Opinion
- Editorial
Barbara Gludon:
What price 'a few barrels of oil'?
MR BRUCE GOLDING is concerned, very concerned that
the government of Jamaica might be setting up itself
to get involved in an anti-American campaign led
by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. and all for
"a few barrels of oil".
The Leader of the Opposition's warning bells have
been set off, apparently, by Chavez's declaration
of interest in a seat on the United Nations Security
Council, America's reaction to the matter and Jamaica's
involvement with Chavez via the PetroCaribe deal.
Guatemala
also has designs on the Security Council seat, while
Chavez is looking to the Caribbean community and
some nations in Latin America for support. Guatemala
has the might of Washington on its side. They certainly
do not want Chavez occupying such a sensitive position.
Chavez has long declared that he is not afraid of
them. Where is Jamaica in all this?
Mr
Golding's fears - it seems - is that our government
may feel tempted to join in pointing fingers in
Washington's face, because we do not want to offend
Chavez and we want to protect the "few barrels
of oil" which we anticipate via PetroCaribe.
Mr
Golding is nobody's fool. He knows well the significance
of any arrangement which could help Jamaica weather
the punishing storms of the global oil crisis, but
he also knows the art of politics, that peculiar
activity which requires the dexterity of stilt-walking
up a muddy hillside.
If
the PetroCaribe deal fulfills the promise which
former Prime Minister Patterson held it out to be,
not only for Jamaica but others in Caricom, it certainly
would make life easier for any government - strapped
to the railroad track, watching the train approach
- like in an old-time silent movie.
The
Venezuelan facility could well be the hero who foils
the villain but Mr Golding is not applauding. For
now, he dismisses the "few barrels of oil"
knowing full well that if he were in office, he
would not treat it lightly, for the same reason
that this government has its hopes pinned on it.
There is the matter of Washington to reckon with,
however.
The Big Eagle is mighty annoyed by Mr Chavez's various
pronouncements. When the Big Eagle is dissed, the
claws come out. Lesser beings are expected to cower.
Right now, if they weren't so busy with that little
business of Iraq (well, maybe not so little), the
Eagle people would have swatted Señor C like
a pesky mosquito long ago. But then again, maybe
they couldn't do it so easily. Times have changed.
Along with that, there are a couple of truths to
face:
TRUE, a couple of uprisings just happened to have
sprung up in Venezuela
with
certain people demanding that Chavez remove himself
from power - in the name of democracy, of course.
TRUE that said uprisings fizzled almost as soon
as they began in the face of a strong display by
Chavez supporters.
TRUE that Washington laid no claim to how all that
got started, but. (yeah.right!).
BUT
let us just suppose that there was somebody who
wanted to dispatch Señor C and put an end
to all his uppitiness, not to mention his messing
around with the sanctity of the oil market, a cardinal
sin if ever there was one. Would you be surprised
if one day, let us say, by mistake, of course, Venezuela
were to find itself under discipline - for its own
good, of course?
It
wouldn't be surprising, would it, if a little retribution
by association was to come upon those who were adjudged
to have joined Hugo in his, shall we say, reckless
ways? Such camp followers would have to be whipped
back into shape, wouldn't they? You know the saying:
"He that is not with me is against me."
That
is why some among us will say we should be grateful
that Mr Golding has taken upon himself to warn of
danger ahead. "Hear ye, hear ye. fowl nuh business
in the yard of la cucaracha," if you get my
Spanglish.
ON
THE OTHER HAND, there will be among us, those foolhardy
ones, who would seek to obfuscate and confuse the
issue by bringing up concepts like "sovereignty"
and "nationhood" and "free to make
up one's own mind". Really! Mr Golding is clearly
not one to be confused, however.
He
says he has no problem holding US issues up to scrutiny.
He reminds us that he's actually CRITICISED them
for Guantanamo Bay and the Iraq war (Brave man!).
However, he would not like to see Jamaica conscripted
into an anti-US campaign and all for "a few
barrels of oil." So, he's serving warning to
the government of the day.
I
HAVE NOT DETECTED any inkling of anti-US rhetoric
round town at this time. Have you? What I see are
people are too busy praying for a visa to go to
Brooklyn this summer or hoping that the cousin in
the Bronx, the one who ships the best barrels, will
finally get her papers in the current "Immigrant
Worker Programme".
None
of these people would want to spoil their chances
by saying "Feh" against the Stars and
Stripes. No less a personage than the prime minster
went to register her presence along the Beltway
this week. even if GWB happened to be out of town.
Canny
politician that he is, our Opposition Leader knows
that the slightest suggestion that the government
would dare to go up against Washington, for whatever
reason, could set nerves jangling. After all, there
are people alive who remember the seventies when
Jamaica paid for its nuffness (or so it was presumed
to be).
As
for today, although our general elections have not
been called, there is always room for political
rhetoric. Is that the case here OR could it be that
somebody, somewhere, wants a message sent and it
doesn't matter when... just send it?
WHAT'S
HAPPENING HERE? It is alleged that the US and some
say, Canada, have denied travel privileges to their
countries by Jamaican policemen tried and acquitted
in the Kraal murder case. That was the news yesterday.
What will it be tomorrow? Every nation has the right
to say who can enter its borders, but what are we
seeing here. long distance punishment? For what?
Could somebody help us understand what's going on?
Barbara
Gludon
is a Jamaica's opinion and commentary writer. Petroleumworld
not necessarily share these views.
Editor's
Note: This commentary was published by The Jamaica
Observer, on Friday, June 16, 2006. Petroleumworld
reprint this article in the interest of our readers.
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Petroleumworld
05 25 06
Copyright
© 2006 Barbara Gludon.
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