Caribbean360
Adapted
CMC – On Nov. 21, 2013, it was reported that 13 Jamaicans were denied entry into the twin island republic on Tuesday. According to a report in the Jamaica Observer newspaper Trinidadian immigration officers denied them entry, detained them and sent them back to Jamaica on the first flight on Wednesday morning.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a warning to persons traveling to Trinidad and Tobago in the wake of recent reports of several Jamaicans having been denied entry into that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country recent weeks.
“The ministry is concerned at this development and continues to interface with the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago on the matter, including in the light of the Shanique Myrie ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice,” said a release issued by the Ministry.
It stated that a few Jamaicans have reported the incidents to the Ministry and as a result the High Commission in Trinidad has been instructed to obtain clarification and information from the authorities in the twin island republic.
The Ministry has urged Jamaicans who believe their rights under the CSME Regime were breached, to make a report to the nearest Jamaican High Commission or the Ministry.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry also reminded Jamaicans that the freedom of movement provision does not give permission to work and persons falling outside of the ten agreed categories will require work permits or exemptions.
On Monday November 25, 2013 – Arnold J. Nicholson, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, has invited his Trinidadian counterpart, Winston Dookeran to visit Jamaica before the end of 2013 for discussions on Jamaica-Trinidad and Tobago relations in the context of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Nicholson handed the letter of invitation to Reverend Dr. Iva Gloudon, High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago to Jamaica, who had been called to a meeting at the Ministry’s offices on November 25, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade media release.
The release further stated Nicholson advised the High Commissioner that the number of Jamaicans being returned from Trinidad and Tobago had generated considerable public outrage and had the potential to undermine confidence and diminish goodwill on the part of many Jamaicans towards Trinidad and Tobago and the wider regional integration movement.
Pointing to the importance of a visit from Dookeran, he added that “I believe that our personal intervention and collaboration can go a far way in bringing this issue to a speedy and successful conclusion. This is of the utmost importance as a regional integration movement which does and is perceived as protecting and advancing the interests of all sides is vital to the progress of our regional enterprise.”
Nicholson outlined a number of areas for discussion, including the activation by Trinidad and Tobago of all ten categories for movement of skills; the perception of profiling of Jamaicans travelling to Trinidad and Tobago; the right of nationals to contact their consular authorities upon being denied entry, as well as the obligation of the immigration officials to facilitate this communication, in accordance with Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; and mechanisms to exchange information between the immigration authorities of both sides.
