The American Embassy in Kingston has defended the role of the American Government in helping to provide security for Cricket World Cup 2007. In a letter to The Gleaner, James T. Heg, charge d'affaires, also denied that the United States had anything to do with the institution of a CARICOM visa.

This was in response to my column last week 'Caribbean Confusion, U.S. Perfidy'. The first point by the charges d'affaires is that "the same wording (about terrorist threats) was used in the fact sheet for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, which did not cause sports fans to be 'turned off' from attending ... "

This is laughable. Nothing has ever prevented tourists from visiting Italy, not the World Wars, government on a children's carousel, kidnapping, murder, or the mafia. I doubt the U.S. government could accomplish what time has not.

US authoritative view

The West Indies is a completely different matter, like Indonesia. Everyone assumes we're the private lake of the U.S., and her view of us is, therefore, authoritative. Unfortunately, Caribbean governments which ought to know better, are often guilty of bending over backwards to accommodate them.

A case in point is ICC Cricket World Cup. A release from the Caribbean Community dated January 8, 2007, states: "The CARICOM Special Visa is a critical component of the extraordinary security measures to safeguard both visitors to and residents of the region that are being created for CWC 2007. The visa is intimately linked to the single domestic space that CARICOM heads of government following much consultation decided to create ....

"Two of the other major security measures being undertaken are the establishment of an advanced passenger information system and a regional intelligence fusion centre.

"An official at the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) indicated that the visa requirement represents a tremendous investment on the part of the Caribbean ... Any notion that this is a money-making venture was completely rejected since the revenue raised will barely meet the costs of the acquisition of this secure visa issuance system. It was pointed out that the visa carries wide-ranging security features which will enable the region to minimise the security threats which it may face during the games.

"Any failure on our part to implement these plans to achieve this objective, given the current global environment within which we live and the magnitude of Cricket World Cup, would be highly irresponsible on our part."

Readers should note that the CARICOM Secretariat is sited in Guyana, and that the CARICOM IMPACS, or the security arm of the thing, is located in Trinidad.

Help in airport security

On the help in airport security training, the charge d'affaires says they're giving the region, this is what U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Mary Ourisman, had to say about it on November 8, 2006:

" ... [It is] sponsored by the Department of States' Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and organised by the embassy's Regional Security Office.

"The Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) Program is authorised by the United States Congress to combat international terrorism. Through this programme, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) within the Department of State provides training and related assistance to law enforcement and security services in qualified countries around the world. (We have been providing) training, equipment and planning assistance to the CWC 2007 countries over the past two years and continue to do so."

Nothing about this activity suggests that the United States is a casual by-stander in the security arrangements for Cricket World Cup. Indeed, not only the American government was heavily involved, but the American private sector as well.

On March 20, 2007, an American company, Arinc Incorporated, the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering, announced in a press release: "The CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security requires airlines to submit electronic data on all passengers and crew in advance."

The release also stated: "ARINC has been instrumental in managing and coordinating efforts among the airlines, IATA, and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on our behalf," said Cdr. Louis Baptiste, operations manager of CARICOM's Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) of CARICOM IMPACS."

On December 12, 2006, the Jamaica Information Service sent out a release captioned 'Training on special CARICOM CWC visa held in New York'. It stated that more than 15 immigration officers and members of the Caribbean diplomatic corps in North America completed a two-day training session in New York in preparation for the implementation of the CARICOM Special Visa on December 15.

Readers should therefore note that the institution of the CARICOM visa was a vital way in which information was captured on who was coming for Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. The information is sent up from CARICOM IMPACS in Trinidad to Arinc in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A. where it is processed. I am reliably informed that 29 people were prevented from entering the Caribbean at all, using this system.

Exception

With the exception of the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa and Canada, and all member states of the Caribbean except Haiti, all other countries require a CARICOM visa for travel throughout this region during cricket.

The CARICOM visa is, therefore, aimed at Pakistan, the headquarters of Al Qaida, India and other Asian countries that might want to enter through Australia and New Zealand. The visa in effect singles them out, and choked off Caribbean arrivals for Cricket World Cup from the most ardent fans. No wonder the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) was sited in Trinidad.

To claim that the United States had nothing to do with the institution of the CARICOM visa may be in the interests of a dubious sovereignty, but it is not in the interests of transparency.

But I don't want us to take the whole thing too personally. I read in a recent issue of the Sunday Times in the United Kingdom that the United States is thinking of taking all 10 fingerprints of every British traveller at every American port of entry, instead of the current two. The newspaper made the point that already long lines at American airports will only get longer.

Having to send details of all passenger and crew in advance on all airlines bound for the U.S., the newspaper also wrote, was making a mess of scheduling at Heathrow, the world's busiest airport.

Visitor arrivals in the United States have therefore declined. The various chambers of commerce in America are up in arms about it. Like ourselves, they don't want their economy choked to death in the interest of national security.