Voice of Representation: A Collection of Speeches,Letters and Messages of an Ambassador

By Denis G. Antoine

Voice of Representation is a collection of actual interventions, presentations,
speeches, letters and messages of the ambassador in the milieu as an active
participant and witness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781462876143

Denis G. Antoine

Denis G. Antoine, PhD When Ambassador Denis G. Antoine demitted office in 2009, he was the second highest ranking ambassador in the United States of America. Denis G. Antoine served as Grenada’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C, and he also served concurrently, as Grenada’s non-resident ambassador to Mexico, and Panama from 1995 to 2009. Currently Dr. Antoine functions as Ambassador At-Large and Director of the Office of International Programs and Exchanges, in the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, for the University of the District of Columbia. Dr. Antoine has more than seventeenth years of high level diplomatic experience in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Inter-American System. His diplomatic career began when he served as Deputy Head of Mission, and Counsellor / Alternate Representative to the OAS in Washington, D.C for about five years until December 1990. The author draws upon his experience gained form lessons learned in his practice of diplomacy spanning more than four U.S. presidential administrations. In his recently published book, “Effective Diplomacy – A Practitioners Guide” he shares his insights on applied or functional, diplomacy in the United States of America.

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Copyright © 2012 by Denis G. Antoine, PhD.

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Contents

Foreword

Presentation of Credential to US President

Caribbean Diaspora in the United States of America—Limbo or Self-imposed Exile?

Economic Assistance and Human Resource Development

Footprints from Home

Tribute

Celebration of Cultural Diversity

Dear Editor

The Organization of American States (OAS) and Its Support to Small Island Developing States

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and Small Island Developing States

Small Island, Big International Impact

Grenada is on the Move!

Congratulations to the Washington Cricket League

Electoral History Made in Grenada

Celebration of Grenadian Artist, Roger James

The Presentation of Credentials

Democracy

Recognizing Generations of Service

Nontraditional Threats to Sustainable Development of Small Island States

Banking and Other Investments are Safe, Legal, and Sound in Grenada

Keys to Success and Keys to Failure

Managing Changes in the New Millennium

Another Year of Independence

2000 World

Let Us Dine and Dance

Another Year of Celebrate for Grenada

Ways to Improve Relationships with Africa and the Caribbean and Latin America

Uplift Grenada and Grenadians

Congratulations to Mr. Von Martin

Farewell Does Not Necessarily Mean Good-bye

After 9/11: Strengthening Corporation for Caribbean Diverse Investment Development and Security

Grenada’s Independence in the Age of Technology

Support of Economic and Social Agenda of the Organization of American States (OAS)

Farewell to Ambassador Bernal

Adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter

Statement to Capital Hill before the congressional classroom after 9/11

World Crisis

Independence Message: Grenada at the Beginning of a New Era

On the Occasion of Grenada’s Ratification of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women

Intervention before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States

Happy Independence, Grenada

We Accept

Creating a Program in Support of Democracy and Good Governance—Parliamentary Democracy

The Caribbean: The Continuing Struggle for Independence

The Inter-American System and Terrorism

An Occasion to Celebrate Grenadian Fine Arts Artists

Happy Twenty-eighth Grenada!

The Inter-American System and Women

The Role of the Organization of American States in the Defense and Promotion of Democracy

The Support of the Armed Forces and Security Forces in Management Disasters

Corruption and the Eastern Caribbean States

Message to the Grenada Womens’ Organization (New York Chapter)

Address before the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development

In Support of Democracy in Haiti

Fighting Terrorism and Illegal Drugs

African Bond

Celebrating Art

To the Grenadian Diaspora

We are United

Security, Security

We are Bonded

CARICOM: Current Situation and Prospects

Relationship Capital

You will be Missed

A Cultural Event

Democracy in Grenada

CARICOM and Haiti

Human Rights

Smaller Islands in Search of a Fair Advantage

Women Ambassadors

Happy Pan American Day!

On Haiti

Raise our Flags

On Grenada

Caribbean Togetherness

Lessons Learned from the Natural Disasters and the Role of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Agencies.

Thank You Very Much

Your Support will Always be Appreciated

Labor and Development

We Appreciated Your Support

Social Development, Democracy and the Impact of Corruption

We are Moving

We Celebrate Another Year!

The Financial Stability of the Organization of American States (OAS)

Happy Fortieth Guyana

Business is Business

The Inter-American Democratic Charter

Rebuilding and Reconstructing a Better Grenada

Support our Sister Island

Talking Points

The Role of Multinational Organizations in International Relations

Commitment to Serve

CARICOM: Current Situation and Prospects

Promoting Growth, Stability, and Poverty Alleviation

A Matter of Peace?

Cultural Clashes: Understanding Similarities and Differences

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development

Reflections

Inviting Foreign Direct Investment in Geothermal Energy in Grenada

Thank You

Caribbean Images 2006: Religion and Development

Slave Trade in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Grenada and the Environment

Enhancing Growth and Revenue, while Protecting the Weak and Vulnerable

Remarks at the 17th Annual Awards Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Message to the West Indian Social Cub of Hartford on the Occasion of its 58th Anniversary

The Caribbean in the Era of Globalization—Future Implications

Happy Birthday Simon Bolivar

Networking and strategic alliance of Caribbean and Caribbean-American journalist in the face of the growing challenges facing the Caribbean Community

Letter to the University of the District of Columbia Alumni

Social Justice and Diplomacy in a Global Age: 9/11 and After

Celebrating Caribbean Gospel

Democratic Governance in the Caribbean

Governance and Democracy

A Caribbean Celebration

A Death in the family

We Cry for Spain

Support After Natural Disasters

A Caribbean Gathering

Celebrating Caribbean Leaders

A Reason to Celebrate

Celebration of our West Indian Heritage

Foreword

It is an honor and high privilege for one to be sent to represent one’s country, particularly when it is one of the highest national appointments. However, to be appointed as an ambassador is to be sent on an unpredictable journey in many ways.

While there are many road maps of the journey of ambassadors left behind—by those who have gone before or now by those who serve, being charted—many of the roads are dead-ended. Many of them seem to lead—from traditional points—to established points of departure; and too often, these maps seem to show only personal failures and successes. A critical segment which is left out from the trail left behind by ambassadors is the impact that they have had on the homeland or sending country, or the consequence of their voice of representation. I am led to voice the call for the study of diplomatic representation and the impact on the sending and receiving countries.

Becoming the voice of representation for one’s country in a posting like the United States of America, in the role of head of mission for bilateral functions, represents a vertex in one’s career, in addition to serving in a multilateral function as a head of mission to the Organization of American States (OAS). Such a call to service for one’s country in the inter-American process, and beyond, has personal and professional rewards but not without blisters. It is truly an eventful, memorable, and life-changing experience.

Being the voice of representation for one’s country has many dimensions. Included are the concurrent ambassadorial responsibilities associated with many postings of small developing countries. Such added tasks include attending to bilateral matters with additional countries, for example, to be a nonresident ambassador to Panama and Mexico, posts to which ambassadors accredited to the USA are usually assigned.

It cannot be overstated that in the tenure of an ambassador, many lessons are learned. Highest among these lessons is that the people you meet along the way increase the volume of your voice of representation if you let them, and the same people can silence your voice.

The effectiveness of a representative is increased by the enlargement—the number of persons who lend their voice in support. The voice of representation becomes stronger when the number of persons that identify themselves with your country’s mission and vision is allowed to grow. Therefore, the more an ambassador teaches and shares the country’s mission, and the more access to ownership of the country given to others, the stronger that voice of representation becomes.

Voice representation must be raised in real time and on real issues, and that voice must be sustained for desired outcomes, particularly in an era of nonstop, global twenty-four-hour news cycle.

In modern diplomacy, more counterpart collaboration to address common interest and transnational challenges is urged. Forming a chorus of diplomatic voices can improve the strength of a country’s representation in the global arena with desired effects.

The people that deposit bits and pieces of their goodwill magic along the way are critical in giving full and effective vent for a country’s representation in regional and international affairs.

The practice of giving access and granting citizenship, honors, awards, rights, and privileges of one’s country to well-selected persons of character and interest is of great value. Particularly because, like the United States and other parts of the developed world or rich countries, the small island developing states are not generally destinations for permanent stay for many. Finding such pool of persons is quite challenging in light of the opportunistic misuse by some, and being unsuspecting can also have grave consequences for the name of a small country.

Among the mentionable voices in a chorus that stimulated interest as they raised their voices in the name of my country include personalities like Ambassador David Gonla Wu (a.k.a. Karma Dege Gongla Rinpoche), chairman and executive director of the Ritz International Foundation. He is among a few people who have declared their friendship for Grenada. He was willing to be associated with my homeland. I recall such men like our appointed ambassador at large, the late Bartholomew Lawson, who died in Grenada in the pursuit of his dream to install a number of children’s playgrounds on the island. He was proud to be a voice for Grenada. And he showed his goodwill to my people. He educated his US representatives about US policies that had negative consequences for his adopted country. These are some examples of force multipliers

Many others have reached out to give themselves as honorary consuls and ambassadors. I recall a most talented, intelligent, charismatic man from Peru. His love for classical music, social justice, corporate law, and honest business makes him a stellar voice for improved representation of Grenada’s interest in the world and a resource to our country. When I hear the voices of our cultural ambassadors abroad, like our musicians, sports heroes, and other high achievers, my voice becomes augmented.

I have listened to the silent voices of the people who set and direct the stage for diplomacy to be conducted. The importance of the quiet voices of persons—who point to where one sits, where one stands, and when one speaks—must be acknowledged and counted as major ingredients in the democratic process unlike those who seek to deny access to raise our voice.

But there are people who form walls of protection to secure and make safe occasions and situations. There are voices not heard but renowned in the efficiency and order of the event. The people who preserve the symbols and the rituals of the democracies which we represent are silent voices whose actions speak loudly. The voiceless actions of people who prepare the stage for ceremonies, conferences, meetings, and processes are the ones that ensure that the voices of representation are not only heard but reverberates.

Events provoke voice and many defining events refer; among them are proceedings like the Special Economic Summit of the Americas in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in January 2004; and the WTO meeting in Seattle, Washington, in 1999. The voices of the people representing small developing countries were heard and felt as that voice reverberated and resulted in obvious change of direction for these forums and incremental benefits for which the voices were raised.

Several special sessions of the OAS General Assembly recall with particular reference to the election of Jose Miguel Ensulza as secretary general; my country’s voice was silent but robust as reflected in the voting process when after more than three ballots were cast and the vote remained tied, and it was certain that if the way my country voted was changed, the result would be different; the secretary general would be someone else.

Presentation of Credential to US President

Speech delivered on the occasion of the presentation of my credential to the president of the United States of America, Bill Clinton

Washington, DC, 1996

Mr. President,

I bring you warm greetings from my prime minister, the Honorable Dr. Keith Mitchell, the government, and the people of Grenada.

I am honored to present to you the letter of credence appointing me as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Grenada to your acclaimed and distinguished country and the letter of recall of my predecessor.

The cordial relationship that exists between the Government of Grenada and the Government of the United States is derived by a shared vision of democracy and determination to promote and defend the inherent rights of all people. The warm ties of friendship, which abides between our peoples and our governments, reached a focal point in October 1983, when the United States made a great sacrifice for freedom and democracy in Grenada. The government and the people of Grenada continue to express deep gratitude to the government and the people of the United States for that ultimate act of friendship.

Today, freedom and democracy are strong in Grenada. However, the peace and stability, which we enjoy, is challenged by diminished resources for sustainable development. Grenada is not fully recovered from the heavy jolt of the revolutionary period. The pre-revolutionary economic insecurity in Grenada, which led to the socio-economic instability that rose to hemispheric proposition in 1983, must be fully eradicated.

The successful future of Grenada is linked to full access to North American markets. But while we look forward to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), we are concerned about the potentially crippling effects of liberalized trade on our fragile small economy, with a support mechanism, and an appropriate transition plan to give some life buoy to Grenada, in the mainstream of free trade. In this regards, Grenada seeks an accommodation for support and training of technical and administrative staff to develop its institutional and infrastructural capabilities to service in the free trade area.

The young and capable leadership, which has emerged in Grenada, needs to be facilitated and encouraged by older, stronger, and more established democracies like the United States. In order to protect and maintain our now stable democracy, human resources development is crucial, beginning with project-type training and scholarship opportunities for Grenada’s youthful population.

The government and the people of Grenada are grateful to the United States for past contributions toward rebuilding a stronger Grenada. The New National Party Government in Grenada is determined to right the wrongs that limit our capacity. But as George B. Leonard wrote, perhaps the most pervasive evil of which rarely appears in the news, and this evil, the waste of human potential, is particularly painful to recognize, for it strikes our parents and children, our friends and brothers, ourselves.

The Government of Grenada continues to take steps to restructure its fiscal policy aimed at strengthening its economy. We are hopeful that Grenada will enjoy the favorable attention of the Government of the United States and that our government will be given a true head start as we endeavor to better the socio-economic situation in our country.

My goal is to further enrich the unique affiliation that continues between Grenada and the United States. On behalf of the government and the people of Grenada, I have the esteemed privilege to offer best wishes to you for your success in office now and the future and to assure you of our ardent interest in your personal well-being and the continued progress of the United States of America.

Thank you, and may God bless our nations!

Caribbean Diaspora in the United States of America—Limbo or Self-imposed Exile?

Address to the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Guild of Graduates

Washington, DC, 1996

Caribbean nationals in the United States are uniquely placed to contribute not only to the development of their respective countries but to hold the torch of our Caribbean heritage high within the region and the Caribbean diaspora in the United States. But I have a serious discovery; Caribbean nationals in the United States do not have confidence in the system and the leadership of their homeland that they will boast longingly about.

When they speak about the current situation in our islands, they begin always by saying, When I was there, things were different. They seem to admit that they have taken something from home, which, they know, does not belong to them. It is quite true that most Caribbean nationals in the Unite States now possess special skills and a wealth of experiences and talent in almost every walk of life. And it’s those same skills that are missing in Caribbean.

However, many nationals say they are waiting for the right conditions to return to their homelands before they return. Therefore, they take on a very hands-off posture within the communities wherever they live in America. They display a complex of not belonging. They behave as if they are guilty of being away from home too long. They form small groups to protect a certain identity of not belonging, always talking about Ah want to go home. Things are getting too rough here.

And I watch them go home for Carnival and Easter, only to find themselves lost and confused with the youthful faces of the children of their best friends and relatives, and they walk around asking, Aren’t you Fletcher’s son? Don’t you know who I am?

Then they hurry to return to their physical homes in the United States with a refined excuse, and now they say, Things really change at home. I barely know any one. All my companions are gone away, and so many people are dead!

I wish to now bring your attention to the fact that our region suffers, not just from brain drain but talent drain, skills drain, and population drain. I have been thinking about that situation, and I realize that the substance of our countries and the region as a whole is drained. Because you are right here in Washington, and there are others of your caliber across the Caribbean diaspora in North America.

Now remember that the University of the West Indies (UWI) is supposed to be the bastion of learning that cultivates the Caribbean society; are we accepting by fleeing the Caribbean in such sustained flood that we are part of the emerging global village? This Caribbean people seem to have long recognized; however, because we are a resilient people, we have endured, and we will continue to do so.

Sometimes, I wish that the Caribbean nationals in the diaspora will take their professions and skills more seriously than they take themselves.

It is true our islands or the Caribbean are young and youthful nations. It is also true that the Caribbean men and women are not afraid of working hard; but I have come to the conclusion that we are afraid of working together, at home, in the region and within the diaspora in the United States. Many great Caribbean minds—some of the best—have walked away from home; they are in England, Canada, and Africa, and right here in the United States of America, and they have effected change—some changes with world promotion—wherever they are.

The Caribbean heritage is still making waves as recent as last month in New York; we see Una Clark rounding up voters and sounding the trumpet of involvement. If Caribbean people rise up abroad in spite of our cooperation, let us not leave significant outcomes to chance; it is obvious that we need a strategy or formula for Caribbean unity.

Until then, my message to Grenadians and the Caribbean diaspora in the United States is, dip your buckets where you are. Make your contribution where you are, because the world has become a more interdependent community. Utilize your Caribbean heritage in this rich world environment full of opportunities to make economic and political hay. The part that you play wherever you are in the global village is now being felt at home.

The economy of North America is directly linked to the economy of the Caribbean. The politics of your community here in the metropolitan area directly affects the politics of the Caribbean community. The current banana issue seems to be one of the last uses of the islands—this time not even as pawns—because there is nothing to exchange but merely mats to step into the EU trade activities. That’s why I urge organizations like yours to get involved in a bigger and more political way.

The size of the Caribbean community in the Washington area is big enough, and the positions of our nationals are high enough to have greater influence on the socio-political and economic situations in Washington.

The Caribbean footprints are big in the music, academic, social, and medical field, yet only in an integrated diluted form. Caribbean nationals are used in many ways to service organizations and institutions very much like the way our islands have supplied raw materials for the colonial masters. Today, we supply raw talent, brains, skills, values, ideas, work ethics, and all the ingredients that make an organization, an institution, a country. But there is much room for greater Caribbean muscles in the economic and political arena.

We had many pioneers from home, and even as we turn into the millennium, we still use the names of Garvey to DuBois, and today Malcolm and Stokley (Kuame Toree) from Shirley Chilosm and now Powell. We can find our foot prints leading throughout this hemisphere from UWI; they have entered the Howard University, the University of the District of Columbia, the American University, and many other bastions of higher learning in North America.

However, there is the need for continuity of the pioneer work, which was done by developing strategic plans to involve the youths in the Caribbean diaspora, the future. We must not allow the Caribbean heritage to become totally diluted in the mainstream of the global village. Today, in the Caribbean, the pride in family values, community service, love, courage, and leadership and self-esteem, which you have left behind, are trampled on by gangs, illicit drug users, peddlers, gun toters and AIDS, and corrupt practices.

Today, the Caribbean, like the Washington metropolitan areas, is challenged by conditions and circumstances that will be a continuing source of problem in the years ahead. There is a need for socio-economic stability. The gap between people, who have and those who do not have, seem to grow wider. The economies of our countries are fragile, threatened by not only natural disasters, but also changes in the global economic structure. The traditional, preferential banana market in Europe is seriously threatened. The loss of such market can result in serious economic consequences for the people of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean.

The concept of liberalized trade by itself without safeguards can leave the Caribbean at a serious disadvantage with limited access to markets in North America while there is unrestricted access to our markets. Foreign aid seems to have become an idea of the past.

Free trade or liberalized trade must be addressed in the context of fair trade, and that’s where you as Caribbean nationals, UWI graduates, and friends of the Caribbean can help to educate your legislators, especially if you are registered to become part of the political and voting process. Become a franchised citizen of somewhere; if you live and work here and pay taxes, then vote; take part here; or come back home.

Based on a series of economic reform measures adopted in the Caribbean, the economies of the region have shifted from state-controlled to a market one. Some of these reforms are aimed at lifting import restrictions, privatization of government assets, and encouraging foreign investment.

I encourage you to come to Grenada and come back home to invest, especially in our human capital. Come home and invest in early childhood education, come home to your islands and invest in teacher education and adult and continuing education, come and assist in improving healthcare, visit your cities and villages and contribute to technical and skills training, help redress the shortage of skills in agriculture and business, bring us your computer fundamentals and become an instructor in our national colleges. I can assure you that this time, your engagement with home will have reciprocity because your heart will feel at home.

You don’t have to sit in limbo any longer; set yourself free, and come home to retire on your well-earned pensions and the power of your foreign dollar. And by all means, encourage your friends whom you know and trust to come with you to your home of the heart, your country, your city, and your village. Let us not leave investment in our communities to strangers.

I thank you!

Economic Assistance and Human Resource Development

Presented at the special meeting of the committee on hemispheric security on the special security concerns of the small island developing states

Washington, DC, 1996

In the context of nonmilitary responses to security threats in a democratic age, I have stopped to ponder about how long democracy will prevail in the meet of perceived threats to the livelihood of our peoples. The prerevolutionary social condition in Grenada, which have led to the revolt in 1979, is an example of how lack of social equity can be a small island state security risk.

Among the findings of the United Nation’s latest human development report is the warning that 1.5 billion people, mostly in developing countries, are economically worse off today than they were ten years ago. The study also indicates that economic growth does not automatically produce jobs or social ground; the same study reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening every day.

Market-driven globalization, which seems an inevitable process, presents major challenges, and even with its potential opportunities, there are tremendous security risk of small island states being rendered nonexistent, particularly because they are excluded from the regional, hemispheric, and globalization process. More marginalization is feared as the developed countries cultivate economic integration schemes, which impose restrictive trade policies, yet requiring total liberalization in small developing states.

It is the view of my delegation that without true regional and hemispheric cooperation for development, the security of small island states will not only be threatened, but be breached to the demise of our civil societies. The question of economic assistance must be raised, especially in light of the growing lack of political will among developed countries to offer assistance to small island states. The focus today is now on investment flow and competing in the global market; therefore, granting aide by developing countries, and the financial institutions, is now attached to more conditionality, and it is not limited to economic aide but also to trade. Whatever ration of economic assistance is available, it is unreliable.

Today, the focus is on emerging markets, which can be defined as big markets, therefore, that completely rules out the small island states, which are now under the strain of fiscal reforms to find a fit in the eluding international markets. The international experience, which small island states have endured with the whimsical and fleeting nature of international economic assistance, has retarded human resource development, or should I say the process of building human capital. The lack of economic resources threatens, in a direct way, the most valuable asset of