We are surprised, and deeply disappointed by the decision of Haiti's interim, UN-elected prime minister, Gerard Latortue, to recall that country's ambassador to Jamaica and to freeze relations with the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Mr Latortue, it seems, has taken the action to protest Jamaica's decision to permit a two-month sojourn in the island by the deposed Haitian leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and Caricom's expression of unease over the coup d'etat that was fomented against Mr Aristide.

But in his actions, Mr Latortue has displayed patently poor judgment, a lack of diplomatic skills and, we suppose, a susceptibility to bad advice. Indeed, we would suggest to Mr Latortue that he review his decisions and adopt a more measured approach to policy formulation before he causes irreparable harm to his nascent administration and Haiti's ultimate ability to find consensus, a critical ingredient to democratic governance.

It is easy to point to a number of areas in which Mr Latortue has either miscalculated, misinterpreted developments or just missed the nuances.

Take Mr Latortue's response to Mr Aristide being allowed to stay in Jamaica, a decision taken by Prime Minister P J Patterson with the full knowledge of his colleagues in Caricom.

It is understandable that opposition elements in Haiti may be disappointed with this move, claiming, as they do, that Mr Aristide's proximity to his homeland may energise his supporters who believe that he was unfairly done. Which was the position taken by the Caribbean Community.

However, there has been a nuanced and textured evolution of Jamaica's and Caricom's management of the Haiti crisis. No longer is Caricom's position premised on the legitimacy of the Aristide presidency.

The region has accepted the political reality on the ground and its prima facie constitutional underpinning, with the swearing of a new president and the naming of a prime minister.

Indeed, in the statement announcing the decision to allow Mr Aristide to come to Jamaica, Prime Minister Patterson referred to him as former president Aristide, and also indicated his willingness to meet with Mr Latortue, on an informal basis. Also of importance are the restrictions that the Jamaican Government has placed on Mr Aristide for his stay, explicitly warning him to stay away from political speeches or attempting to use Jamaica as a "launching pad" for a power grab in Haiti.

It would seem to us that Jamaica's posture provided an opening for a critical engagement by the interim regime in Haiti of a key Caricom member, ahead of the summit at which the community will declare its formal position on the administration.

After all, it is for Mr Latortue's administration, not Jamaica and Caricom, to prove its legitimacy. It would have served him better, we believe, to have quietly expressed his concerns to Jamaica about Mr Aristide's presence and get on with the job of mending fences and building consensus, rather than political bluster. He might have even lobbied with the Patterson Government to get Mr Aristide out of Jamaica earlier than when he is set to leave.

Instead, Mr Latortue has lambasted Jamaica, but has alienated 14 member states of Caricom, which will be useful in helping Haiti to reintegrate into the community of stable and democratic nations. Unless Mr Latortue believes, or has been advised, that he does not need any such help from a bunch of small, relatively poor, countries.

We find it most unfortunate that Mr Latortue seemed to have misapprehended the nature of the pre-coup initiative that Caricom attempted to implement in Haiti.

We are also a bit surprised at some of Mr Latortue's domestic rhetoric. They, from this distance, sound distinctly partisan and unworthy of a man who needs to build trust between angry and distrustful factions.

Haiti has grave problems. It will require much help to fix them, and not only from rich nations. Caricom is a potentially important partner.

So we share with Mr Latortue one important bit of advice: to formulate bad policy is bad. What is worse, is to implement that policy.

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