Montserrat: British Government Minister Visits After Arguments Over Aid To Islanders

Record ID: 3930

  • Title: Montserrat: British Government Minister Visits After Arguments Over Aid To Islanders
  • Date: 31st August 1997
  • Summary: A British government minister has travelled to Montserrat after two weeks of bitter arguments over aid to the volcano-struck islanders. The Soufriere Hills volcano came to life in 1995 after lying dormant for centuries. It devastated the capital Plymouth and caused about half of the 11,000 population to flee the island. George Foulkes, junior minister at the British International Development department, arrived in Montserrat on September 1 to reassure islanders of the British government's "total commitment to the future of Montserrat." There has been disagreement between Britain and its dependent territory over the levels of aid offered to Montserratians wanting to leave the island after a volcano erupted killing 19 people. Only a handful of people from Montserrat have taken advantage of a voluntary evacuation organised by Britain. Most appear to be waiting to see if Britain will make good a pledge to spend 41 million pounds (about 65 million United States dollars) on developing the still viable northern half of the island. Foulkes is also expected to have talks with the government on the neighbouring island of Antigua, which said last week it could not accept any more Montserratians except on a very short-term basis, without help from Britain.
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  • Location: MONTSERRAT SALEM
  • Reuters ID: LDL001273Z3NR
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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  • Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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