Port-of-Spain (April 21, 2008) - The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) is deeply saddened by the death of the great poet Aimé Césaire, which occurred on April 17, 2008 in Martinique, his place of birth.

Aimé Césaire was also an essayist and poet of great value with multiple talents. He notably published the long poem Return to my native land (1939), which largely contributed to the spread of Negritude, a literary movement which he and the writers Léopold Sédar Senghor and Léon Gontran Damas founded. He was also the author of Discourse on Colonialism (1950), Toussaint-Louverture: the French Revolution and the Problem of Colonialism (1960) and theatrical works such as the famous The Tragedy of King Christophe (1963) and A Season in the Congo (1966).

On this sad occasion, the ACS presents its sincerest and most profound condolences to the Césaire family, to the friends and companions of the deceased throughout the world, as well as to all those who have identified themselves with the ideas defended by this legendary poet.