GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 1,

UNCLAS GRENADA 000141 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ELAB ETRD PREL GJ XL SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 1, 2008 ¶1. Embassy Grenada's weekly report (GWAR) provides a little detail about events of interest that do not merit longer reporting at this time. ¶2. Begin GWAR text: a. Alleged Plan for Benefits for Former Revolutionaries Local press reported that a coordinated effort is underway to promote the revolutionary period of 1979 - 1983 as a heroic period and to attain benefits for members of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA). Some former high-ranking members of the PRA are said to be angry about the way they were treated following the 10/25/83 U.S.-Caribbean intervention. They are also displeased with the lack of progress by some of their former leaders, now in government, to institute "gratuities, pensions, and other medical benefits afforded U.S. War Veterans". Should the effort bear fruit, the government could expect competing claims from victims of the PRA during the revolutionary period. b. Grenada Considering Increasing Minimum Wage Grenada's Tripartite Advisory Committee, headed by a former labor commissioner and including government and union representatives, is reviewing working conditions of workers in lower paid jobs. They expect to report their findings in six months. Grenada's minimum wage was last raised in 2002. At US$74/month, it has been inadequate for many years as the cost of basic goods and services have skyrocketed. c. AA begins non-stop service from Miami to Grenada Travelers arriving on American Airlines first non-stop Boeing 737 flight from Miami to the Spice Isle were greeted by local tourism officials with free drinks. The GOG expects the restart of American Airlines' non-stop service from Miami to Grenada to be a turning point in Grenada's tourism development. The new service complements existing American Eagle flights to Grenada from San Juan Puerto Rico. The service will operate daily in the peak winter season and five days/week the rest of the year. AA withdrew its jet service from the Grenadian market in 1998 due to insufficient ticket sales and the accumulation of US$1 million GOG debt to AA because of low ridership. St. George's University's Chancellor paid the debt in hopes of convincing AA to remain in the market, to no avail. Grenadians are keeping their fingers crossed that the new service will not suffer the same fate. d. Monument to U.S. and Caribbean Soldiers Re-dedicated On October 25, twenty-five years after the Grenada intervention, former soldiers, families of soldiers who died during the intervention, U. S. Government officials, Grenada Government officials and friends gathered at the refurbished Ronald Reagan Monument to pay their respects to those who died liberating Grenada in 1983. The USG and private donations paid for the refurbishment. Ambassador Mary Ourisman paid tribute to the fallen, reading from a letter from Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who stated that `while we all celebrate the success of the mission, we mourned the loss of the brave young men who gave their lives so that others could be free'. Grenada's Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, who attended the re-dedication, was one of the persons who was released from prison in 1983 by the Americans. End text. MCISAAC