REGIONAL SECURITY AND EXPROPRIATION CASE HEADLINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000588

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018
TAGS: EINV PREL MASS XL
SUBJECT: REGIONAL SECURITY AND EXPROPRIATION CASE HEADLINE
AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PM DOUGLAS

Classified By: Charge d,affaires, a.i. D. Brent Hardt Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts and Nevis
provided lukewarm assurances of his country's support on key
upcoming human rights issues at the UNGA during a September
18 meeting with the Ambassador. The Ambassador also urged
the PM to bring closure to the long-standing Angelus property
dispute, which involves real estate expropriated from U.S.
citizens. Douglas also provided his perspectives on Trinidad
PM Manning's regional integration proposal, outlining areas
of the initiative of interest to St. Kitts and Nevis. End
Summary.

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UNGA SUPPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VOTES
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2. (U) Prime Minister Denzil Douglas reaffirmed his intent to
attend the meeting with the Secretary in New York September

25. The Ambassador welcomed the news, noting that the U.S.
will look to the Caribbean -- and to St. Kitts and Nevis in
particular -- for support on key UNGA Third Committee
resolutions. She emphasized the importance of both allowing
discussion and votes on cases of serious human rights abuses
and of then voting to condemn those abuses in keeping with
their own strong historic support for basic human rights and
dignity. Without committing to support specific resolutions,
Douglas assured the Ambassador that human rights are always
on his agenda, and added that the U.S. should see greater
Caribbean cooperation.

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SECURITY CONCERNS FOR ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
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3. (U) Commenting on the recent Defense Ministerial in Banff,
Canada, where he had chaired the side meeting with U.S.
officials for CARICOM, Douglas assessed the meeting's tone as
frank. Disappointed in the U.S. commitment to security in
the region and the slow pace of progress, Douglas promised to
engage with the Secretary on the issue during their meeting.
The Ambassador referred to A/S Shannon's and SOUTHCOM COM
Stavridis' March, 2008 visit to Bridgetown, in which A/S
Shannon urged CARICOM governments to take the lead in
developing a regional security plan rather than wait for
donors to take the lead. Increased drug trafficking, illegal
arms trading, the effect of deportees and the inability of
regional governments to patrol their own coastlines due to
the lack of equipment were all concerns raised by Douglas.
Trinidad and Tobago, Douglas noted, has made recent
commitments to increase security in the Southern Caribbean,
but he expressed skepticism with regards to security
improvements in the North. He said that all countries in the
Caribbean, as well as the U.S., should be more committed to
security.

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ANGELUS PROPERTY DISPUTE
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4. (U) Stressing she is now receiving calls from Congress,
the Ambassador urged the PM to take leadership in resolving
the long-outstanding Angelus property dispute. After years
of legal battles, the American Citizen investors are simply
seeking compensation for the property, but have been
repeatedly stonewalled by government functionaries and the
Attorney General. The Ambassador emphasized the potential
negative effect that a continuation of this dispute could
have for American and other foreign investment if it is not
resolved. Douglas assured the Ambassador that a resolution
was near and that an undisclosed compensation amount had been
determined based on the price the government obtained when it
resold the property to another investor. Douglas described
several ownership and management changes, which had allowed
the property to fall into disrepair and cloud the actual
ownership of the property. Douglas reiterated that he would
attend to the matter, but emphasized that before any
compensation was paid, claimants would have to prove their
legal ownership. The Ambassador later visited the Angelus
property and found it to be in decent shape. So much so that
some of the units were occupied and others were being
renovated.

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ECONOMIC UNION, NOT POLITICAL
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5. (U) Douglas briefed the Ambassador on last month's
regional integration meetings in Trinidad. Describing the
OECS as "a collection of sub-regional states pursuing a
common agenda economically," Douglas expressed support for
further regional integration. Recognizing Trinidad and
Tobago was a major trading partner, Douglas said he would
like to see more rapid integration. Three states -- Grenada,
St. Lucia, and St. Vincent -- signed a memorandum to move to
political union by 2013. At this point, St. Kitts and Nevis
is not interested in political union, he said, although they
fully support the economic union.

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COMMENT
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6. (U) The Angelus property dispute has been dragging on for
many years. Several U.S. Citizen investors routinely call
and email the Embassy to inquire about the status of their
claims, and they have recently begun to involve their
congressional representatives. The Ambassador made clear to
Prime Minister Douglas that the U.S. was dissatisfied with
the lack of progress. While Douglas, promises are welcome,
similar promises in the past have gone unfulfilled. Post
will watch this situation carefully as we prepare the first
country commercial guide for St. Kitts and Nevis.
OURISMAN