(E-183/01)
August 28, 2001

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO'S INDEPENDENCE SPOTLIGHTED IN OAS EXHIBITION

Trinidad and Tobago's 39^th anniversary of independence took center stage as a week-long exhibition of art opened at the Organization of American States in Washington Monday evening. The actual date of independence is August 31^st.

The country's Interim Representative to the OAS, Mr. Mackisack Logie, opened the festivities and welcomed nationals of Trinidad and Tobago, diplomats and other guests to the exhibition spotlighting art works by his compatriots David Moore and Dalton Williams. The evening's offerings included Trinidad and Tobago culinary fare and a concert featuring Raf Robertson.

Logie also reaffirmed the government's commitment to democracy and underscored the nation's sense of pride in being among the international community of independent nations, and in its OAS membership in particular.

He praised Moore's 27-piece exhibition—the artist's first in Washington—noting how "his realistic paintings reflect past life styles of Caribbean peoples and includes landscapes, seascapes or a lush country side with coconut, banana and breadfruit trees or places which haven't changed [but have] endured, with modern 'defects'."

A stained-glass door and photographs of other creations by Dalton Williams complement Moore's brightly colored oil-on-canvas pieces depicting an assortment of Caribbean settings of a bygone era, as well as scenes in the USA, including a steel band in a New York City subway station.

Among others helping to salute the Trinidad and Tobago independence was OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi. He remarked on the fact that, during its nearly 40 years of independence the twin-island republic has been a member of the OAS all but five, "a fact that suggests that the Caribbean is fully aware—and the people and government of Trinidad and Tobago in the lead—of the importance of multilateralism in the assertion of national sovereignty and international cooperation."

The event was organized by the Trinidad and Tobago Permanent Mission to the OAS with corporate contribution and support, including from BWIA Airlines, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust, BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC, Joseph Charles Bottling Works and Investment, and Tirma Tours.