According to ehistorylib, in 2005, Grenada had a population of approximately 100,000 people, composed of Grenadian nationals and other ethnic minorities. The main language spoken was English, with other regional languages having official status in certain areas. The economy in 2005 was largely based on agriculture and services, with a strong emphasis on exports. Foreign trade was an important part of the economy and Grenada had strong ties to its Caribbean neighbors as well as other countries around the world. Foreign relations in 2005 were mostly positive with the country having diplomatic ties to most countries around the world. Politically, Grenada was a parliamentary republic under Prime Minister Keith Mitchell who had been in power since 1995 following elections which saw his New National Party win a majority of votes. In 2005 there were multiple political parties operating in the country including both left-wing and right-wing parties as well as a free press which helped to ensure press freedom.
Yearbook 2005
Grenada. Both political and economic and everyday life in Grenada were characterized during the year by the reconstruction following Hurricane Ivan, which in September 2004 destroyed or severely damaged almost all the settlement on the island. Large parts of the crops – not least the economically important nutmeg – were destroyed and over 30 people were killed. The cost of the reconstruction was estimated at just over SEK 6.7 billion. Assistance came from different directions, including US and EU. The International Monetary Fund contributed loans. The need for assistance led Grenada to establish diplomatic relations with China at the beginning of the year. At the same time, relations with Taiwan were broken.
According to countryaah, Saint George’s is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Grenada. The death penalty for 14 of the so-called Grenada 17 was upheld in February by the Regional Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. The 17 had been sentenced to the law’s most severe penalty in 1986 after being found guilty of the coup in 1983, when the then prime minister and four other ministers were killed.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym GD stands for the country of Grenada and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
In March 1997, the government rejected a request by the Grenada Church Council to release the two life imprisoned for the murders in 1983. In April, the country resumed diplomatic relations with Cuba which had been severed since the US invasion in 1983. Prime Minister Keith Mitchell conducted an official visit at the same time. in Cuba, under which an agreement on economic cooperation was concluded.
Just 7 weeks after his government collapsed due to constant accusations by the opposition party GULP on corruption in the government, Prime Minister Mitchell claimed that his image was in order again. In January 1999, his party also captured all 15 seats in parliament.
In November 1999, First International Bank of Grenada signed an agreement with Congolese rebel leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba to borrow a total of 16 million. US $ to his rebel group, Congolese Unity for Democracy, supported by Uganda. (See Congo).
In 2001-02, Grenada was the country in the Caribbean with the highest economic growth: 6.5%. This was mainly due to tourism, foreign and public investment and growth in agriculture. Despite this, it failed to reduce the high unemployment rate that particularly affects young people. The rising tourism has created tensions between the government and environmentalists because building large hotels threatens the tropical rainforest and erosion of the beaches.
On the 20th anniversary of October 2003 for the assassination of Maurice Bishop and the US invasion, Amnesty International published a report in which the 17 political prisoners after the invasion were referred to as “the last prisoners of the Cold War”. The report called on the government to conduct a new trial, and this time under an independent court. The report criticized irregularities in the selection of judges in the case, the accused’s lack of legal representation, the presentation of dubious evidence, and the enforcement of confessions during torture.
In their reports, the international media drew parallels between the US invasion of Grenada in 1983 and the situation following the invasion of Iraq. The United States stores hundreds of prisoners accused of terrorism at its Guantanamo base, which geographically bears many similarities to Point Salines at the southern tip of Grenada, where the United States set up its headquarters after the invasion, and kept its prisoners, bound in wooden boxes. The father of the current president of the United States, George Bush, was then Reagan’s vice president, and helped shape the “preventive military intervention,” which the son later made to the United States security doctrine.
