Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Bush waives restrictions on military aid to three Caribbean countries
10-03-2006

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): US President George W. Bush has cleared the way for US military aid to Barbados, St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago, along with several other countries that have not agreed to shield US soldiers from action before the International Criminal Court (ICC), the White House said Monday.

US law cuts such assistance to countries that do not sign so-called "Article 98" agreements sparing US soldiers from prosecution by the court, but gives the president the authority to waive such restrictions.

On Friday, Bush used this power to allow aid to Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

The White House announced the decision on Monday.

The United States fears that the ICC, the world's first permanent international court to try cases of warcrimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, could become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of US citizens.