"I could say that your President (Bharrat Jagdeo) is very strong on this and at every meeting he continues to raise this concern (and) I am strongly in his corner when it comes to this issue," Skerrit said during a visit to Guyana.

Giving his personal stand on the debacle, he said, "I take very strong offence to any country treating Guyanese nationals as common criminals, that when they come to these countries they have to sit on some bench that has been designated for Guyanese nationals. It is unfair, it is ridiculous and I believe that each one of us must speak out on those practices."

Guyanese have complained bitterly about the treatment they received from airport officials throughout the region, especially Barbados, where some thirty-five Guyanese were denied entry on the island in a single day.

Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo has been very vocal about the discriminatory treatment of Guyanese nationals at some regional airports.

"I have a very fundamental concern about this problem and I think we need to find a way of addressing this problem," the Dominican Prime Minister said.

"What we have been asking each member territory to provide us with is a number of the Guyanese who have been sent back by Immigration and for what reason those persons were sent back. so that we can inform ourselves," Skerrit said.

Skerrit also urged better collaboration between security forces, so that criminals leaving Guyana could be identified and monitored.