From Mail-Server@lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu  Fri Sep  3 02:52:14 1993
To: Clinton-Speeches-Distribution@campaign92.org,
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1993 18:29-0400
From: The White House <75300.3115@compuserve.com>
Subject: Clinton Remarks w/ Carib. Leaders

                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                 August 30, 1993

             
                 PRESS AVAILABILITY BY THE PRESIDENT
                     AND CARIBBEAN HEADS OF STATE
             
                            The East Room

2:09 P.M. EDT

             THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Today I had the great 
honor of welcoming five outstanding leaders from the English-speaking 
Caribbean to the White House.  President Cheddi Jagan of Guyana; 
Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford of Barbados; Prime Minister Patrick 
Manning of Trinidad and Tobago -- Tobago, excuse me; I'm still horse 
from our luncheon; Prime Minister P.J. Patterson of Jamaica; and 
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham of the Bahamas.  I'm impressed by the 
intelligence, the dynamism and the dedication of the Caribbean 
leadership.  
             
             The end of the Cold War has altered the nature but not 
the depth of our interest in the Caribbean.  Our concern for the 
region is firmly rooted in geographic proximity, the resultant flows 
of people, of commodities and culture, and in our shared interest in 
fighting drug trafficking and protecting our economic interests and 
in protecting fragile ecosystems.
             
             As with U.S.-Mexican relations, U.S.-Caribbean relations 
dramatically demonstrate the absolute inseparability of foreign and 
domestic issues.  More than ever before, our nation is a Caribbean 
nation.  In our discussions, we recognize the concerns that NAFTA may 
adversely affect the Caribbean and Central American nations by 
diverting trade and investment flows to Mexico.  Therefore, I want to 
announce today that I have asked Ambassador Mickey Kantor to study 
the impact of NAFTA on these small economies and to consult with them 
on new measures to increase regional trade.
             
             American workers have a direct interest in the 
prosperity of the English-speaking Caribbean.  The $2 billion in 
United States exports to those countries creates at least 40,000 
American jobs.  Our warm and productive luncheon meeting covered many 
other areas as well.  These nations are all vibrant democracies 
striving to adapt their economies to new global realities while 
maintaining a full respect for individual freedoms and human rights. 
             
             In the Organization of American States and in the United 
Nations, they consistently take strong stands in favor of the 
collective defense of democracy.  They have all been firm supporters 
of multilateral efforts to restore President Aristide in Haiti.  And 
we discussed cooperative security and economic measures to assist 
Haitian democracies.  I thank them for their support of the 
restoration of President Aristide and, of course, we all enjoyed a 
recounting of President Aristide's swearing-in of his new Prime 
Minister today.
             
             The Caribbean community will be an important building 
block of a hemispheric community of democracies linked by growing 
economic ties and common political beliefs.  That will happen, I 
believe, in no small measure because of the leadership of the five 
people who are here with us today.  And I'd like now to ask them each 
in turn to come to the microphone and say a few remarks.  And I think 
President Jagan is going first.  He was here first in 1961.  Is that 
right?
             
             The microphone is yours, sir.
             
             PRESIDENT JAGAN:  Thank you, Mr. President.  As you just 
pointed out, I was here in 1961.  Those were difficult, different 
times.  I'm happy to be here now with my colleagues jointly in this 
-- at this invitation of the President and to say that we definitely 
have problems -- you in the United States and we in the Caribbean.  
Your problems are big; ours are critical.  And I think it will be 
necessary for us to work closely together to solve these problems 
because one time Caribbean was described as third border of United 
States.  And some have said it's the Achilles Heel.  And I believe 10 
years ago, the Caribbean was described as one of the circles -- world 
circles of crisis.
             
             And we have deteriorated somewhat -- our economies are 
in trouble but nevertheless we are optimistic that if we work 
together with the United States in a feeling, in a spirit of genuine 
partnership and interdependence we can together resolve these 
problems.  We have to because increasingly we see developments taking 
place around the world in megablocks, and we in this hemisphere have 
to chart out our own destiny and work together in order to alleviate 
the problems of our people -- they are many -- and to bring about 
economic progress and human development.  
             
             Thank you.
             
             PRIME MINISTER SANDIFORD:  We in Barbados and the rest 
of the Caribbean believe that we in this region have great 
opportunities to deal with the problems facing our region.  We see 
these problems as relating to the achievement of greater levels of 
growth, providing more jobs for our people, keeping inflation low, 
and also dealing with the issues of competitiveness and productivity 
in our economies.  Within this framework we believe that the United 
States, the Caribbean, and all other countries of our region have an 
opportunity to work through a new conceptualization of our region.
             
             This, on what I am calling a twin continent concept, 
involving the countries of North America, the countries of South 
America, linked on the one side by the countries of Central America, 
and on the other side by that string of lovely tropical islands 
called the Caribbean, of which Barbados, forgive me, is the most 
beautiful.  (Laughter.)  And then, there are all the countries that 
are in between.  (Laughter.)
             
             This opportunity of discussing with the President and 
his high-level delegation the issues involved and how we can do this, 
I think is a most welcome one.  And we believe that we can do it on a 
sustainable basis -- sustainable in the sense that we have to provide 
an acceptable standard of living for all people, taking into account 
that those who are disadvantaged or deprived are not left to waste 
away, and taking into account, also, that we have to make provision 
for our children and our children's children so that they, too, can 
live in an environment that can enable them to achieve adequate 
standards of living.
             
             We believe that we must now sit down and work as 
partners in order to achieve these objectives.  And that is what we 
have been discussing, and that is what we will be working for.  
             
             PRIME MINISTER MANNING:  Thank you very much, ladies and 
gentlemen.  We were very pleased today to have a chance to talk with 
the U.S. President and a team of his closest advisors.  The CARICOM 
countries are situated on the doorstep of the United States of 
America.  And it will be a great error to conclude that now that 
communism has come virtually to an end, that the CARICOM countries 
and the Caribbean territories on the whole are no longer of 
significance to the United States of America.  That would be a great 
mistake, indeed.
             
             All of these countries are going through a structural 
adjustment, and in that context, we are all experiencing relatively 
high -- relative on absolute terms -- high levels of unemployment.  
It will be a great tragedy if, in seeking to pursue sustainable 
development for our countries, it takes place at such a rate that the 
domestic populations begin to see as one of the options available to 
them a greater involvement in job and job-related activities.  That's 
an option, ladies and gentlemen, that we are trying our best to avoid 
already.  
             
             There's a job problem in the Caribbean, and many of our 
countries have been transshipment points for the transfer of cocaine 
from South America to the United States and Canada and to the north.  
And so there is an urgency in the way we deal with development, and 
there's an urgency in the way, in the strategies that we pursue, the 
urgency and in the way we deal with development and there's an 
urgency in the way -- in the strategies that we pursue -- the urgency 
in identifying these strategies and pursuing them as expeditiously as 
possible to ensure that we satisfy the aspirations of our 
populations.
             
             That is a point that was discussed at length today.  And 
in particular we discussed with the President and his advisors this 
whole question of access to aid in the transition period as our 
economies go from one state to the next.  And in particular the use 
of per capita income as an indicator and -- a trigger indicator, an 
indicator for accessing concessional rates of funding and of 
assistance.
             
             Rarely the populations of countries don't see per capita 
income.  What they see is the change in per capita income.  So mark 
it where you are, as long as there's a significant change downwards 
in the per capita income of any country, then it results in social 
problems in that particular country.  And that is a point of view 
that we advocated today as perhaps an alternative for mechanisms for 
giving aid to countries and for allowing countries to access 
concessional funding.
             
             I think that the point was taken and our discussions 
were in fact very pleasant and I believe very fruitful.  Thank you.
             
             PRIME MINISTER PATTERSON:  When I heard the Prime 
Minister of Barbados asserting the claims of his country, I thought 
of making a simple rejoinder and then reflected that it ran the risk 
of being misunderstood here.  I had intended to say, good wine needs 
no bush.  (Laughter.)
             
             May I, Mr. President, thank you on behalf of the 
government and people of Jamaica, and indeed on behalf of all the 
governments and people of the CARICOM member countries for having 
invited us to participate in a timely discussion with you as your 
administration seeks to chart a relevant Caribbean policy in the 
context of the developments in the world and hemisphere to which we 
belong.
             
             I think out of our discussions has emerged a recognition 
of the need to take that further step in forging a closer and more 
effective working partnership.  As has been mentioned, the United 
States, Canada and Mexico are on the verge of completing the 
signatories for the NAFTA agreement.  For us in the Caribbean, we 
note that the whole world is moving towards larger and larger trading 
blocs.  And we envision a time when eventually there is going to be a 
free trade that extends to the hemisphere to which we belong.  
             
             We, in the Caribbean, particularly in CARICOM, have 
already started to prepare for that process.  But we recognize that 
there is going to be the need for special transitional arrangements, 
taking into account certain products and exports which are very 
sensitive to us and certain areas of industrial activity that are so 
important to ensuring that employment levels are maintained; indeed, 
that unemployment is reduced so that social stability is maintained 
in all our respective countries. 
             
             To these objectives, the strengthening of democracy, the 
enhancement of social mobility and for economic progress in our 
region, all of us are firmly committed, and we are very happy that we 
are agreed to work in a collaborative exercise to make the dreams of 
all of us as proud, independent people in this hemisphere a reality 
in our times. 
             
             PRIME MINISTER INGRAHAM:  Mr. President, colleagues, 
ladies and gentlemen.  When I heard the Prime Minister of Barbados 
and Jamaica -- (laughter) -- and I speak for the Bahamas, the 
undisputed leader in tourism in the entire region.  (Laughter.)  We 
are delighted to have the opportunity to be in Washington, D.C., at 
the White House and to have been so warmly welcomed by President 
Clinton and his administration.  And in my capacity as Chairman of 
CARICOM and as Prime Minister of the Bahamas, that we say thank you 
very much for the opportunity to exchange views, which we found most 
useful.  
             
             We had the opportunity to talk about the further steps 
which we may take as a group of nations to strengthen democracy in 
our region and to ensure that there is great accountability to our 
citizens and transparency in the governance of our respective 
countries.  We were able to share views on Haiti and the progress 
which is being made in relation to the restoration of democracy to 
that country, and to express our appreciation to the United States of 
America for the work that which is it doing in that regard.
             
             We were also able to discuss our desire to do all we can 
to assist in helping to create an atmosphere in this region where  
all countries in the region will be democratic countries in the not 
too distant future, including Cuba. 
             
             We were able to put before the administration of the 
United States the items of highest priority for the Caribbean region, 
and they are the inclusion in NAFTA, provisions to preserve and 
enhance CBI benefits to small CARICOM countries, the convention tax 
deduction benefits and tourism development, which is most important 
to countries in the region like the Bahamas and elsewhere.  We were 
able to point out the need for continual support for agriculture and 
banana, particularly for the countries of St. Vincent, Dominica, and 
St. Lucia.  
             
             We were also able to focus on the joint cooperation in 
the anti-drug effort.  And to point to the fact that one of the most 
successful, if not the most successful, drug interdiction program 
which has taken place anywhere takes place in the United States of 
America and the Bahamas where some 26 percent of all cocaine seizures 
are captured.
             
             And lastly, finally, we were able to focus on the need 
for the continuing promotion of democracy in our region.
             
             We all leave Washington, D.C., reinvigorated and 
determined to continue our efforts in this region to work together as 
partners to ensure better quality of life for all of our citizens.  
We are most hopeful of the benefits that will come to our region 
through the administration of President Clinton and we thank you very 
much.
             
             THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Let me also say, before you 
ask the question, if there are people here representing your nations, 
I want to make sure that I give them a chance to ask their questions 
also, but we'll start with Helen.
             
             Q    Mr. President, since you have a better chance of 
passing NAFTA in the Senate, will you push for the Senate 
consideration first?  And did it come as a surprise to you that the 
Caribbean would feel adversely affected by NAFTA?  I mean, was it 
news?
             
             THE PRESIDENT:  No.  Well, let me answer the first 
question first.  I haven't made a decision on that yet, and I don't 
think I should until I consult with the supporters of the agreement. 
             It can't in either House until the legislation is 
developed which is now going on to embody the agreement.  But I'm 
certainly open to that.  I think we just have to -- I simply haven't 
had the opportunity to sit down and visit with the supporters and see 
what they want to do.  I have no objection to going that way.
             
             With regard to the Caribbean, it didn't come as a 
surprise to me.  I think in general what these leaders said was that 
they thought it was a good idea but that it shouldn't adversely 
affect existing relationships.  Our administration has worked hard to 
have a positive mutually beneficial relationship with the CARICOM 
nations, to faithfully carry out the laws of Congress including one 
that was passed late last year to stop a previous problems with our 
efforts there.  And I said, as I said today, I asked the Ambassador 
for Trade, Mickey Kantor, to look into this and see whether we can 
provide some assurances that there will not be a disadvantage to the 
Caribbean nations.
             
             Q    Mr. President, can you be more specific about what 
the dialogue was on Cuba and bringing it into a more democratic 
society?
             
             THE PRESIDENT:  Actually, we had a general conversation 
about it.  As you know, the position of CARICOM and the position of 
the United States with regard to trade with Cuba is different.  I 
just simply reiterated that the Cuban democracy act does not sanction 
any trade with Cuba unless it is somehow subsidized by governments.  
That is not contemplated, so the difficulty issue we just got off the 
table and then we talked a little bit about what the prospects were 
for economic and political reform in Cuba, something that is devoutly 
to be hoped for by the peoples of all the nations here represented.  
But there was nothing more specific than that.
             
             Q    Mr. President, if the Bosnian peace agreement is 
reached in Geneva, how many American forces would you be willing to 
offer to help enforce that agreement?  How long would they be 
required to serve?  And what would be the risk to those forces?
             
             THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, whether I would be 
prepared to do that or not depends on whether I'm convinced that the 
agreement is both -- is fair, fully embraced by the Bosnian 
government, and is enforceable.  That has been a source of concern 
for our military planners all along -- about, you know, whether we 
could have something that would be enforceable.  
             
             But I made clear last February, and I will reiterate 
again, the United States is prepared to participate in a multi-
national effort to keep the peace in Bosnia.  But I want to see what 
the details are, I want to get the briefing on it, I want to know 
that it will be enforceable.  But I'm certainly open to that, but I 
also want to know who's responsibility it is to stay for how long.
             
             It's a little bit different than the situation in 
Somalia, for example, where you really have two problems that relate 
to one another.  There needs to be a lot of nation-building in 
Somalia from the ground up -- a lot of institution-building.  We did 
go there to stop the starvation and the violence and the bloodshed.  
But it's also true that the absence of order gave rise to all those 
problems.
             
             And so we're still trying to fulfill our original 
mission in Somalia.  This is a very different sort of thing, but I 
certainly think it can work.  A multinational effort to keep the 
peace, if it is enforceable and the understandings are there, can 
clearly work.  You can see that in the longstanding success we've had 
in our participation in the aftermath of the Camp David agreement.
             
             Q    Mr. President, my question is for Prime Minister 
Patterson -- if you could step to the microphone.  With -- going to 
back to Cuba, what is the position of CARICOM on -- in regards to 
Cuba?  And do you think you can do anything to bring Cuba back into 
the democratic fold?
             
             PRIME MINISTER PATTERSON:  First of all, what we are 
seeking to establish with Cuba is a joint commission that discusses 
the range of matters no different from those presently covered by a 
joint commission with Mexico, with Venezuela, with Colombia.  It is 
not an agreement that provides for subsidized trade with Cuba, and 
therefore does not offend any existing legislation in the United 
States or elsewhere.
             
             We feel that the time has come for all countries in the 
hemisphere to work towards a normalization of relationships among 
them.  There are differences between the political systems in Cuba 
and those in the CARICOM countries.  We remain firmly committed to 
the democratic tradition.  But Cuba unquestionably is a Caribbean 
country.  That is a reality which we must face and we  believe that 
the joint commission should assist in the process of inducing Cuba 
towards the sorts of policies and programs that are compatible with 
those of other independent nations in the hemisphere.
             
             Q       the same thing?  Would you like to see the U.S. 
do the same thing?
             
             PRIME MINISTER PATTERSON:  What the U.S. does is a 
matter for the U.S. to determine.  If we can assist anywhere in the 
process of contact or mediation, we are always prepared to do so.
             
             Q    Mr. President, in Mogadishu some of the 
humanitarian relief workers say that the U.S. raid early this morning 
was a blunder; and, in fact, the U.S. military is making their job 
more difficult.  What do you say to those who are there to help?  And 
will the U.S. forces remain there long enough to capture Aideed?  Is 
that a target for you?
             
             PRESIDENT CLINTON:  Well, the United Nations operation 
set that as their objective, and they asked us for our help in that 
regard.  
             
             I would remind you that I understand the problems with 
this, but the United Nations believes, and has ample evidence to 
support the fact, that the supporters of Aideed murdered a 
substantial number of Pakistani peacekeepers and are behind the 
deaths of four Americans.  So we have to deal with that.  And I am 
open to other suggestions.  I think the United Nations should be open 
to other suggestions.  
             
             To date, we have tried to be cooperative with the 
policies that have been jointly developed. We have not been just 
simply driving this.  We have really tried to work within the 
framework of the U.N. to prove that this thing could work over the 
long run.  We've also tried to make sure that everyone understood 
that this is not all of Somalia we're talking about.  We're talking 
about one part of Mogadishu.  In much of the rest of the country, the 
U.N. mission has continued unimpeded and successfully.  I don't think 
anyone wants to change the fundamental character of it.  
             
             And so, would I be willing to discuss that with our 
people and with anyone else?  Of course, I would.  But I think it is 
very important to point out that what provoked this was people 
involved with Aideed killing the Pakistanis first and then the four 
Americans.
             
             Q    Mr. President -- (inaudible) -- talked about the 
need for -- (inaudible).  Is there a need to ensure the dialogue 
continues through the establishment perhaps of U.S.-CARICOM policy 
machinery?  What are you prepared to do?
             
             PRESIDENT CLINTON:  Well, I think there is a need for a 
continuing dialogue.  One of the things that I pledged today to these 
leaders is that next year when the conference on the sustainable 
development in smaller nations is held in the Caribbean, that the 
United States would send a high level delegation there.  And we 
didn't discuss any specific mechanism.  But I think it is very 
important.  You know, there -- all these nations, and others not here 
present in the Caribbean, are at different points in their history 
with different challenges.  And I think that what we need to do is to 
make it clear that the United States is committed to democracy, to 
market economics and to economic growth of this region over the long 
run.  Here even at home we find great difficulty in predicting with 
great -- with precision what's going to happen economically, because 
we're in a period of real profound economic change.  And I think it's 
important that we make these commitments over the long run and that 
we keep the doors of communications open, then that's exactly what we 
intend to do.
             
             Thank you very much.
             
             THE PRESS:  Thank you.

                                 END2:37 P.M. EDT

