Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 2 © BahamasUncensored.Com
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| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The Royal Bahamas Defence Force was not looking or sounding too royal this week as the Commission of Inquiry began its work in earnest into the arrest of the ship Lorequin in 1992. The week saw a string of witnesses, high profile brass from the police and defence forces both former and present. The incident was dredged up by former U.S. Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship. During the Ambassador’s intervention on 6th December 2002, he accused the Government of a cover up of what he called the Inagua incident. The HMBS Inagua was the name of the boat that interdicted the Lorequin in the Nassau Harbour, searched her and then under arrest towed her to the Coral Harbour base. The packages of cocaine planted on the boat by U.S. Agents went missing. Mr. Blankenship said that the incident was never satisfactorily investigated despite the fact that US agents were involved at every step of the investigation. And so The Bahamas government is chasing after that shadow this week, dredging up the lives of Defence Force officers, and drugs once again casts a shadow over the security forces. The photo of the week is the Defence Force Commander Davy Rolle who insisted on testifying in camera as he arrived at the Commission to testify. The Commissioners are Stanley Moore, President, Sir Albert Miller and Archbishop Drexel Gomez. The photo is from the Nassau Guardian Tuesday 2nd March 2004 by Donald Knowles. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
BANISHMENT FROM THE HEMISPHERE
The
United States Government has sent in the marines to Haiti once again, and
banished its leader to the Central African Republic. The U.S. now
occupies that country again, for the third time in one hundred years.
That is as starkly as one can say it. Jean Bertrand Aristide was
hustled out of Haiti in the early morning hours of Saturday 28th February,
the U.S. says on the brink of a blood bath. They produced a copy
of a letter that the President “signed”. In signing it, he said that
he was leaving the country to avoid bloodshed. The U.S. says that
some time around 6:15 a.m., the plane carrying the President of Haiti flew
out of Port-au-Prince headed to God knows where.
Certainly as it transpires, the President and his wife who were on board did not know where they were going. They did not know for some 20 hours. They were not allowed to look out of the window of the plane and they were not allowed to communicate with anyone. The President told the world’s press that the trip came about because U.S. agents came to him and told him that there were white mercenaries in Port-au-Prince who were about to unleash a bloodbath on the city, and that if they came, the U.S. would not be able to protect the President. It turns out under heavy cross examination by U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega that the U.S. told President Aristide that if he did not sign a letter of resignation, they would not help him on his way either. In other words, they would let him die in Haiti.
So
here is how it looks. The United States insists that they did Haiti,
President Aristide, his family and the world a favour by hustling Mr. Aristide
into ignominious exile in the Central African Republic. No one had
heard of that country for years in the west, and the last time we heard,
it was the outrageous allegations being made by western papers that Bokassa,
the head of that state who declared himself Emperor, used to eat people
and drink their blood. That is where they took Mr. Aristide, they say because
no other country would take him. Their version of events is that
South Africa said no because they were in the middle of an election campaign.
South Africa said that they would not take him unless they heard from Mr.
Aristide himself or a request was made from Caricom. Mr. Aristide
says that he was kidnapped by U.S. agents and forced to sign by psychological
pressure a letter of resignation which according to the Jamaican Foreign
Minister K.D. Knight, Mr. Aristide had no intention of doing up to 8 p.m.
on Saturday 28th February, the last time they spoke. Sometime after
that Mr. Aristide changed his mind, and now he is out of his country and
no doubt going out of his mind.
From his spot in exile, Mr. Aristide said that he would be working toward returning to Haiti. The Haitians ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for running out of the country an elected President, whose only crime seems now to have been that he offended the United States and the business interests in the country. France joined the bandwagon because it saw an opportunity to retake the sovereignty of Haiti in its 200th year of independence, thus avenging the defeat of Napoleon’s armies. The U.S. is now engaging in a full court press against the Caricom nations that support the constitutionally elected President of Haiti. There is a smear campaign by the U.S. against Mr. Aristide accusing him of every nefarious activity under the sun: murder, drug trafficking, you name it; they say he’s done it. The Congressional Black Caucus in the U.S. is livid, and the matter appears now to be part of the energizing effort of the black base in the United States against George Bush, the sitting U.S. president who himself came to power as result of similarly flawed elections that they accused President Aristide of holding.
The populations of the Caribbean are not pleased at all by the snubbing of Caricom's leaders. It reinforces the feeling that the U.S. is fundamentally a racist country that can’t help itself when it comes to small black nations. They think that the writing is on the wall for other small black nations whose only offence will be that they are headed by individuals that those in the corridors of power in Washington don’t like.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 6th March 2004 at midnight: 59,719.
Number of hits for the month of February up to Sunday 29th February at midnight: 241,800.
Number of hits for the month of March up to Saturday 6th March at midnight: 46,709.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 6th March at midnight: 472,146.
WHERE
TO NOW ON HAITI
There was far too much hand wringing and angst coming out of the Caricom
group of countries over the departure of Jean Bertrand Aristide.
The Caribbean countries ought to know by now that the US, Canada and certainly
the arrogant and racist French have no respect for Caricom, and it was
only a matter of time before the fast one was pulled. The answer
then is to have your own wherewithal if you are going to play in the big
leagues, your own force. It may mean that we have to team up with
the Africans to see if something like that can’t be developed.
The fact is that President Aristide is out of his
country, and it seems a little strange that a man so resolute would actually
allow someone to force him to sign a letter of resignation. It seems
to us that he should not have signed, death be damned do not sign.
As long as he stood still, the U.S. had to act to prevent disorder.
But that is all hindsight. The question is: where do we go from here?
We think that Caricom has made the right decision, and no doubt The Bahamas
would have been a major consideration in all of this, to continue to engage
with Haiti. 
After
all come whatever government there is, the Haitian people have to survive.
Caricom has an obligation to keep trying.
We support the efforts of the Bahamian Foreign Minister
to get Ambassador Eugene Newry (pictured with Minister Mitchell at right)
back into Haiti by the end of this week. There is no sense staying
out if it is safe to return. It was never unsafe for him to remain.
The only reason he left was because the domestic public was screaming for
him to come home, we suspect. Now it is time to get back to work,
and start doing the things that will help to create goodwill with the Haitian
people. We agree with Caricom’s call for an investigation into what
happened with President Aristide. That should not deter the forward
movement of engagement to help the Haitian people move forward.
We think that President Aristide might well still
have a legal claim to the Presidency of Haiti. In the halls of power,
the Caribbean Governments, together with Africa ought to ensure that his
case is properly put and that he gets an opportunity to put his case to
the world. But in the meantime, let us move ahead working toward
peace, stability and economic development in Haiti.
You may click here
for the statement of P.J. Patterson, on behalf of Caricom issued in
Jamaica on Wednesday 3rd March. There was also a statement on the
supply of equipment to the Haitian National Police by Caricom. You
may click here for that. Finally,
you may click here for the Minister of
Foreign Affairs statement to civil society on the way forward in Haiti.
Prime
Minister Perry Christie is shown conferring with his Foreign Minister Fred
Mitchell during a news conference at Nassau International Airport upon
their return from the CARICOM Heads of Government emergency session in
Kingston, Jamaica. BIS photo / Derek Smith. Foreign Minister
Fred Mitchell looks on as H.E. Dr. Eugene Newry briefs the press.
BIS photo / Peter Ramsay.
US
DEFENDS ITS WRONG MOVE
The United States Charge d’affaires in The Bahamas Robert Witajewski was
out into the glare of the media light defending his Government’s wrong
move in Haiti on Friday 5th March. He said that the United States
did not contact Caricom on the question of Mr. Aristide's removal from
Haiti because Caricom is too slow moving an organization. This is
a curious comment since by media accounts out of the mouths of the State
Department’s spokesmen, the Secretary of State Colin Powell was working
the phones throughout the night to forge a consensus on President Jean
Bertrand Aristide’s departure. That explanation simply does not wash.
This is the same Government that takes years to process simple visa applications.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. The U.S. could have
called Prime Minister P.J. Patterson at any hour.
What is clear is that the U.S. did not want anyone
from the Caribbean to speak to Mr. Aristide because it would have counterbalanced
their arguments and Mr. Aristide would have stayed. The U.S. official
in The Bahamas also said that Mr. Aristide was more interested in his personal
fortune than in Haiti. That seems a bit of a smear as well.
In the aftermath of the mistake, there is a full court press to smear Mr.
Aristide in the eyes of the public as a man who was corrupt. This
was not the public posture of the United States up to Saturday 28th February
evening when they facilitated his removal from Haiti. Finally, the
U.S. official said that The Bahamas should take the lead in Caricom and
re-engage in Haiti. We agree with that but the record of how this
matter was handled is certainly not a trust building mechanism. No
doubt the public throughout the Caribbean will now have jaundiced eyes.
US
Charge d'affaires Robert Witajewski / file photo
WHAT
THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY REVEALS
The Commission of Inquiry into the loss of the drugs (50 packets of cocaine)
on the ship Lorequin in 1992, arrested by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force
is in full swing. All the big wigs from the Police Force and the
Defence force have been lining up to testify. The Commodore of the
Defence Force Davy Rolle asked to testify in private about the matter.
The Nassau Guardian pointed out that this seemed to be just the Opposite
of what had been promised by the President of the Commission retired Justice
Stanley Moore when he opened the proceedings.
The idea of the Commission is to get to the bottom
of the loss of the drugs and supposedly satisfy the U.S. authorities that
the matter was thoroughly investigated. The RBDF men who were on
board the HMBS Inagua that arrested the ship have been said to be living
under a cloud since that time, unable to get visas to travel to the United
States. For most Bahamians that is a fate worst than death.
The U.S. plays the matter to the hilt. The matter was in fact thoroughly
investigated by the police. While the events that are coming out
now like the changing lifestyle of some of the officers on board the Inagua
after the incident are titillating, no new ground has been broken.
There has to be some resentment in this society
again with The Bahamas government spending valuable monies and resources
on an investigation that the U.S. already knows the answer to. Further,
it is doubtful that they will change their policy toward the persons who
can’t get the visas. But once this Commission is complete, it should
put the matter to rest, The Bahamas government must insist that the U.S.
perform its end of the bargain and give these men their pass to the U.S.
We live to see the day when the U.S. actually treats small countries and
people from them as equals and fairly. Nassau Guardian photos
of Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodores Davy Rolle, left and his predecessor
Leon Smith, right.
AN
ANNIVERSARY FOR THE UBP
Some say that perhaps it is one of those days that
should live in infamy. We do not go that far. We simply thank
the Nassau Guardian for commemorating from its files, the little known
fact that on 1st March 1958, the white oligarchy that had ruled The Bahamas
for a century or more joined themselves into a political party called the
United Bahamian Party (UBP). It was the second political party in
the history of the country, third if you count the extra-parliamentary
party of the late Sir Etienne Dupuch known as the Bahamas Democratic League.
The UBP became known as the Bay Street Boys and
ruled the country in that guise until their defeat by the nation’s first
political party the PLP on 10th January 1967. The UBP became defunct
and dissolved shortly before the General Election of 1972 when the UBP
amalgamated with Cecil Wallace Whitfield’s breakaway Free PLP and formed
the Free National Movement.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Keod Smith Raises Eyebrows Again
A letter writer to this column Jolyen Bethel who
claims to have an interest in environmental matters was incensed over another
appearance in the press by Ambassador Keod Smith. We have come down
on no side on the issue but here is what that writer letter had to say:
“There is a neat phrase that is often employed
in law which says that at a particular point in a civil case, if the defendant
decides that he is going to make a “No Case To Answer” submission, the
defendant is put to an election. He is made to choose whether or
not his case will live or die without putting witnesses in. In other
words, if he chooses to make a “No Case” submission, he will not be allowed
to call witnesses. If the judge rules against him on the submission,
he loses and unlike in the criminal trail, he cannot then call witnesses.
The defendant can’t have his cake and eat it too. That is how it
is in life with so many things. So yet again when the newspaper headlines
were enlivened by the fact that an Ambassador of the Prime Minister was
proffering adverse advice to the Prime Minister in the press, there was
a lot of talk about whether that Ambassador would be put to an election.
The Bible has another neat way of putting it: 'Choose ye this day whom
you will serve!' For many, the reply is clear: 'As for me and my
House I will serve the Lord'”.
Correction
Several letter writers wrote to correct our
piece from a Grand Bahama reader:
Sorry, it was Beyonce's sister [Solange] who
got married at the Old Bahama Bay in West End.
She and her boo, Jay-z were attending.
And another:
I read your Web site every week. It's excellent.
But your Grand Bahama correspondent apparently was mistaken about the Beyonce
wedding item.
Here's a wire story that was published in today's Palm Beach
Post:
Beyonce's 17-Year-Old Sister Weds
NEW YORK - Beyonce's little sister is now a married woman. Solange
Knowles, 17, wed Daniel Smith in a ceremony in the Bahamas over the weekend,
according to her record company, Columbia Records. Beyonce, her parents,
Mathew and Tina Knowles, and Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland were
in attendance. "I am excited about this new phase in my life," Solange
said Monday in a statement. "I am very happy and feel truly blessed to
have the unconditional love and support of my parents and my entire family."
Solange released her debut CD, "Solo Star,"
last year. She'll make her feature film debut in "Johnson Family Vacation,"
due out later this year, her record label said.
Smith, a college football player, and Solange
are natives of Houston.
Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers- Editor
More on Key & BahamasUncensored
One regular reader writes:
"I am not a PLP supporter but I thought that last week’s column
was complimentary of Mr. Key. So, I concur with you that someone
needs to get their head examined.
And we concur with that! Ed.
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT CHIEF FIRES BACK
Marva Moxey is Ed Moxey's daughter. Those who know Ed Moxey, the
rebel politician of the 1970s and 80s, know that this is a woman who will
not be messed around easily. It is thus a cause of consternation
to so many people in Grand Bahama as to why the Minister of Local Government
is engaged in a contretemps with the Chief Councillor Ms. Moxey in Freeport
when she is backed up by three members of the PLP who are members of the
council, and she would (from all accounts) wish any opportunity to assist
the Government in its mission. At every turn it appears she is turned
back and rebuffed by the Minister in favour of the FNM majority on the
Council.
Oswald Brown writing in his column in the Nassau
Guardian pointed out the futility of it all. He said that the row
was one created by persons who have the naked ambition to become Members
of Parliament, and are being manipulated by others in their pursuits.
He thought none of the insurgents were fit to serve in that place.
We believe that it is in the best interest of Local
Government in The Bahamas for the legal position to be made absolutely
clear. The Chief Councillor Marva Moxey has the law on her side.
She quoted chapter and verse that says if you miss three consecutive meetings,
your seat as local councillor is deemed vacant. She said that having
established that the renegade councillors were missing for three meetings,
as Chief Councillor, she changed the locks so that the insurgents who were
trying to stop the business of the Local Government from going on could
not have access to a place they were no longer properly entitled to enter.
The Minister would have none of it and said that he ordered the locks changed
again. Ms. Moxey responded that the Minister did not have the right
in law to change the locks, and if he felt that she had violated the laws
on Local Government his recourse was to the courts.
THE
U.S. COPYRIGHT BLACKMAIL
Scarcely a week passes in this world when the United
States Government or the agglomeration of European countries that together
rule the world don’t come up with some scheme or other to try to blackmail
developing countries into doing things that will in some way harm their
national interest. Now the latest thing is the United States Trade
Office proposes to put The Bahamas on a list that will stop us from trading
our crawfish to the United States. Their decision may also affect
our tourist trade.
And so we are scrambling round to do what the FNM
government was supposed to do from 31st December 2000. An amendment
to the Copyright Act was to have been passed to limit the scope of compulsory
licensing that Hubert Ingraham and his cronies passed to allow Cable Bahamas
to take the signal down from the satellite in English and broadcast it.
A fee would have to be paid, and this would be turned over to the copyright
holder. Except that the US in support of its copyright owners, the
Motion Picture Association of America said no dice. They refused
to take the money and it is piled up in a bank account in Nassau.
And they refuse to enter into negotiations as contemplated by the agreement
between the Ingraham Government and the US and now one which the Christie
Government has to enforce.
The rubber may hit the road as early as April.
No amount of pleading and imploring has moved the position of US Government
agencies on these matters, as President Aristide found out, you don't mess
with the big boys. The U.S. would bring the whole Bahamian economy
crashing down on our heads just to make the point that they don't want
us to have their motion picture broadcasts in English because the market
is too small for them to bother. But if compulsory licensing catches
on, then the larger markets will try and it and they're sunk. So
compulsory licensing in The Bahamas has to go. Cable Bahamas isn’t worth
the trouble. But there is always something that smacks of unfairness
in all of this.
EDISON
KEY REVEALS HIS FULL LETTER TO THE PM
The PLP’s first response to former Senator Edison Key was to deal with
his allegations seriously but with some circumspection having regard to
his long history in the party. Mr. Key rewarded that approach by
taking it as a sign of weakness and in the week before last, he ratcheted
up his political campaign against the PLP and the Prime Minister by resigning
for the spurious reason that he read something about him in this column.
It turns out that he could not have understood what he was reading or he
would not have come logically to the conclusion that the column was an
attack on him. Last week, Mr. Key ratcheted it up yet another notch when
he released the letter that was supposedly delivered to the office of the
Prime Minister on 10th January 2004. This is the 7 page letter that
was supposed to have been the dynamite to blow the PLP out of the water.
It was released to all the press. You may click
here for the letter. We have blacked out two lines which we consider
libellous. The Tribune when it published the letter on Friday 6th
March, it also blacked out the references in the letter to individuals.
The Guardian did not and it appears that legal action may be taken against
The Guardian and Mr. Key for the libel. Mr. Key should therefore
retract it and apologize.
You should read the letter. It is really in
the main a gripe session. The central point of corruption is an allegation
that says that he brought to the Prime Minister’s attention a copy of a
document that he described as an attempt to defraud the Public Treasury
of 38 million dollars. He did not name the persons in involved. 
When
you look at the terms of his letter and the allegation, there is no corruption
at all since the matter at best was inchoate. So no actual defrauding
took place and even defrauding seems in the context to have been used loosely
and without foundation.
The Prime Minister is to issue a statement and meet
with the media. No doubt the matter was investigated and proved to
be totally false by the results. Contrary to the letter's assertion,
Mr. Key was not ostracized by the PLP. In fact on this very site,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs was pictured (see at right, July 2003)
with Mr. Key at a public ceremony in Abaco after when, by his own account,
the information that damned him to being 'ostracized' had been delivered.
The question for many now is: what is actually going
on here? Certainly, all bets have to be off in terms of dealing with
this politically. It is clear that Mr. Key is motivated by something
other than simple love of country and party. He intends to inflict
maximum damage on the PLP and on Prime Minister Perry Christie and his
Ministers so as to cause the party to lose the next General Election.
The only beneficiary of that will be the Free National Movement.
That means then that Mr. Key is seeking to help the FNM win the Government
and his attacks therefore are politically motivated.
As we went to press, Mr. Key made another allegation.
He claimed that the police had raided the home of a relative in Abaco executing
a search warrant reportedly for drugs and guns. He said that the
person was being victimized by the Government because of him. It
is a sad, sad day that at the end of a distinguished career in politics,
when he was always on the right side, that he now finds himself cast by
his own hand behind God’s back.
THE PM
IS LIVID
If you want to get the Prime Minister Perry Christie
fighting mad, you have only to attack his integrity. Edison Key,
the former Senator did just that over the past few weeks with one allegation
after another that went to the heart of Mr. Christie's honesty as a politician.
The Prime Minister is said to have been restrained in the face of the attack,
counselled that to overreact might inflict more damage to himself and the
party while only enhancing Mr. Key’s allegations that are baseless.
Now it has come to the point of responding. He will meet the press
shortly.
No doubt the record will ultimately show that an
investigation was held into the allegations made by former Senator Key
and the results proved to be that the allegations were false. The
Prime Minister is reportedly absolutely unconcerned that any of this is
correct. But what we are concerned about is not so much the truth
or falsity of the allegations. We have no doubt that the allegations
are completely untrue. Our concern is that the Opposition forces
now seem to have a concerted programme, aided and abetted by recent former
PLPs, who did not get the financial largesse and patronage that they expected
out of the new PLP, to pile up unfounded allegation after allegation of
corruption in the hope that even if none of it is true it paints a picture
in the minds of the public of a PLP that is corrupt. That is what
we ought to be planning actively to combat.
BAHAMIAN
STUDENTS ABROAD
It turns out that this column still has a number
of Bahamian students who faithfully read it every Sunday. Many look
to it as a counterbalance to the unending commentary about newsmakers throughout
the world that has a distinct anti Black and pro western bias. In
some comments made recently about the column, it is refreshing to know
that the subtext of African ness is still important to many of those who
are in their teens and 20s and are Bahamians abroad. This bodes well
for the country. Let Africa never die!
2.5
$BILLION FOR GB HIGHLIGHTED
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe in Grand Bahama
for the recent Grand Bahama Business Outlook symposium has highlighted
a recent $2.5 billion proposal received by the government which is expected
to change the face of western Grand Bahama and benefit the whole island's
economy. The Minister said the Ginn Development Company out of Orlando
Florida intends to develop more than two thousand acres in West End into
a world-class resort, condominium, residential and yachting community.
Minister
Wilchcombe, left, is shown at the conference with GB Chamber of Commerce
President Gwendolyn Newbold and Bahamas Hotel Corporation CEO Dr. Baltron
Bethel. BIS photo / Vandyke Hepburn.
REV’D
FR. HOWARD HANNA BURIED
The Reverend Father Howard Hanna was buried Saturday
after funeral services at St. Agnes Anglican Church. Archbishop Drexel
Gomez officiated. Father Hanna was who had also been on the Royal
Bahamas Police Force was paid military honours by the police. Among
his survivors were his wife, Mrs. Trixie Hanna and two daughters, Bernadette,
wife of the Prime Minister and Paula. Photo / Peter Ramsay
ADDERLEY
IN BARBADOS
The Honourable Paul L. Adderley, Deputy to the Governor
General is in Barbados. Mr. Adderley is representing The Bahamas
at the funeral of Sir Harold St. John, former Prime Minister of Barbados
during the 1980s. Sir Harold was a long serving Member of Parliament
for the Barbados Labour Party and as Deputy Prime Minister in 1985, became
Prime Minister on the death of Prime Minister 'Tom' Adams.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
Prime Minister Perry Christie travelled to and from Kingston, Jamaica this
week for an emergency session of CARICOM Heads of Government on the situation
in Haiti. Upon his return, Mr. Christie is shown explaining the intricacies
of world power, relating to Haiti to journalists at a news conference.
Later in the week, the Prime Minister travelled
to Steventon, Exuma for the opening of a new health clinic on that island,
where he again exhorted residents to take advantage of the new economic
opportunities being provided by his Government in the Family Islands.
Exuma is home to a just operational $400 million dollars resort complex.
At the end of the week, the Prime Minister mourned
the loss of his father-in-law, Rev,d. Fr. Howard Hanna.
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - It was a joyous and proud time this week in the country as it basked in the glory of the victories of two of its premier athletes. The joy about it is that these are new names on the scene coming into their own. The Minister of Sports Neville Wisdom, still in his coaches’ cloth, was pleased as punch to announce and congratulate the winner of the 200 metre indoor International Association of Athletics Federation’s World Indoor Championship held in Budapest, Hungary and the bronze medalist for the women’s 400 metres. The pair Dominic Demeritte and Tonique Williams-Darling won in 22.66 seconds and 50.87 seconds respectively. They smiled from ear to ear as they received their accolades from the Prime Minister, from the Minister of Sports and from our first champion medal winner overseas Tommy Robinson. So the photo from the Nassau Guardian by Letisha Henderson on Friday 12th March of Dominic Demeritte and Tonique Williams-Darling is our photo of the week. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
IS TOMMY TURNQUEST FIT TO LEAD?
The
Free National Movement must constantly ask itself: how from where they
started did they get to this? They must in their heart of hearts
get that sinking feeling that they have to climb out of a big black dark
hole to get back to where they were, the glory days under Hubert Ingraham.
Mr. Ingraham, now a shadow of himself, comforts himself on his Government
pension, monies being collected in excess of 100,000 dollars and police
bodyguards to boot, content with cackling and cussing at the fish fry on
Friday nights. The other leader of the FNM Tommy Turnquest is left
to the device of struggling on his own, trying his best to appear to be
brave but not quite drowning out the whispers of those who say Ingraham
should come back, and that Tommy just doesn’t have it.
The public knew it back in 2002 and judging from what has happened since then, the fact of his not ‘having it’ has only been confirmed.
He got it wrong when he said during the visit of South African President Thabo Mbeki that in the face of a go-slow by the Union, the Government should warn tourists not to come to The Bahamas.
Then he tried to separate himself from the PLP on the question of Haiti, saying that he did not support the effort to stop people from violating the immigration laws of the country by stopping persons from coming to this country as illegal immigrants and then getting work permits.
He just doesn’t have it.
It would seem that if he were in a ministerial position again, he would simply give the country away, not be able to defend its material interests.
There are a lot of pretenders sitting in the wings. One of them is the mercurial Zhivargo Laing, having blown a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the people of Ft. Charlotte, where he was given a tailor made seat by his mentor Hubert Ingraham. He seemed to become too pumped up about himself, too full of himself, too much righteous Christian indignation, and in the end all for naught. And judging from his sense of judgement since the election that view is only confirmed in the minds of many. That this is a fellow who knows how to say the right things to your face, in fact knows what is the right thing to do, but somehow when he gets to putting pen to paper to defend his political ideas, he feels some macho penchant to twist and contort perfectly honest political truths into perverted versions of the political truth. You get the feeling that this is a fellow still struggling to believe in something and in someone.
The PLP of course has it own problems. The economy is not performing well, and everywhere the cry of the faithful and their children is the need for jobs. There is, for the moment, no hiring in the public sector. In the private sector, the Government is trying as fast as it can to make the decisions that will cause the jobs to start flowing. But what comes instead is investors who say that they are ready to start but take too long to get started. In the meantime when you look on the parks, the young adolescents are struggling to keep their identities intact in the face of nothing to do. The twenty somethings are struggling to protect what they have earned in the face of no earnings. And the thirty somethings just beginning to start families are struggling to keep their self esteem while facing unemployment.
In the face of such a situation, the normal answer would be to look to an Opposition party. But the Opposition party that we have is hopeless, no idea where they are going, and no interest, apparently, in going anywhere. They seem just to be marking time. The PLP has to thank its lucky stars that this is the state of affairs, so the public is not rising up to complain about drift.
The Opposition Free National Movement is in a life and death struggle for its existence. It still has its forty percent to be sure, but right now its voice is muted because its leadership is struggling to find itself. We think it might be a good thing for the country if they could find their voices. But we also think that their lack of a voice hands a golden opportunity to the PLP to succeed and to succeed beyond all imaginations. We think the PLP has the capacity to do so under its Leader Perry Christie. What we do know also is that under their Leader Tommy Turnquest, who does not himself ‘have it’, the FNM just don't have it. But let us not sleep on that!
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 13th March, 2004 at midnight: 56,397.
Number of hits for the month of March up to Saturday 13th March 2004 at midnight: 103,106.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 13th March 20045 at midnight: 528,543.
SINGING
ENVIRONMENTAL MUSIC EN ESPANOL
Will wonders never cease? One week after the warning signs seemed
quite dire for the Ambassador for the Environment within his party circles,
it appears there has been a revival of fortunes. It is called the
art of learning how to get along within a party.
Last week, a letter writer to this column quoted
the Bible for the Ambassador: “Choose ye this day whom you will serve!”
So there was this wonderful moment of epiphany that appeared in the form
of a photo in the press this week: the Ambassador of the Environment and
Chairman of the Bahamas Environment Science Technology (BEST) Commission
appeared with Gerardo Capo, the Cuban American investor, who had been accused
of destroying the environment of Bimini with his proposed project.
Mr. Smith proved to be an irritant to the Government with his pronouncement
that he was not pleased with the project and what it had done. Not
so now.
Appearing on ZNS television with PLP Attorney Valentine
Grimes in the background and standing next to Mr. Capo, Mr. Smith pronounced
himself satisfied. Said he: “I feel comfortable in saying that I
am satisfied that the company has come more in line with compliance than
it was before with the standards that we have set, and we will be making
recommendations that the project certainly be allowed to continue along
that line.”
Singing from a Spanish hymn sheet is sweet music
indeed. Nassau Guardian photo of Mr. Smith, centre, and developer
Capo, right, at Bimini Bay with Arana Pyfrom of BEST - Patrick Hanna.
THE
RUM CAY DEAL
A long, long time ago David Melville, a man from Boston, Massachusetts
with more money than he knew what to do with, moved to Rum Cay, built a
marina and small hotel and he used it as a past time. That was back
in 1978. The whole complex fell into disuse and nothing much has
happened on the Island of Rum Cay, home to just about one hundred people,
mostly old people.
Now, the Government has just completed a new airstrip
in Rum Cay and the Prime Minister while there announced that he wanted
the new development there signed within two weeks. This past week
on Wednesday 10th March, the Prime Minister announced the development of
a 90 million dollar project: two hotels on 870 acres that used to be owned
by David Melville. One will be 60 rooms; the other 190 rooms.
The project will be known as Rum Cay Club and Villas.
We are really looking forward to this coming out of the ground. People
are screaming for work in Nassau. Prime Minister Christie goes
over plans for the Rum Cay development with architect (top); Rum Cay
Crowd (right) - island residents gather for the opening of the
airstrip; seated at front is runway builder and former Cabinet Minister
Earvin 'E.K.' Knowles and Mrs. Stella Knowles. BIS photos / Peter
Ramsay
EDISON
KEY FIGHTS BACK
Tit for tat, butter for fat. That is a Bahamian
saying. It ends: “You kill my dog, I kill your cat.” That is
how the drama unfolded this week with Edison Key, the now former PLP senator
and former Member of the PLP and former Stalwart Councillor. Here
is man who for no explicable reason resigned his position in a party that
he fought for and on behalf of for thirty years, supporting a black man's
party in the land of the whites in The Bahamas. It does not seem
the act of a rational and stable person. Through the halls of the
PLP, there is the resounding question, what in God’s name is wrong with
this fellow to have gone so far off the rails for no sensible reason?
The Prime Minister issued a stinging rebuke to Mr.
Key's allegations of corruption. He called the allegations of Mr.
Key absurd and said that Mr. Key did not even interpret the information
that he saw correctly. The central allegation was that a contract
was proposed to a Ministry of the Government that would have ended up defrauding
the Treasury. The Prime Minister said that the matter never even
got to the contract stage because the company was not even qualified to
bid. You may click here for the full statement by the Prime Minister.
Mr. Key issued a statement the next day saying that
the Prime Minister ought to release the information that he gave him in
fully laying it on the table of the House. The Prime Minister told
Mr. Key in a curt reply that since he had the information and had confidence
in the information he ought or release it.
It appears that Mr. Key was trying to cloak his
scurrilous and defamatory allegations with the privilege of Parliament.
The Prime Minister was telling Mr. Key you swim or sink by your own actions.
That is where it was left, and we hope we do not hear a word more about
it.
There was a lot of commentary about whether the
Prime Minister should have replied or not but the Prime Minister seems
to have taken the position that his integrity was at stake and he and only
he could defend it.
HAPPY,
HAPPY GLENYS
Two politicians in their prime and beaming from ear to ear. It was
a happy photo. The Ministers of Tourism and Transport Obie Wilchcombe
and Glenys Hanna Martin did a tour of the harbour on Thursday 11th March.
They were in the harbour in part to hear the complaints of the ferryboat
operators who feel that their livelihood is being threatened by the tour
boat operators who have all their fees paid in advance but still take passengers
who have no prearranged tour. The operators say the competition is
unfair. But from the looks of the photo they were happy to see both
Ministers and we hope that the problem gets solved. Nassau Guardian
- Donald Knowles.
UPDATE
ON HAITI
The Jamaican Government announced on Thursday 11th March that it would
allow the former President of Haiti to come to Kingston to visit his children.
Mrs. Aristide will accompany him. The announcement did not say how long
he would be allowed to stay. It did say that the Aristides did not
request asylum in Jamaica and none has been granted. He will enter
the country as a visitor. This is likely to raise the hackles of
the Americans who are busy all over the place vilifying Mr. Aristide.
The fear is that once he gets back into the region, he will be able to
foment a revolt against the new Government of Haiti.
The new President of Haiti was officially installed
this week and the new President appointed a new Prime Minister, one of
the hacks out of Miami who served under a previous Government. His
first promise was the restart of the army disbanded by President Aristide
when he returned to the country in 1994. And so it appears
that with the complicity of the United States, the rebels who were all
part of the dislodged army are now likely to be back in Haiti and in full
control of the Government, with brand new army uniforms to boot.
There is also still a lot of ire by the U.S. aimed
at Caricom. The feeling is that Caricom should praise the U.S. for
what the U.S. did in Haiti, solving
the political crisis in the region. In the region though, the stock
of the United States has never been lower, with most of its citizens even
in The Bahamas thinking that their governments were out foxed and insulted
by the U.S. in dealing with this matter. They wonder who is next.
The U.S. tried to calm Caricom's fears by the right-winger
Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere, who
is a former Chief of Staff for the racist Senator Jesse Helms, releasing
a statement in the press throughout the region. In part it said:
“Now some leaders in the region have expressed
concern that what happened to Aristide could happen to any one of them.
Knowing what I know about the responsible elected leaders of the hemisphere,
I find it difficult to even conceive of such an eventuality. I know
of no other leader who would, for more than a decade, systematically violate
his people’ rights, defy the international community, countenance drug
traffickers, or tolerate such pervasive corruption. And that is what
Mr. Aristide did and that is why he found himself where he did – with legitimacy,
without support.”
The problem is that no one in the Caribbean buys
that line of argument. The Bahamas Government reportedly plans to
send Ambassador Eugene Newry (pictured in the foreground at right with
Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell) back into Haiti by early next week. Interim
Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue arrives in Haiti from South Florida.
Pablo Aneli/AP
STAN
BURNSIDE’S HAITI CARTOONS
Stan Burnside, the cartoonist, is apparently happy
again and flourishing in his new format at the Nassau Guardian where he
began his career as a cartoonist many moons ago. The Tribune forced
him out but he has not skipped a beat. Nothing marks the importance
of political events and political impacts like getting into a Stan Burnside
cartoon.
This week, a look at the cartoons clearly showed
that Haiti was very much on the minds of Bahamians. Mr. Burnside
drew three cartoons on the subject. One showed a caricature of Foreign
Minister Fred Mitchell flying over Haiti and cussing the Americans.
Then there was one showing George Bush singing to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson
of Jamaica the popular Bahamian song: “You Get Swing”. That is the
vernacular for being outwitted or fooled. Then there was another
caricature of the Foreign Minister in a car with Ambassador to Haiti Eugene
Newry in a car marked Caricom up on blocks and trying to get started.
We thought that you would enjoy seeing them. Great work Stan!
CHURCH
OF GOD OF PROPHECY ON GAY MARRIAGE
The debate going on in the United States over the question of gay marriage
spilled into the local scene this week with fire and brimstone from the
head of the Church of God of Prophecy Bishop Elgarnett Rahming (pictured
in this Nassau Guardian photo by Donald Knowles). Here is some of
what he had to say in his own words:
“…worst of all, is the recent spate of same sex
marriages taking place among our neighbours to the north… Marriage between
a single man and as single woman is the only lifestyle that is sanctioned
by God and His order for the union and perpetuation of humankind.
There is no alternative lifestyle for it.”
CASSIUS
STEWART NOT TO BE OUTDONE
Cassius Stewart, the leader of the extra parliamentary
political party, the Bahamian Democratic Movement (BDM) was at the convention
of the Church of God of Prophecy where Bishop Elgarnett Rahming preached
his fiery sermon. According to Mr. Stewart, The Bahamas ought to
ban same sex marriages. One wondered whether this was simply a pandering
grab for headlines or a serious attempt at commentary on public policy
that is not in question.
LETHAL
YELLOWING IN HARBOUR ISLAND
It is always amazing when you realize how little people in public life
pay attention to life outside their direct field of endeavour. Such
is the thought as the Leader of the Opposition Alvin Smith (pictured) got
up in the House of Assembly to talk on the Bill to enact into law the Montreal
Protocol on the protection of the ozone layer. This was Wednesday
10th March.
After rambling on from one thing to the next, Mr.
Smith finally turned to the fact that in Harbour Island the coconut trees
are dying from the lethal yellowing disease. This disease that has
a long history in The Bahamas has virtually wiped out all the indigenous
coconut palms in New Providence over the last thirty years, and is no doubt
going to do the same in the islands. It starts with the leaves on
the outside of the tree shrivelling and dying and then the coconuts fall
off. Finally, the tree dies; leaving a headless, stump of a trunk.
It is a ghostly site particularly in The Bahamas where the lack of civic
pride often allows us to just leave the stumps without cutting them down,
even though the tourist brochures promise the allure of the coconut palm.
According to Mr. Smith, the disease can be arrested
by a chemical that they apply to the tree. That is nonsense.
The tree cannot be saved by any chemicals. The standard advice of
the Ministry of Agriculture has been for years: cut down the Jamaica tall
variety that we generally grow in The Bahamas because they are all going
to die from the disease sooner or later. They should be replaced
by the Malaysian dwarf or a Malaysian / Panamanian hybrid that are resistant
to the disease. The Ministry of Agriculture can import the trees
and during the worst of the epidemic in the 1970s and 1980s sold the tree
at the Nassau Botanic Gardens for the princely sum of five dollars a tree.
Certainly that should be within the knowledge of Mr. Smith. Instead,
he is prescribing hocus pocus science in order to effect a solution for
Harbour Island which should not allow its coconut trees to disappear.
SELLING
CONDOMS - A COMPLAINT
We thought that the most hilarious letter appeared
in the newspaper this week by someone signing his or her name Dr. A. Rolle.
The letter writer is complaining about the place that condoms are put in
stores for sale. It appeared in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday 11th
March. The letter reads in part: “Please, Mr. Editor permit me to
make a necessary observation and one that poses a challenge for the buyers.
I ask the question, why do stores particularly pharmacies and major grocery
stores display their condoms selection behind of the cashiers. Most
of these cashiers are “older mom” types that would make even a grown man
or woman blush while attempting to purchase one of these most useful intimate
objects. Can you imagine asking your mother about the finer points
of whether to purchase a rough rider, an extra large or wild and sexy condom
and what might be the benefit of each one?”
But just a thought… isn’t that part of the reason
why sexually transmitted diseases are so rampant in The Bahamas because
of this prudishness about buying condoms and about issues of sexuality
period? Further, the letter writer should know that if you need condoms,
you can get them by the case from the AIDS secretariat for free.
But what we do acknowledge is that there still needs to be a merchandising
effort to get material on sexuality, sexual behaviour and improved distributions
of condoms throughout the whole society if the AIDS epidemic is to be ultimately
eliminated. The signs around town are getting more explicit but the problem
still seems to be with us.
The other thought is that the reason the things
are kept where they are is because the items would be stolen by the people
coming into the shops. It is an easily pilfered item, and there is
rampant theft amongst Bahamian young men and women, Bahamians period that
the merchants are constantly complaining about. Perhaps, using vending
machines might be one solution to the problem.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
We received this response to our story last week
‘Bahamians Students’.
The correspondent entitled it:
Ahem
"Hey, just wanted to let you know that you have
about two hundred Bahamian readers checking in from Los Angeles each week...
both black AND white. Good writing and effective analysis appeals
to a LOT of islanders, irrespective of colour. So, here's a shout
out from our very own LA-Bahamas listserv [LA-Bahamas@YahooGroups.com],
serving Bahamian expats throughout sunny Southern California!"
Thanks! We appreciate your joining us every
week from LA. Say hello to all the Bahamians and our friends out
there--Ed
LAING’S
SOPHOMORIC COMMENTARY
The former Minister in the Hubert Ingraham Government Zhivargo Laing is
shaming us all, letting us down by the continued sophomoric and silly commentary
in The Tribune every week. Just when you think it is safe to accept him
into the community of the sensible, we have to deal with some serious argument
that you know he does not believe in any more than the man in the moon..
This past week on Thursday 11th March, Zhivargo
Laing wrote in his column a clever piece of propaganda. The thrust
under the headline: HAITI POLICY IS A MISERABLE FAILURE, was that Fred
Mitchell, the Foreign Minister seemed to be on a frolic of his own. That’s
it plain and simple. Everything else about Caricom not knowing the
real nature of the problem and not knowing the limits of its power is simply
errant nonsense. That is the only way to deal with silly commentary,
you have to acknowledge that he has a view but dismiss it as entirely foolish.
Mr. Laing ended his column with the advice: “Only
fools rush in where wise men fear to tread”. We say to Mr. Laing,
he should learn that lesson. If he doesn’t know what he is talking
about be quiet. It is better to be thought a fool when no one hears
what you say, than to open your mouth and confirm it.
LENTEN TEA
The 'Friends of Fox Hill' held a Lenten Tea Sunday
7th March at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Derek Davis. Please click
here for a photo essay by Peter Ramsay.
BAHAMIAN
GENEALOGICAL AND HERITAGE SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP
The Bahamian American Cultural Society, Inc. of
New York is staging a Bahamian Genealogical Heritage Seminar and Workshop
Saturday 27 March. Organisers say the event is “in response to the expressed
need of the thousands of Bahamian-Americans and their descendants to reconnect
with their ancestral background, and the overwhelming desire to continue
that legacy in their children.”
The purpose of the Seminar and Workshop is “to lay
a foundation for constructive dialogue and discussion of ancestral roots
in and among families, groups and organizations, and to identify meaningful
connections to their environment and lifestyle.”
Will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints Family History Center at 144 West 15th Street, New York City, beginning
at 9 a.m.
The President of the Bahamian American Cultural
Society Mrs. Beryl Edgecombe, notes that among the presenters are Dr. D.
Gail Saunders, Director of the National Archives of The Bahamas; Mr. George
Mackey, Chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments & Museums Board of The
Bahamas; His Excellency Edison Bethel, New York Consul General of The Commonwealth
of The Bahamas and experts on laws of The Bahamas, ancestral real estate,
using church Records for ancestral research and researching Bahamian wills
in the USA.
For further information, contact 212- 213-0562 or
e-mail bacsorg@aol.com
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
Many of the Prime Minister's duties this week appeared
to have been of a private nature, with no photographs allowed. However,
Mr. Christie take great pleasure in announcing an investment for the island
of Rum Cay, worth ninety million dollars. He is shown in the Cabinet
Office at the signing of the Heads of Agreement for the project against
the backdrop of an artist's rendering. The investors involved have
said that work is to begin immediately. In reference to this and
other projects now getting off the ground, the Prime Minister later told
the House of Assembly that "help and hope is here". From left are
Minister of Financial Services & Investment Allyson Maynard Gibson,
UK investor John Mittens of Montana Holdings, the project developer; Mr.
Christie and Philip 'Brave' Davis, Member of Parliament for the area.
The development will comprise two hotels, one 60 rooms, the other 190 rooms;
100 condos and private villas; a residential community and a marina.
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The Commission of Inquiry looking into the drug bust by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has adjourned for five weeks. The Chairman, retired Justice Stanley Moore, is going to South Africa and then when he is back, the Archbishop Drexel Gomez, who is another commissioner is off to Africa to settle the gay issue for the Anglican church. But the Commission had an interesting week. They searched the boat the Lorequin that had the drugs in it. The allegation is that some of the drugs on the boat went south after the ship was interdicted by Defence Force officers in the Nassau harbour back in June 1992. This inquiry is a wild goose chase precipitated by an allegation made by the former Ambassador to The Bahamas for the United States in December 2002. From the evidence so far, it just seems like a lot of hearsay and one wonders what it would accomplish. Probably not a lot. But the sight of these luminaries of the countries looking and peering into a boat looking for evidence of an event that happened 12 years ago. Sheeesh! But that is our photo of the week by Omar Barr that appeared in the Bahama Journal on Tuesday 16th March 2004. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
ARISTIDE IS IN JAMAICA
The
Caribbean has never witnessed or experienced the kind of pressure of a
political nature they now witness and experience since the United States
Government engaged in a destabilization programme against Michael Manley
in 1980 and 1981. That destabilization programme pretty soon led
to Mr. Manley’s defeat. Over 900 people were murdered for political
reasons in Jamaica. Edward Seaga became the Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Michael Manley became a capitalist after having been booted out, and now
his party is back in power.
It’s that same party of Michael Manley, the Peoples National Party that is in power today under P.J. Patterson. Once again, following their instincts and the natural independence of the Jamaican people, they took it upon themselves to invite Jean Bertrand Aristide, the ousted former President of Haiti into their country. The United States did not like it. They still do not like it, and they seem to have pretty much ordered Jamaica to get rid of Mr. Aristide, or else. Frantic efforts are said to be underway to find Mr. Aristide another sanctuary. This is a great shame.
You wonder what this man Mr. Aristide has done to the Americans. He is the tiniest of people physically. He certainly does not have the power that they claim he has but yet there is a visceral hatred for him that goes much beyond reason. He landed in Jamaica accompanied by Maxine Waters, the US Congresswoman. He stepped off the plane in the freedom of Jamaica and made a pledge that he would not engage in any political activity while he was in Jamaica. He is not likely to violate that pledge and probably does not have the power to do so.
What was most unfortunate was the response of the interim government of Haiti. The interim Prime Minister announced that he was recalling his ambassador from Jamaica. He also said that he was reconsidering the relationship of Haiti to Caricom. It would be silly for Haiti to withdraw from Caricom. It should not freeze its relationship with Jamaica. It is wrong and the now Haitian Government should back away from the foolish decision they have now made.
Many Bahamians wondered whether or not The Bahamas would be next. That is why it is of paramount importance for The Bahamas Government to get its ambassador to Haiti back in Port-au-Prince. He has been out too long, and the longer he waits, the more difficult the relationship will get. We think that the sooner he gets back to Haiti the better.
There was a great deal of debate in The Bahamas over the past week over whether or not Mr. Aristide should have been allowed into Jamaica. But why not? Mr. Aristide is a free man and not a criminal. After all he is a citizen of Haiti and if he wants to return to Haiti he should be allowed to do so. It is his home. It just seems that the whole matter is unfair on so any fronts.
Caribbean countries have to remain united in the face of the onslaught. Every developed country has taken the view that Mr. Aristide got what he deserved, and good riddance. They reject any arguments that a democratically elected President was removed by force. The persons who tried to overthrow the Government by force are now being rewarded in Haiti rather than being prosecuted.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados did not help the situation by appearing to pull the rug out from under Jamaica when she announced in her Parliament in Wednesday 17th March that she was not consulted on Mr. Aristide’s coming into the Caribbean and Jamaica. But that should be best for Barbados, now they can tell the U.S. it was all Jamaica’s fault. But it would have been better for her not to say anything publicly and make that point quietly to Jamaica. The headline in the Jamaican daily was that there is a row in Caricom over Haiti. The US must be positively gleeful since it appears to be the policy of the United States to break up Caricom.
The Caricom Heads of Government will discuss this and other issues when they meet in St. Kitts on 25th and 26th March. St. Kitts just happens to be the home of Randall Robinson, the African American activist who has been Mr. Aristide’s main political supporter in the United States. On the other side is the unrelenting pressure from the U.S. to do their bidding to a regime that may have been established in power by rogues and thieves. But that is what the Heads will face. The independence of their nations will be sorely tested.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 20th March 2004 up to midnight: 60,515.
Number of hits for the month of March up to Saturday 20th March 2004 up to midnight: 163,621.
Number of hits for the year up to Saturday 20th March 2004 up to midnight: 589,058.
PUBLIC
SERVICE UNION ATTACKS THE GOVERNMENT
The President of the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) John Pinder was
at it again. On Wednesday 17th March, he launched a tirade at the
Government and threatened industrial action if, according to him, the Government
did not fulfil its promises. What promises?
You will remember an agreement signed between the
Government and the public sector unions: the Bahamas Union of Teachers
and the BPSU. That agreement from last year pledged to carry out
certain reviews and to effect the salary increases promised by the previous
administration. To carry out that promise, another 24 million dollars
was added to the wage bill of the Government.
John Pinder has had unusual access to the records
of the Government as an employee’s representative. The Minister for
the Public Service Fred Mitchell is said to have shared everything with
him. It must have been a great shock therefore to the Government
that Mr. Pinder would engage in such a public rant, when he was in possession
of all the facts. All one could figure out was that this was an exercise
in posturing or as the Government called it in its press release of Thursday
17th March “grandstanding”.
Mr. Pinder said that the Immigration promotions
had not been effected and that the firemen had not been paid their overtime
in the Family Islands, that the Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Corporation
and Airport Authority workers were still owed thousands of dollars.
He also said that the anomalies pay due to Family Island administrators
had not yet been paid.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service
Fred Mitchell answered each in turn. He said that Mr. Pinder knew
that the promotions for Immigration Officers were held up in part because
of a request from him. Secondly, the Minister said that Mr. Pinder
was aware that some persons needed security clearance that had not yet
been obtained. The Minister said that Mr. Pinder knew that the matter with
the Family Island administrators had also been settled and that the pay
was due shortly. The other two matters were the subject of a legal
dispute and should rightly go before the tribunal to decide.
You may click
here for the full statement by the Ministry.
Many people in the Bahamas Public Service Union
are now questioning whether Mr. Pinder should continue to lead the organization
into the confrontation that he does, knowing that the mood of the country
is against him, and that constant confrontation unionism would be counterproductive.
Bahama
Journal photo of John Pinder by Omar Barr.
COB
PRESIDENT ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
The speculation has finally reached the mainstream papers. You will
remember the concern expressed earlier on this site about fooling with
the COB president. You may click
here for our previous story. The point of the previous commentary
was that it was inadvisable for the present president of the College Dr.
Leon Higgs not to have his contract renewed. It was the view expressed
here that he had not been given a fair opportunity to carry out his mandate
during the first five years of his administration.
Dr. Higgs himself refused to comment on whether
not his contract had been renewed. He simply told the Nassau Guardian
that there was some restructuring going on. The Chair of the College
Council Franklin Wilson also refused to say. That did not stop the
headline in the Nassau Guardian of Wednesday 17th March: COB MAY RETIRE
HIGGS. The Tribune entered the picture with a more comprehensive
and speculative story of a stormy board meeting, of disagreements amongst
board members over the decisions on the choice of Chair of a particular
division. There were also reports in The Tribune story of industrial
action being planned.
The problem with all of the speculation is that
this comes off as a campaign to undermine the College as an institution
and to get at the PLP. In the press report, there was an attack on
the Minister of Education as well. When these kinds of reports surface,
someone is trying to get the attention of the authorities because that
someone disagrees fundamentally with some of the decisions that the College
is making but does not have the clout to properly influence the decision.
By revealing it to the press, the idea is to force a different decision.
Those who run the College would do well to pay attention
to it all, with a view to ensuring that any discord or purported discord
disappears from the headlines. Whatever it is, this can’t be good
for the College.
In the meantime, the Haitian community is most upset
at the College because they say that children of Haitian parents born in
The Bahamas have to pay double the fees at the College. They say
this is a further act of discrimination pursuant to the legal discrimination
in the constitution that denies citizenship automatically to these children
even though they know no other country. In The Bahamas, you do not
get citizenship of The Bahamas as of right at birth, unless one of your
parents is Bahamian and in some cases your parents are married.
THE
INFORMATION DEFICIT
Throughout the past weeks, with the discussions
about what to do on the Haiti question becoming more intense, the question
has been asked whether or not the government of The Bahamas actually knows
how many illegal migrants are in The Bahamas. The Minister of Foreign Affairs
Fred Mitchell speaking at a forum of clergymen on Thursday 18th March,
told them that the answer was no. He said that there was a clear
information deficit in The Bahamas. Public policy was being determined
not on evidence but based on educated guesses.
The last census put the number of Haitians living
in The Bahamas at seven per cent of the population. That translates into
just over 20,000 people. The census does not say whether or not these
were legal or illegal. The Minister said that the International Organization
for Migration has agreed to do a study for The Bahamas on border control.
That study will include an attempt to count all the illegal immigrants
in the country. The figures being bandied around in the country say
that some 60,000 illegal Haitians live in The Bahamas. That is probably
way out of line but we have no way of knowing.
What we do know is that the Bahamian population
is getting fed up with the sight of Haitians in the country where some
people are proposing to take the law into their own hands. The hatred
seeps into talk shows and into almost every forum on the subject.
Inevitably someone shows up and makes disparaging remarks about Haitians,
about their supposed uncleanness, dedication to voodoo and their general
unfitness to be in The Bahamas. They then say that Haitians are taking
over the country, and say that the Government must do something to get
rid of these Haitians.
The Government is riding a tiger on this one, with
ministers trying desperately to keep the passions of people under control
on this issue.
RELYING
ON LIES AND LURID HEADLINES
Several times during the past month, public officials,
including American public officials in The Bahamas have had to release
statements of one kind or another responding to stories in The Punch and
The Source, two newspapers in The Bahamas that specialize in making up
stories, most of them entire bits of fiction and lies simply designed to
sell newspapers.
This past week, The Punch was at its best (or worst)
depending on your perspective. The newspaper claimed that the United
States Government had issued a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
warning The Bahamas not to admit Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide
to The Bahamas. A spokesman for the Ministry said that the story
was a complete lie and utterly baseless concoction of a lurid and evil
mind.
The problem is that there is just one lie after
another published in those sections of the press, and the cry is growing
louder and louder for something official to be done about it. Chances
are nothing will be done; probably nothing official should be done.
What should be done is people should stop buying the papers and supporting
the lies and the liars who write them.
GAY
MARRIAGE IN THE NEWS AGAIN
The issue is in the news again in The Bahamas. The
Gay and Lesbian community in The Bahamas has apparently decided that they
will not be silent. On Tuesday 16th March, Erin Greene, Mindell Small
and Dr. Kemuel Saunders appeared on the Issues of the Day programme of
Jeff Lloyd. They argued that the Bahamas constitution does not specifically
ban same sex unions. Ms. Greene urged homosexuals in The Bahamas
to apply for marriage licences if they wish to marry. They argued
for equal rights in The Bahamas. The wrath of God, fire and brimstone
came breathing down on their heads almost immediately.
Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez who has been leading
the fight against homosexuality in The Bahamas said that the church would
be opposed to same sex unions and to any change in the constitution of
The Bahamas to legalize those unions. The Archbishop is also engaged
in the fight internationally to stop the spread of homosexuality.
The West Indies Province of the Anglican Church, the Asian and African
provinces are all in a union with conservative parishes in the United States
to oppose the acceptance of homosexuality and more particularly the ordination
of homosexual clergy and same sex unions.
