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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWN #0114/01 0492142
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 182142Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7124
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000114 

SIPDIS 

STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 

EO 12958 DECL: 02/18/2029 
TAGS PGOV, PINR, ST, CN, XL 
SUBJECT: ANTIGUA: UPHEAVAL ON THE EVE OF ELECTIONS 

Classified By: Classified By: Charge d,Affaires, a.i. D. Brent Hardt, f or reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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¶1. (C) Antiguan PM Spencer’s February 17 announcement of March 12 as the date for parliamentary elections was almost immediately overshadowed by an announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission of action being taken against U.S.-Antiguan citizen Sir Allen Stanford for “massive, on-going fraud.” In the run-up to these announcements, election violence involving the fire bombing of opposition offices had escalated the election rhetoric that has polarized the local populace and led the OAS to warn both parties to rein in their followers. Local fears over Stanford indictment have led to a run on the Stanford Financial Group’s subsidiary the Bank of Antigua, with depositors lining up for an hour or more to withdrawal their money. The Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, seeking to stem the bank run, contacted the Embassy to seek guidance on the implications of the SEC complaint for the Bank of Antigua. In a country already burdened with headline-grabbing rising crime and a tight economy, the pre-election landscape is suddenly quite rocky and unpredictable. End summary.

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PM Spencer Sets March 12 elections Date
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¶2. (C) Prime Minister Spencer called on the Governor General to issue the writ for election for March 12 during his live televised address to the nation Tuesday evening, February 17.  Spencer’s address drew heavily on the run- up to the 1999 elections and the 2004 elections casting the opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) as corrupt and inept. Many still contend that the necessary preparations have not been made to hold the elections by the date set.

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Pre-Elections Violence on the Rise
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¶3. (C) Just prior to the PM’s announcement of the election date, the district offices of two ALP candidates were set aflame early on the morning of February 16. The local constituency offices of ALP candidates Asot Michael and Gail Christian were both targeted with what appear to be “Molotov cocktails” in apparent acts of election violence and intimidation, according to Police Commissioner Tom Bennett. The police are investigating the matter, but it appears to be the ad hoc work of party supporters, not acts coordinated or perpetrated by one of the parties directly. ALP Opposition Leader Steadroy Benjamin contended that the offices of ALP candidate Christian were targeted because she is widely believed to hold a narrow lead in her race to unseat PM Spencer. He predicted there will be more violence before the election are over due to the unprecedented polarization among Antiguans. The fire bombing episodes, along with earlier small-scale crowd violence at some party rallies, has prompted the OAS, which is set to send an observer mission to Antigua, to call on the leadership of both parties to dissuade their supporters from taking violent actions. OAS Assistant SECGEN Albert Ramdin expressed hope that Antiguan elections would follow the Caribbean norm and be largely incident-free, fair, and democratic.

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Fallout from Stanford Indictment
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¶4. (C) No sooner did the PM’s election date announcement hit the airwaves, when news of a major SEC indictment against Antigua’s richest citizen, primary banker, and second largest local employer and philanthropist, Sir Allen Stanford, shock the small island -- with ripples extending throughout the Eastern Caribbean. Local Antiguan depositors at the Stanford Financial Group’s subsidiary The Bank of Antigua (BOA) lined up on February 18 to withdraw their funds in what has been characterized as a bank run, following rumors and fears that U.S. authorities would seek to seize all assets related to Stanford and his companies. Commissioner Bennett confirmed that there is some concern of unrest, noting that, as of the middle of the day, there were no incidents at any of the BOA’s branches. PM Spencer appealed for calm during his live national broadcast, and rebuked the ALP for trying to turn the indictment into a partisan political issue.

¶5. (C) Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Governor Sir Dwight Venner, meanwhile, phoned the Charge from his office in St. Kitts seeking further clarification regarding the SEC’s proposed actions. He said that the ECCB was flying in money to back withdrawals at the Bank of Antigua for now, but that they could not do so for long. Prior to the SEC case, he said the bank had adequate liquidity and reasonable debt-equity ratios. He was looking for information that would allow the ECCB and the government of Antigua to reassure depositors. He has subsequently been in touch with the SEC on the matter. At some point soon, the ECCB may be required to step in and take control of the bank to protect the interests of depositors. Embassy appreciates SEC coordination on this issue.

¶6. (C) Steadroy Benjamin speculated that the PM called for elections immediately after the Stanford indictment due to the potential fallout should things go very badly for Stanford. Benjamin sought to link the announcement to the government’s “undisclosed dealings with the Stanford group,” though the current opposition was in power when Stanford first established himself in Antigua, so his ability to point fingers will be limited. Benjamin’s claim was disputed by former Minister of State Aziz Hadeed, who said he was aware of the proposed election date several days prior to the announcement.

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Meanwhile, on the Streets...
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¶7. (C) These latest shockers come on the heels of another headline-grabbing spike in violent crime in Antigua. Incidents of violent crime continue to rise against locals and tourists alike. However, in an economy almost wholly dependent upon tourism, high profile attacks on foreigners are particularly damaging to the local economy. The recent murder of an Australian yacht captain made international news, driving away many of the mega yachts that regularly visit the island. The murder followed on the heels of the murder of a honeymoon couple from the UK last summer. In both cases the police were able to apprehend suspects, which are now awaiting trial, Bennett told us, but the short-term impact on a tourism-driven economy already depressed by the global recession will not be easily mitigated by the apprehension of suspects.

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Cricket Test Match Placates Masses for Now
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¶8. (C) The one bright spot for the country, Commissioner Bennett commented, has been a cricket test match between England and the West Indies team being held in Antigua this week. The high-profile event has tempered somewhat people’s concerns over the elections or the Stanford indictment. The region’s love of cricket means crowds are packed in the Antigua Recreation Grounds Stadium. Yet even this silver lining has a touch of grey, as in what has been termed “a national embarrassment” in regional press the match could not be held at the recently constructed 20,000 person stadium named in honor of local cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards because of poor field conditions. Most blame the poor conditions on the slapdash construction done by the Chinese government, which built the stadium as a gift to the Antiguan government, local commentator Winston Derrick said. It has also not been lost on regional commentators that one of the biggest financial backers of the West Indies cricket team, and the person who brought the more marketable 20/20 cricket format to the Caribbean, is none other than Sir Allen Stanford -- and many are beginning to wonder how his indictment might hurt a team that is just beginning to rebound from a drubbing in the 2007 cricket World Cup.

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Comment
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¶9. (C) The United Progressive Party (UPP), once the clear favorite to return to power, now has a real fight on its hands, which few predicted just two months ago. Rapidly falling numbers for tourism throughout the region coupled with increasing stories of murdered tourists, the indictment of the second largest employer on the island for fraud, and a failed cricket match finds Antigua in perhaps the perfect storm. Many worry that these issues could not only spell disaster for the UPP, but for the country’s economy as a whole, leading to a severe economic depression and intolerable unemployment creating more violence and a cycle of less tourism, more unemployment and more crime. It is unclear if either party will try hard to use the Stanford indictment as an election issue -- Stanford amassed his fortune under an ALP government, and was knighted by a UPP government, so all hands are likely equally dirty. Of more concern for Antigua is when the run of “bad luck” will stop, and whether either party is positioned to turn things around on crime and the economy. HARDT