) southeast of Montego Bay, police said dozens of areas were paralyzed by roadblocks and chaos.
One man was shot dead during an argument with protesters and dozens of people were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, including a mayor and 11 municipal leaders accused of blocking roads in the central area of St. Catherine.
A police officer was shot and wounded as he tried to remove debris blocking a road, and gunmen fired at police along the road connecting the capital with the Norman Manley International Airport, police said.
"As soon as the police clear roadblocks, the citizens blocked them again," a police statement said.
Schools suspended classes, public transportation shut down and some businesses closed early.
The opposition Jamaica Labour Party called for peaceful islandwide protests against rising prices for electricity, transport, food, animal feed and other necessities, but urged Jamaicans not to erect roadblocks or close schools and businesses.
"The government has gone deaf. They are not listening to the people and this is a time for them to start listening," said opposition leader Bruce Golding, who condemned the roadblocks and violence.
Chavez, a left-wing former soldier and vocal critic of Washington, promotes the Petrocaribe initiative as part of his campaign to counter U.S. economic influence in South America and the Caribbean.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has signed several energy deals with South American nations. But officials from Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean's largest oil producer, have expressed concern the Petrocaribe deal could cut into its market share.
Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson called the Petrocaribe deal a trailblazer for regional cooperation that could ease rising prices in his country, which will buy 21,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil per day.
Under the Petrocaribe deal, Venezuela will convert part of the buyers' payments to loans at 1 percent interest over 25 years, freeing up funds for social and economic development in the purchasing nations.
"Caribbean nations will avert a severe reduction of our foreign exchange reserves and thereby ease the pressure for currency devaluation, which would trigger inflation and consequently increase the plight of the poor," Patterson said.
posted by Marcel at 6:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home