Barbados PM rejects immigration criticisms

Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson has spoken out strongly against those Caribbean governments, which have criticized his country’s new immigration policy.



He said the policy is not a matter for other Caribbean prime ministers to comment on.



Barbados granted a six-month amnesty to CARICOM nationals living in Barbados illegally.



The policy required CARICOM nationals to regularise their status within that time or face deportation.



But Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed concern about the treatment meted out to Guyanese in Barbados.



The Guyanese claim that they were ill-treated by immigration authorities and deported.



St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves also raised concern saying the policy disrupts the spirit of CARICOM.



But Thompson said the policy is a matter that Barbados has a right to pursue.



The immigration policy is expected to stir up debate at the CARICOM Heads of Government Summit in Guyana next month.