Sir Ronald Sanders, international consultant and former senior Caribbean ambassador spoke on the topic “The Attractions of Nationhood: Illusion and Reality,” during the second day of the 50-50 Caribbean Conference at the UCCI.

Sir Ronald referred to the recent histories of the six Caribbean territories still administered by the United Kingdom: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks & Caicos during his address.

“In almost all of these territories, a call for independence has surfaced from time to time. The urge for independence is often present among small vocal groups who link their non-independent status to slavery, exploitation and racism and who regard formal independence as a defining end to that experience,” he said.

“The urge is understandable, but for small states and more particularly micro-states the practicalities of its achievement should restrain passion.”

While acknowledging some of the achievements and benefits of Caribbean states who have opted for the path to independence over the past half a century, Sir Ronald also listed the drawbacks. These included, on average a much smaller income per head of population, sometimes amounting to only a small fraction of the non-independent jurisdictions.

Other drawbacks for residents of British overseas territories would include the right, made possible since May 2002 to become British citizens automatically, Sir Ronald said.

“They are not subject to United Kingdom Immigration Controls and are ready to enter Britain to study or work, and to build up residence requirements relating to other benefits. British Citizenship gives them rights of freedom of movement, residence, and the opportunity to work in member states of the European Union,” he said.

Another reason why independence is often not so attractive practically, speaking, was the hidden administrative costs involved, as the independent country had to take over many of the administrative functions undertaken by the former colonial power.

“An independence commission in Bermuda calculated that the additional cost the Government would have to pay for its external relations would be between 3.3. Million dollars,” Mr. Saunders said, adding that he believed such a figure to be “very conservative.”

There are also costs involved in providing for defence, which is also undertaken by the former colonial power.

Sir Ronald then went on to highlight some examples of tensions that have developed between governments of British Overseas Territories and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), including the recent issue regarding the amount of debt that the Cayman Islands Government could incur without British Government approval.

“When local decision-making is constrained by the intervention of external forces, particularly the Metropolitan powers, it encourages the desire for independence among the political elite,” he remarked.

Other issues that made the prospect of independence look less attractive, especially for very small states, was that they were often unable to represent themselves properly in international trade agreements and similar areas of international relations.  Sir Ronald noted that only large and powerful countries were included in the recently-formed G20 group, for example, and many very small countries and micro-states had been excluded from international groups such as the UN because of their inability to pay their share of the subscription fees required to be a member.

Other speakers at the three-day conference included The Rt. Hon. Owen Seymour Arthur, currently the Leader of the Opposition of the Barbados Government; Professor Orlando Patterson, who is a historical and cultural sociologist and John Cowles, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University; Dr. Dax Basdeo; and Hon. Anthony Smellie, whose presentation was entitled “Judicial Independence: The Ultimate Safeguard.”  Dr. Carlyle Corbin, former Minister of State for External Affairs of the U.S. Virgin Islands Government, spoke on the topic:

“Contemporary Colonialism and the Challenge to Caribbean Integration.”

Photos by Christopher Tobutt