ST JOHN’S, Antigua: Frustrated that it has come up against a road block at the United Nations, Caribbean Community countries are now seeking to take a review of the change of government in Haiti to the Organization of American States. CARICOM leaders who met here over the last two days say they will leave discussions on whether to recognize the US-sponsored government in Haiti for their Grenada summit in July, but at the same time has decided to contribute peacekeeping forces to a new UN arrangement. The UN is to take over peace-keeping duties from the Americans and the French from June 1. However Caribbean leaders are also still determined to have a full review on how President Jean Bertrand Aristide was removed from office in February. “It was recommended that a request be submitted to the Chairman of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the convening of a meeting of that Body to discuss the situation in Haiti, with a view to invoking Article 20 of the Inter- American Democratic Charter,” statement an official release late Wednesday following the end of a two day meeting here. The Heads who met on the issue including outgoing chairman Jamaica’s P J Patterson said there were “difficulties” pursuing the mater through the United Nations. They did not spell out the difficulties, but the CARICOM move is reported to have been frustrated by permanent members the United States and France which view any investigation as a waste of time. The two countries were at the center of the controversy over the early departure of President Aristide from office. Caribbean leaders noted that the OAS may be an appropriate avenue for a review since Article 20 “provides for a collective assessment of the situation in the event of an unconstitutional alteration of a constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order in a member state." The Seventeenth Meeting of the Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with participation by the Core Group on Haiti, was held here over the last two days under the Chairmanship of host Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer. Present at the meeting were current bureau members were outgoing CARICOM Chairman Jamaica's P. J. Patterson; incoming Chairman Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada and Secretary General Edwin Carrington. The members of the Core Group on Haiti at the Meeting included Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia; Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; and. Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. During the opening of the conference, Prime Minister Spencer called on the regional body to give new consideration to the role of Opposition Leaders in the operations of CARICOM. He told the meeting that CARICOM must pay more attention to democratically elected opposition leaders as it moves to bring the issue of better governance to the fore. Spencer described it a major anomaly what he sees as the ignoring by CARICOM of democratically elected Opposition Leaders. He said that industry, commerce and labor representatives participate in CARICOM Summits, yet, there is no place at the table for the region’s elected Opposition Leaders. The Antiguan leader said CARICOM remains in contradiction of its Charter for Civil Society so long as it marginalizes Opposition Leaders, and looks the other way when Governments of member states routinely violate accepted standards of governance. “It is a major anomaly that CARICOM appears to resolutely ignore the existence of democratically elected Opposition Leaders. This is a paradox within a dilemma in an organization comprised of parliamentary democracies," Spencer said at the meeting. The Antiguan leader said it was "incomprehensible" that except for once none of his communications to CARICOM and to individual Heads of Government preceding the March 23rd elections in Antigua and Barbuda elicited even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. “It might be felt that I raise this issue in the relatively secure position of having constitutionally due elections fully five years away. Such a thought would be an injustice. I am driven by the conviction that CARICOM remains in contradiction of its Charter for Civil Society so long as it marginalizes Opposition Leaders, and looks the other way when Governments of member states routinely violate accepted standards of governance,” he said. SOURCE: CARIBUPDATE.COM