BY MARTIN HILL
LONDON - In the last half of August, demonstrations against the colonial regime in the Caribbean island of Montserrat became common. Such protests have not been seen there since the 17th century.

The protesters are demanding adequate aid from the British government, the colonial master, after the country of 11,500 people was devastated by the eruption of the Soufrie're volcano. The blasts have made much of the island uninhabitable, including the capital, Plymouth. More than 7,000 people have already left for neighboring islands. Four thousand remain in the northern - and less developed - part of Montserrat, in the one remaining safe zone.

But the volcano continues to erupt and the government's response to the disaster has caused an upheaval. On August 19 police with riot shields broke up demonstrations of angry residents after Bertrand Osbourne, the colony's chief minister, refused to provide details of the evacuation program. Osbourne said there was no need for a complete evacuation of the island. "We haven't been advised that we have to do that or that has become necessary," he said.

Many of the remaining residents are living in makeshift accommodation, in crowded and unsanitary conditions. They are desperately short of housing and health services.

Montserratians are angry at the British government's refusal to provide sufficient aid to meet the needs created by the disaster. According to the August 30 Economist, "the islanders face an impossible choice: a tiny sum of money to leave everything behind, or else stay without adequate shelter."

Clare Short, London's current international development secretary, has offered islanders who wish to settle on other Caribbean islands their transportation and 2,400 (US$3,870) per person. Those who wish to resettle in Britain would have their air fares paid, be given work permits, and have access to welfare benefits for only two years. Despite having no home to return to, they would not be offered British citizenship. Finally, those who wished to stay, were promised that 40 million (US$64 million) would be spent on new housing and other developments.

Many islanders fear that the British government is trying to force them to leave the island by what the August 30 Economist called "a sinister mixture of bribes and delay in providing new housing." The magazine referred to a comment by well-known calypso singer Arrow, who said, "This society is ready to blow."

The dangers posed by the volcano, and closure of the island's only airport in June, have stopped tourism. This comes after visitor arrivals in 1996 dropped to half of those in 1995. Processing imported rice for the British and other markets in Europe, a big source of revenue, has fallen significantly. Restricted port activities have also reduced the assembly and re-export of electronic products. The economy now depends mainly on aid from London.

Insurers no longer provide cover for property. At the end of August, two Caribbean-based firms, Nemwil and United Insurance, sent letters to homeowners in Montserrat warning that insurance coverage would be terminated August 28. Royal & Sun Alliance, the largest UK-based insurance group, said it is considering doing the same. Between them, the three companies account for nearly all the insured property on the island.

Householders on the island have been paying premium rates for coverage and must agree to meet the damage bill themselves if the cost does not exceed 10 percent of a home's value. The August 23-24 Financial Times of London quoted a Montserrat resident saying, "It's scandalous. They've been taking people's premiums for years and years and years. Now when there's possibility of a claim, they take advantage of the small print. People have got enough on their plate without having this land on them."

UK cabinet minister Short has pointed to the recent protests by Montserratians demanding adequate financial aid as evidence of greed. "It will be golden elephants next. They have got to stop this game," she stated, causing more uproar in the Caribbean island. She further sought to justify her decisions on the amount of aid with this statement, "My department's budget is designed to help the poorest people on earth and I have to be very responsible about how to spend it."

This stance by the British government has brought criticisms even from capitalist politicians in the region. London's handling of the situation is a lesson "on how not to respond to a disaster," remarked Jamaica's prime minister Percival Patterson.  
 
 
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