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REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME, HIS EXCELLENCY
RUNALDO RONALD VENETIAAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCHING OF
COMMEMORATION OF THIRTY YEARS CARICOM ON THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2003
PORT OF SPAIN
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Heads of Governments,
Honourable Ambassadors,
Special Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to make some
remarks on the occasion of the launching of the celebration of the
thirtieth anniversary of CARICOM.
I would first like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest
congratulations to all member states, as well as to our associated members
and partners who, during these past thirty years, have contributed to the
successful realization of our prime goal of strengthening the integration
of the Caribbean nations.
Particular appreciation is extended to those member states who, from the
very beginning, committed themselves to the integration efforts, so that
the aspiration of our peoples could be realized with the establishment of
the Caribbean Community in 1995, when the Treaty of Chaguaramas came into
effect.
In these times when things may appear fleeting, longevity is a trait to be
admired. So, as the Caribbean Community celebrates thirty years of its
existence, there is just cause for festivity and merriment.
Nevertheless, even as we revel in our accomplishments, we must pause for
reflection on the serious and complex challenges facing us, threatening to
destroy what we have achieved over the last thirty years. We have long
spoken, and indeed there is no need for us to be reminded of, among other
things, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the less familiar peril of malaria in our
forests, the escalation of crime and the attendant dangers of the use and
transit of illegal drugs, the threat to our economies as a result of the
policies of external forces, and the menace of impending war at this very
moment.
It is in times like these that we must show our resoluteness and
demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that moving forward together
gives us the strength to face and overcome these challenges.
The theme of our anniversary celebrations – “Integration Our Key to
Prosperity” is reflective of the importance we place on our integration.
The strength stemming from our unity and common goals will also allow us
to successfully establish the Caribbean Single Market and Economy before
long, and to complete the external negotiations. It is this same strength
that will also enable us to further deepen and strengthen relations among
all CARICOM members on our way to prosperity for all.
In commemorating our anniversary, we have placed special focus on the
youth, who will have ample opportunity to showcase their talents in the
programme of activities developed for this special year. This signals our
recognition of the important role our young people must and will make to
the future of our region.
We have also placed special focus on culture, the amalgam of spiritual,
material, intellectual and emotional features which characterize our
Caribbean Society. Culture is one of the most important components of our
human potential, and plays a crucial role in processes of integration.
Thus, it is essential to keep calling on all member states to open up
themselves and be sensitive to and respect the cultures and cultural
manifestations of all the peoples of CARICOM.
At the same time, we should all realize that the dynamic developments of
our time, with evolving new technologies, new products, new trade
relations and new stakeholders, call for adjustments of our attitude in
relation to the world around us.
This will inevitably require an adjustment of our Caribbean culture and
our economy, based on traditional agriculture, traditional mining,
traditional fisheries, traditional forms of tourism, to meet the
challenges of the new era in which we are living, as well as to new
directions of life ahead of us.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me introduce my conclusion on a note of congratulations, once again,
to our hosts, to the organizers and to all participants. Let us go forward
from this encounter with renewed enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. Let us
celebrate a future that is vibrant and in which we can all rejoice as
members of one integrated Caribbean, all the way from Belize to the
Bahamas, to the OECS, through our host country Trinidad and Tobago, up to
Guyana and to my own country, Suriname.
It is good for us to end by paying tribute to all the great Caribbean men
and women, who have wrought the Caribbean spirit and built our image in
the world in so many fields: sports, music, arts, sciences, politics. In
this regard, special mention of the Caribbean Nobel Prize winners Derek
Walcott, V.S. Naipaul and Arthur Lewis is merited. It is in the tradition
of the prize winners in literature, that I have chosen to conclude with
some lines by their fellow-poet Shrinivasi from Suriname, who with a
prayer from his heart sets our generations the task of realizing his wish
of unity:
I wish I could bind you
To one people
Without it being a fairy-tale
I wish I could change you
Heal your hearts
In one supreme supplication
The umpteenth prayer:
Walk not with blinkers through this land anymore
Play with children who are not of your race group
Speak the languages of all our peoples
As you partake of the food of the world
I wish I could bind you
To one people
Without it being a fairy-tale
© Copyright Kabinet van
de President
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