Tweet

No Advice against Travel to St. Kitts and Nevis  confirms British Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The St.Kitts-Nevis Opposition latest smear campaign against the federation of St.Kitts-Nevis has been exposed by the British Foreign and Commnwealth Office . In an article generated and issued by the St.Kitts-Nevis Opposition Labour Party through their Press Officer , the organisation  manipulated  a standard generic advisory in what seems to be a calculated effort to tarnish the reputation and name of the Federation of St.Kitts-Nevis to suit their own  intent and purpose in pursuit of what has been widely seen as a futile quest to gain power in the upcoming elections .

The practice of generic or general standard advisories  by the FCO is not unique to St. Kitts and Nevis. A quick browse through the British Foreign Office website will see similar advisories for almost every other country in the world.

According to the British Foreign Office in a statement issued early Wednsday morning  no specificic Travel Advice has been issued for St.Kitts-Nevis . The statement went on to say that the UK Travel Advisories, which were seemingly used as the source document for the St.Kitts Opposition generated story , are ” standard and global as required by the internal rules of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  This, practice, therefore, is not unique to St. Kitts and Nevis. ” The statement also indicated that the reference to terrorism is ” standard to remind British tourists around the world to remain vigilant and to exercise due care and caution when travelling abroad.”

Upon examining the following extract from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which gives the criterion for an advisory, it is made even more pellucidly clear that the Opposition generated story was a deliberate and desperate effort to tarnish and smear the name and reputation of St.Kitts-Nevis.

ABOUT FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE TRAVEL ADVICE

The purpose of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice is to provide information and advice to help British nationals make their own informed decisions about foreign travel. How the FCO assesses the risks of terrorism, civil unrest and natural disasters to advise against travel to countries or regions.

WHEN WE ADVISE AGAINST FOREIGN TRAVEL

We sometimes advise against all travel or all but essential travel to a particular place. IN CASES OF NON-TERRORIST THREATS LIKE COUPS, CIVIL UNREST OR NATURAL DISASTERS we will advise against travel only when we consider the risk to British nationals is unacceptably high.

STATEMENT-

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms  that there is No Advice against Travel to St. Kitts and Nevis.  A no travel advice is almost always issued only in the event of a catastrophic event, as was done in 2017 in the wake of the devastation in Dominica.  UK Travel Advisories are standard and global as required by the internal rules of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  This, practice, therefore, is not unique to St. Kitts and Nevis. It is to be noted that given global challenges, reference to terrorism is standard to remind British tourists around the world to remain vigilant and to exercise due care and caution when travelling abroad. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Advisories, done without regard to local country input, are determined by its internal rules.  The FCO, is required to run and update country “travel advisories” every three months and to conduct a review annually.  The schedule for country update may mean that they do not always accurately reflect changing circumstances in a particular country. This, as the FCO concedes can sometimes confound journalists, especially those unfamiliar with the way the advisories are done, and who may interpret the revision negatively. The advisories and revisions, though unflattering and provocative, reflect the preoccupation of the United Kingdom FCO to protect and provide its citizens with “helpful” advice in countries, whether across the Caribbean and Latin America or further afield. The FCO has further advised that in the case of St. Kitts and Nevis the revision remains standard although there may have been “tweaking with regard health” (i.e., possibility of dengue and Zika). 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-kitts-and-nevis https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/antigua-and-barbuda https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/anguilla https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bahamashttps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/belize/safety-and-security#Crime https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/belize/safety-and-security#Crime https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/dominica https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaicahttps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/grenada https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-lucia https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-vincent-and-the-grenadines/safety-and-security  advice/belize/safety-and-security#Crimehttps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/belize/safety-and-security#Crime https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/dominica https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/grenadahttps://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-lucia https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/st-vincent-and-the-grenadines/safety-and-security