Cables examine Bahamian views on gay rights
BY JUAN McCARTNEY
NG Senior Reporter
thenassauguardian
juan@nasguard.com
As many Bahamians remain divided on the issue of gay rights in light of a recent United Nations Human Rights Council vote, some of them may find U.S. diplomats’ views on Bahamian sexual attitudes telling.
A U.S. diplomatic cable obtained by The Nassau Guardian through WikiLeaks described Bahamian culture as one that “celebrates heterosexual prowess”, while still proclaiming its “overt religiosity.”
”Bahamians also wryly acknowledge their compartmentalized religious beliefs, commemorated in a popular Bahamian ballad recounting the shortcomings of the ‘Sunday Christian’ who weekly repents their previous six days of sinfulness,” the cable asserted.
Bahamians who came out publicly against gay rights were also described as more “loud” than “violent.”
This opinion was espoused shortly after plans were announced to protest the arrival of thousands of gay cruise ship passengers and their families in Nassau on July 16, 2004.
The passengers were traveling on ‘The Norwegian Dawn’.
When news of a counter-protest by gay rights organization Rainbow Alliance at the same time and location was also announced, U.S. officials asked Bahamian law enforcement personnel to commit extra resources to ensure the safety of American tourists.
But the cable noted that The Bahamas has a “peaceful culture where the fire and brimstone generally stays verbal rather than physical.”
However, despite the feeling that those planning to protest were merely posturing, the U.S. Embassy still prepared meticulously for any unrest, monitoring media coverage of the upcoming events.
In preparation, officials at the U.S. Embassy also made contact with the Ministry of Tourism, former Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) president Dr. William Thompson and now retired Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies Drexel Gomez.
“The newly-elected (BCC) had been taking a more modulated stance on many issues since taking office, including homosexuality, than did the previous administration,” claimed the cable.
“When contacted…on July 14, Reverend Dr. Thompson…said that he stands by his ‘don't ask, don't tell’ policy,” the cable reported.
The cable claimed Thompson said the council welcomed anyone to The Bahamas but did not want visitors to “push their beliefs” on Bahamians.
According to the cable, Gomez told a U.S. Embassy official that he saw "no advantage or benefit" to demonstrating against the visit.
The cable said that then Prime Minister Perry Christie found himself “between a rock and a hard place on this controversy.”
“He owes his election to the active intervention of the conservative end of the Bahamian Protestant religious spectrum. He also knows that 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) depends on tourism,” the cable noted. “The (conservative) churches who were his main backers in the last election expect some payback.”
The cable further commented: “The Free National Movement opposition is enjoying watching him squirm and doing its best to tighten the screws by repeatedly calling upon him to take a principled stand.”
There was a moderate protest when the cruise ship arrived, but there were no notable developments.
The Bahamas recently came out squarely in favor of the right to choose sexuality being a human right and the U.N. decision to condemn discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Jun 22, 2011
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
WikiLeaks: 2007 U.S. Embassy diplomatic cables on the 2007 general election in The Bahamas
Cables examined 2007 PLP loss
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
As politicians in The Bahamas craft their strategies ahead of the next general election, an examination of U.S. diplomatic cables on the 2007 poll may prove instructive.
One May 2007 cable said the Progressive Liberal Party held many advantages going into that election.
“It was a well-financed incumbent, held 29 of the 40 seats in Parliament, and boasted of a strong economy, job growth, and billions of dollars in new investments,” wrote a U.S. Embassy official.
“However, the PLP made a tactical error by focusing the election on the personalities of the two party leaders.
“Unlike former Prime Minister (Perry) Christie, (FNM leader Hubert) Ingraham is decisive — so much so that many blamed the FNM's 2002 election defeat on ‘Hubiggety’ Ingraham's imperial attitude.
“By focusing on personality, the PLP allowed the FNM to hammer away at the themes of trust and efficiency.”
It is not clear which official wrote that particular cable, but the name of Brent Hardt, then charge d’ affaires, is attached.
The cable noted that Ingraham, also known as ‘The Delivery Boy,’ is famous for his blunt honesty and his ability to deliver on his promises.
“This contrasted favorably for voters with Christie's reputation for tardiness, lack of control over his ministers, and inability to make tough decisions.”
The U.S. Embassy official wrote that the PLP's campaign theme —"So Said, So Done" — only served to highlight its own lack of action on outstanding electoral promises.
The cable said the FNM's theme — "It's About Trust" — resonated with a populace frustrated by Christie's scandal-plagued MPs, and the FNM buttressed this theme with pledges of open government and anti-corruption legislation.
The FNM's victory came also from its superior party organization, the cable said.
“In a 2005 conversation with the charge, PLP chairman Raynard Rigby had praised Ingraham's skills as a grassroots campaign organizer and predicted a tough fight for the PLP if Ingraham resumed party leadership,” the cable wrote.
“Rigby's prediction came true, as the FNM's party machinery was the driving force during the election. FNM constituency workers were electronically connected to headquarters and its detailed electronic maps and databases, with clear plans for house-to-house outreach and a unified approach to national advertising.”
The cable added, “Even on election day, FNM election workers coordinated like cogs in a well-oiled national machine while PLP workers labored, constituency by constituency, with little evident coordination.”
In a pre-election meeting, Ingraham told the embassy that Christie was a likable man and gifted speaker, but he was the last person you would want to organize a government.
“The prime minister's office was notorious inside and outside the government for its inefficiency and disorder,” the cable said.
“The PLP's inability to organize itself effectively for the election clearly flowed from the top.
“In fact, Christie's indecisiveness kept him from calling an early election, when the FNM was in leadership crisis and Ingraham still had one foot in retirement.
“Instead he waited until the last possible moment and thereby allowed Ingraham and the FNM the maximum time to get their feared organizational machinery in gear.”
The cable said demographic shifts also played a key role in the election.
“Traditional PLP seats in the low-income center of New Providence and traditional FNM seats on the beachfronts were fairly secure for each party,” it said.
“However, as The Bahamas has developed and as income and education levels have risen, constituents have moved from the traditional PLP areas into new middle-class areas.”
This shift has expanded the potential FNM base and eroded traditional loyalty to the PLP as the party of independence among those who view the FNM agenda as better suited to middle-class sensibilities, the cable said.
As a result, the FNM took most of the battleground districts with mixed constituencies, it added.
Another key demographic change was the large increase in young and first-time voters who are less tolerant of traditional Caribbean handout politics and want their representatives to deliver good governance, it added.
In fact, perceptions of poor PLP performance in government dogged PLP candidates, the embassy official wrote.
“While the FNM candidates discussed their plans to develop local government and improve services, the PLP candidates were forced to defend their sketchy record,” the cable said.
“In many cases, constituents were fed up with poor trash collection, bad roads, and perceived indifference of the parliamentary representatives to their concerns.”
According to the cable, these three winning factors — demographic shifts, national party organization and a focus on good governance —framed an election of differing campaign styles and parties with differing core values.
“The PLP is still the party of Lynden Pindling, the father of Bahamian independence whose later years were tarnished by allegations of drug-related corruption,” the embassy official wrote.
Rooted in the working-class neighborhoods of The Bahamas and quick to evoke issue of race, the PLP continued to campaign in the Pindling era style of perks for constituents, the cable said.
“The FNM victory reflects a politically maturing Bahamas, focused on modern governance and a more integrated, national approach to politics that clearly attracted younger and middle-class voters towards the party.”
The official noted that the 2007 race was the closest in decades and said “the PLP is well positioned to be a strong opposition in Parliament.”
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
As politicians in The Bahamas craft their strategies ahead of the next general election, an examination of U.S. diplomatic cables on the 2007 poll may prove instructive.
One May 2007 cable said the Progressive Liberal Party held many advantages going into that election.
“It was a well-financed incumbent, held 29 of the 40 seats in Parliament, and boasted of a strong economy, job growth, and billions of dollars in new investments,” wrote a U.S. Embassy official.
“However, the PLP made a tactical error by focusing the election on the personalities of the two party leaders.
“Unlike former Prime Minister (Perry) Christie, (FNM leader Hubert) Ingraham is decisive — so much so that many blamed the FNM's 2002 election defeat on ‘Hubiggety’ Ingraham's imperial attitude.
“By focusing on personality, the PLP allowed the FNM to hammer away at the themes of trust and efficiency.”
It is not clear which official wrote that particular cable, but the name of Brent Hardt, then charge d’ affaires, is attached.
The cable noted that Ingraham, also known as ‘The Delivery Boy,’ is famous for his blunt honesty and his ability to deliver on his promises.
“This contrasted favorably for voters with Christie's reputation for tardiness, lack of control over his ministers, and inability to make tough decisions.”
The U.S. Embassy official wrote that the PLP's campaign theme —"So Said, So Done" — only served to highlight its own lack of action on outstanding electoral promises.
The cable said the FNM's theme — "It's About Trust" — resonated with a populace frustrated by Christie's scandal-plagued MPs, and the FNM buttressed this theme with pledges of open government and anti-corruption legislation.
The FNM's victory came also from its superior party organization, the cable said.
“In a 2005 conversation with the charge, PLP chairman Raynard Rigby had praised Ingraham's skills as a grassroots campaign organizer and predicted a tough fight for the PLP if Ingraham resumed party leadership,” the cable wrote.
“Rigby's prediction came true, as the FNM's party machinery was the driving force during the election. FNM constituency workers were electronically connected to headquarters and its detailed electronic maps and databases, with clear plans for house-to-house outreach and a unified approach to national advertising.”
The cable added, “Even on election day, FNM election workers coordinated like cogs in a well-oiled national machine while PLP workers labored, constituency by constituency, with little evident coordination.”
In a pre-election meeting, Ingraham told the embassy that Christie was a likable man and gifted speaker, but he was the last person you would want to organize a government.
“The prime minister's office was notorious inside and outside the government for its inefficiency and disorder,” the cable said.
“The PLP's inability to organize itself effectively for the election clearly flowed from the top.
“In fact, Christie's indecisiveness kept him from calling an early election, when the FNM was in leadership crisis and Ingraham still had one foot in retirement.
“Instead he waited until the last possible moment and thereby allowed Ingraham and the FNM the maximum time to get their feared organizational machinery in gear.”
The cable said demographic shifts also played a key role in the election.
“Traditional PLP seats in the low-income center of New Providence and traditional FNM seats on the beachfronts were fairly secure for each party,” it said.
“However, as The Bahamas has developed and as income and education levels have risen, constituents have moved from the traditional PLP areas into new middle-class areas.”
This shift has expanded the potential FNM base and eroded traditional loyalty to the PLP as the party of independence among those who view the FNM agenda as better suited to middle-class sensibilities, the cable said.
As a result, the FNM took most of the battleground districts with mixed constituencies, it added.
Another key demographic change was the large increase in young and first-time voters who are less tolerant of traditional Caribbean handout politics and want their representatives to deliver good governance, it added.
In fact, perceptions of poor PLP performance in government dogged PLP candidates, the embassy official wrote.
“While the FNM candidates discussed their plans to develop local government and improve services, the PLP candidates were forced to defend their sketchy record,” the cable said.
“In many cases, constituents were fed up with poor trash collection, bad roads, and perceived indifference of the parliamentary representatives to their concerns.”
According to the cable, these three winning factors — demographic shifts, national party organization and a focus on good governance —framed an election of differing campaign styles and parties with differing core values.
“The PLP is still the party of Lynden Pindling, the father of Bahamian independence whose later years were tarnished by allegations of drug-related corruption,” the embassy official wrote.
Rooted in the working-class neighborhoods of The Bahamas and quick to evoke issue of race, the PLP continued to campaign in the Pindling era style of perks for constituents, the cable said.
“The FNM victory reflects a politically maturing Bahamas, focused on modern governance and a more integrated, national approach to politics that clearly attracted younger and middle-class voters towards the party.”
The official noted that the 2007 race was the closest in decades and said “the PLP is well positioned to be a strong opposition in Parliament.”
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
WikiLeaks: Perry Christie, the United States Embassy in Nassau diplomatic cables on The Bahamas and the Leadership issue
Christie, the Cables and the Leadership issue
BY BRENT DEAN
NG Deputy News Editor
thenassauguardian
brentldean@nasguard.com
A journey through the files in the archives of The Nassau Guardian on Perry Christie confronts the investigator with the privileged life of a man who has done much, seen much and been a key part of the history of the modern Bahamas.
He was a favorite of Sir Lynden Pindling; he was a senator, member of Parliament, Cabinet minister and prime minister; he married one of the more beautiful women ever produced by these islands.
Despite all this, Christie has a problem – a big problem. Some in his party, his good friend Hubert Ingraham and a significant part of the electorate find him to be a leader who has great difficulty steering an organized and disciplined ship.
The release of the leaked diplomatic cables from the United States Embassy in Nassau by WikiLeaks revealed that diplomats from the richest and most powerful nation in the world shared the same view.
In a tight election, such criticism does not help. And that criticism was not the Americans parroting Free National Movement (FNM) propaganda. It was their view based primarily on their engagement with Christie and his government from 2002 to 2007.
For powerful politicians, being told the truth by those close to you is rare. Everybody wants something from ‘the chief’. So, they tell him what he needs to hear to keep him happy in order to get what they want.
What the Americans said about Christie is what his friend Hubert Ingraham says about him publicly and privately. What the Americans said about Christie is also what many of his supporters and party officers say about him in secret during conversations with journalists.
With such a range of people, PLPs and FNMs, thinking that the labels ‘indecisive’, ‘late’, and ‘disorganized’ truly describe Christie, he needs to pause and consider why they all have come to this view.
Many of the scandals and gaffes the PLP has endured during its last term in office, and during this term in opposition, result from the lack of fear and respect of Christie and his opting not to level hard punishment swiftly against some of those he leads.
Despite the crime problem in the country, despite the down economy, the PLP and Christie will only win the next general election if Bahamians think he has changed.
Christie, simply put, must search within himself and be stronger, more organized, more focused and more aggressive than he has been since he assumed leadership of the PLP in 1997 if he seriously wants to be PM one more time.
If the Valley Boy with the beautiful wife, the beautiful home and the beautiful life continues to think the criticisms of him are just believed by a few, that denial will allow Ingraham to steal one more contest from him, forever relegating Christie in the history books to being the one-term PM who could never come back.
When diplomats from our closest ally, after engaging with you for years at the highest levels, speak of your leadership style with ridicule and condescension, shouldn't that be a wakeup call for change?
The American view of Christie in the cables
Sitting and talking once to a PLP who knows Christie well, the question was posed to him, “Why does Christie wait so long to resolve some situations, allowing small problems to escalate into crises?”
The PLP sighed and replied, “Christie is intelligent and he is usually aware of the scope of an issue. However, he has a problem. He likes to be liked, does not like to be disliked and he too often wants to be all things to all people.”
Christie's indecisiveness, or hesitance to make quick tough decisions as the PLP described it, is not due to lack of capacity. That supporter thought the nice guy simply had an aversion to coming to conclusions that disappointed or angered others.
Throughout the diplomatic cables on The Bahamas, the Americans touch on this issue of leadership and decisiveness. That PLP member was kind in his analysis of Christie. The Americans set feelings aside in their internal correspondence.
“Christie has a well-deserved reputation as a waffling, indecisive leader, who procrastinates and often fails to act altogether while awaiting an elusive consensus in his Cabinet,” said a cable in April 2007.
The Americans acknowledged that Christie was capable. That issue was not in question.
In a February 2004 cable on Christie’s role in negotiations on Haiti the Americans said that while his decision-making style may be "protracted and indecisive" Christie was also an "impressive, dynamic, charismatic and ebullient presence."
Ingraham, Christie’s friend and former law partner, regularly pokes at this issue of decisiveness when he talks about the PLP leader publicly, and apparently privately too.
In the recent budget debate, while chiding Christie for being ‘late again’ for not delivering his party’s recommendations for amendments to the country’s election laws, Ingraham told Christie to his face that he “is not” a leader.
In a 2003 conversation with U.S. diplomats, according to a cable, Ingraham fleshed out his thoughts on Christie’s leadership style.
“He (Ingraham) said that he believes Christie is a good man and well intentioned, but criticized his leadership style,” said the cable.
“Ingraham said, ‘Perry has always been indecisive, and will always be indecisive. It's just the way he is. He can't change.’ He also alleged that Christie had no real vision other than a general desire to improve social programs, and nothing he really wanted to accomplish.”
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian earlier this month, Christie defended his legacy.
He said he was disappointed as a public official that U.S. Embassy officials seem to have taken on FNM propaganda about him.
“Anyone who sat around that table would know that I was in charge of my Cabinet, and that whether it’s foreign affairs or any other subject, that I would have been very assiduous in understanding all of the issues,” he said.
Christie has been officially in charge of the PLP, in and out of government, for about 14 years. No one has suggested that he is not in charge of the organization. What he must prove is that he can use that authority to take charge of the host of characters in his party who have a wide range of competing interests.
A divided house shall not stand
The PLP and the FNM have been closely divided since the 2007 general election. The FNM won that contest by fewer than 4,000 votes after nearly 139,000 votes were cast.
In the February 2010 Elizabeth by-election, FNM candidate Dr. Duane Sands was ahead by two votes after counting concluded. PLP candidate Ryan Pinder won the seat after the Election Court allowed five votes in his favor.
A reasonable examination of the 41 constituency seats in the country could break down the current political landscape as follows based on the current constituency boundaries: there are nine safe PLP seats; eight safe FNM seats; five seats that lean FNM; five seats that lean PLP and 14 swing seats.
It is likely that significant negative perception of Christie, as revealed by the study done by the Greenberg group for the PLP after it lost in 2007, remains a major factor behind the PLP being unable to break clearly away from the FNM and win a landslide majority during these difficult times for the country. A fourth murder record in five years will be set this year and the country is not clearly and definitively out of the recession that started after the financial crisis of 2008.
In private conversations, some PLPs feel trapped. They know this is an election they should win, but perceptions of Christie by the electorate are problematic. And because the party is set up to allow leaders 'god-like' power, Christie cannot be moved.
So these PLPs, in many instances, publicly praise Christie and savage him in private conversations. In fact, some speak worse of Christie that they do of Ingraham.
They do this because they do not believe in their leader. They merely say they do to advance their own desire to return to power under the banner of the PLP. The public senses this duplicity. It is yet another barrier to PLP success.
Christie should not read this commentary as an attack on him. He should read it as the truth those close to him may not be willing to present to him.
In the twilight of his career, Christie will be 68 in August, the PLP leader has to address this confidence issue surrounding his leadership.
Through action, and not just talk, he must demonstrate to his party and country that he can be a strong leader. He can do so by presenting a firm bold vision via his party's manifesto as to where he will lead the country if re-elected; he can do so by expelling the next PLP who embarrasses the party through gross misconduct; he can do so by not running candidates who travel around the country talking about him in private, and in semi-public venues, in derogatory terms.
In the 2007 general election, Ingraham said he was a grandfather and that he had changed from his overly aggressive, confrontational and sometimes hostile ways. He knew then, as he knows now, that Bahamians for the most part do not like those parts of his personality. Christie has his weaknesses too. For him it is critical to reform.
Being satisfied with your legacy
After being fired from Sir Lynden Pindling’s Cabinet in 1984 along with Ingraham, Christie was reappointed a minister in Sir Lynden's last government in 1990. At a rally in April that year, Christie said, “…when you support the person who will be elected, you will also be supporting his judgement.”
He was right. And the issues of leadership and judgement will be the things Bahamians evaluate when they examine Christie and Ingraham one last time (it is unlikely that Branville McCartney will make much of an impact his first time out as a leader). The PLP would like to run away from these issues, but it cannot.
For Christie the stakes are high. Going into the general election at 68, he will likely never have another chance to be PM again if he loses this race. He would then be confronted with never being able to change a legacy he thinks is incomplete.
Christie can win. He is liked by many people. But he must take on what is likely issue number one for the PLP: his leadership style.
The issue cannot be ignored or shuffled around. Bahamians want to know if the Valley Boy can be a different man.
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
BY BRENT DEAN
NG Deputy News Editor
thenassauguardian
brentldean@nasguard.com
A journey through the files in the archives of The Nassau Guardian on Perry Christie confronts the investigator with the privileged life of a man who has done much, seen much and been a key part of the history of the modern Bahamas.
He was a favorite of Sir Lynden Pindling; he was a senator, member of Parliament, Cabinet minister and prime minister; he married one of the more beautiful women ever produced by these islands.
Despite all this, Christie has a problem – a big problem. Some in his party, his good friend Hubert Ingraham and a significant part of the electorate find him to be a leader who has great difficulty steering an organized and disciplined ship.
The release of the leaked diplomatic cables from the United States Embassy in Nassau by WikiLeaks revealed that diplomats from the richest and most powerful nation in the world shared the same view.
In a tight election, such criticism does not help. And that criticism was not the Americans parroting Free National Movement (FNM) propaganda. It was their view based primarily on their engagement with Christie and his government from 2002 to 2007.
For powerful politicians, being told the truth by those close to you is rare. Everybody wants something from ‘the chief’. So, they tell him what he needs to hear to keep him happy in order to get what they want.
What the Americans said about Christie is what his friend Hubert Ingraham says about him publicly and privately. What the Americans said about Christie is also what many of his supporters and party officers say about him in secret during conversations with journalists.
With such a range of people, PLPs and FNMs, thinking that the labels ‘indecisive’, ‘late’, and ‘disorganized’ truly describe Christie, he needs to pause and consider why they all have come to this view.
Many of the scandals and gaffes the PLP has endured during its last term in office, and during this term in opposition, result from the lack of fear and respect of Christie and his opting not to level hard punishment swiftly against some of those he leads.
Despite the crime problem in the country, despite the down economy, the PLP and Christie will only win the next general election if Bahamians think he has changed.
Christie, simply put, must search within himself and be stronger, more organized, more focused and more aggressive than he has been since he assumed leadership of the PLP in 1997 if he seriously wants to be PM one more time.
If the Valley Boy with the beautiful wife, the beautiful home and the beautiful life continues to think the criticisms of him are just believed by a few, that denial will allow Ingraham to steal one more contest from him, forever relegating Christie in the history books to being the one-term PM who could never come back.
When diplomats from our closest ally, after engaging with you for years at the highest levels, speak of your leadership style with ridicule and condescension, shouldn't that be a wakeup call for change?
The American view of Christie in the cables
Sitting and talking once to a PLP who knows Christie well, the question was posed to him, “Why does Christie wait so long to resolve some situations, allowing small problems to escalate into crises?”
The PLP sighed and replied, “Christie is intelligent and he is usually aware of the scope of an issue. However, he has a problem. He likes to be liked, does not like to be disliked and he too often wants to be all things to all people.”
Christie's indecisiveness, or hesitance to make quick tough decisions as the PLP described it, is not due to lack of capacity. That supporter thought the nice guy simply had an aversion to coming to conclusions that disappointed or angered others.
Throughout the diplomatic cables on The Bahamas, the Americans touch on this issue of leadership and decisiveness. That PLP member was kind in his analysis of Christie. The Americans set feelings aside in their internal correspondence.
“Christie has a well-deserved reputation as a waffling, indecisive leader, who procrastinates and often fails to act altogether while awaiting an elusive consensus in his Cabinet,” said a cable in April 2007.
The Americans acknowledged that Christie was capable. That issue was not in question.
In a February 2004 cable on Christie’s role in negotiations on Haiti the Americans said that while his decision-making style may be "protracted and indecisive" Christie was also an "impressive, dynamic, charismatic and ebullient presence."
Ingraham, Christie’s friend and former law partner, regularly pokes at this issue of decisiveness when he talks about the PLP leader publicly, and apparently privately too.
In the recent budget debate, while chiding Christie for being ‘late again’ for not delivering his party’s recommendations for amendments to the country’s election laws, Ingraham told Christie to his face that he “is not” a leader.
In a 2003 conversation with U.S. diplomats, according to a cable, Ingraham fleshed out his thoughts on Christie’s leadership style.
“He (Ingraham) said that he believes Christie is a good man and well intentioned, but criticized his leadership style,” said the cable.
“Ingraham said, ‘Perry has always been indecisive, and will always be indecisive. It's just the way he is. He can't change.’ He also alleged that Christie had no real vision other than a general desire to improve social programs, and nothing he really wanted to accomplish.”
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian earlier this month, Christie defended his legacy.
He said he was disappointed as a public official that U.S. Embassy officials seem to have taken on FNM propaganda about him.
“Anyone who sat around that table would know that I was in charge of my Cabinet, and that whether it’s foreign affairs or any other subject, that I would have been very assiduous in understanding all of the issues,” he said.
Christie has been officially in charge of the PLP, in and out of government, for about 14 years. No one has suggested that he is not in charge of the organization. What he must prove is that he can use that authority to take charge of the host of characters in his party who have a wide range of competing interests.
A divided house shall not stand
The PLP and the FNM have been closely divided since the 2007 general election. The FNM won that contest by fewer than 4,000 votes after nearly 139,000 votes were cast.
In the February 2010 Elizabeth by-election, FNM candidate Dr. Duane Sands was ahead by two votes after counting concluded. PLP candidate Ryan Pinder won the seat after the Election Court allowed five votes in his favor.
A reasonable examination of the 41 constituency seats in the country could break down the current political landscape as follows based on the current constituency boundaries: there are nine safe PLP seats; eight safe FNM seats; five seats that lean FNM; five seats that lean PLP and 14 swing seats.
It is likely that significant negative perception of Christie, as revealed by the study done by the Greenberg group for the PLP after it lost in 2007, remains a major factor behind the PLP being unable to break clearly away from the FNM and win a landslide majority during these difficult times for the country. A fourth murder record in five years will be set this year and the country is not clearly and definitively out of the recession that started after the financial crisis of 2008.
In private conversations, some PLPs feel trapped. They know this is an election they should win, but perceptions of Christie by the electorate are problematic. And because the party is set up to allow leaders 'god-like' power, Christie cannot be moved.
So these PLPs, in many instances, publicly praise Christie and savage him in private conversations. In fact, some speak worse of Christie that they do of Ingraham.
They do this because they do not believe in their leader. They merely say they do to advance their own desire to return to power under the banner of the PLP. The public senses this duplicity. It is yet another barrier to PLP success.
Christie should not read this commentary as an attack on him. He should read it as the truth those close to him may not be willing to present to him.
In the twilight of his career, Christie will be 68 in August, the PLP leader has to address this confidence issue surrounding his leadership.
Through action, and not just talk, he must demonstrate to his party and country that he can be a strong leader. He can do so by presenting a firm bold vision via his party's manifesto as to where he will lead the country if re-elected; he can do so by expelling the next PLP who embarrasses the party through gross misconduct; he can do so by not running candidates who travel around the country talking about him in private, and in semi-public venues, in derogatory terms.
In the 2007 general election, Ingraham said he was a grandfather and that he had changed from his overly aggressive, confrontational and sometimes hostile ways. He knew then, as he knows now, that Bahamians for the most part do not like those parts of his personality. Christie has his weaknesses too. For him it is critical to reform.
Being satisfied with your legacy
After being fired from Sir Lynden Pindling’s Cabinet in 1984 along with Ingraham, Christie was reappointed a minister in Sir Lynden's last government in 1990. At a rally in April that year, Christie said, “…when you support the person who will be elected, you will also be supporting his judgement.”
He was right. And the issues of leadership and judgement will be the things Bahamians evaluate when they examine Christie and Ingraham one last time (it is unlikely that Branville McCartney will make much of an impact his first time out as a leader). The PLP would like to run away from these issues, but it cannot.
For Christie the stakes are high. Going into the general election at 68, he will likely never have another chance to be PM again if he loses this race. He would then be confronted with never being able to change a legacy he thinks is incomplete.
Christie can win. He is liked by many people. But he must take on what is likely issue number one for the PLP: his leadership style.
The issue cannot be ignored or shuffled around. Bahamians want to know if the Valley Boy can be a different man.
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
Monday, June 20, 2011
Perry Christie's response to a US Embassy cable obtained by whistleblower Wikileaks: ...he (Christie) never considered resigning as PLP chief over Kenyatta Gibson's departure from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)
Christie: I never considered quitting over Gibson departure
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Deputy Chief Reporter
tribune242
tthompson@tribunemedia.net
In fact, Mr Christie said he was relieved to turn over a "problem" Member of Parliament - whose notorious Cabinet "fight" hurt Mr Christie's image - to the Free National Movement.
The Farm Road MP's comments came after a newspaper claimed the veteran politician considered stepping down in the wake of Mr Gibson's exit - and an earlier election court case defeat - based on a US Embassy cable obtained by whistleblower Wikileaks.
Mr Christie dismissed the cable as mere speculation crafted around political fodder of 2008.
"This is absolutely a figment of someone's imagination. I never told that to my wife, my children, never told it to my best friend, never told it to the people in the political organisation that I lead," Mr Christie told The Tribune yesterday.
"No one who is close to me could say that," Mr Christie said. He added that he did not forge close relationships with American diplomats in 2008, the year Mr Gibson left the PLP, and did not discuss his political future with them.
Although he conceded Mr Gibson's exodus was a blow to the PLP and to his image, Mr Christie said he redeemed himself after he won 84 per cent of his party's vote in his re-election bid at the party's 2009 convention. He added that the PLP's victory in the 2010 Elizabeth by-election was another redeeming factor which strengthened the party.
"The whole Kenyatta Gibson thing meant nothing to me. In fact I thought I had transferred a problem I had to the FNM and I thought 'God bless them'. I went on to the (PLP's) national convention and scored a very successful victory and went into the by-election and won."
The PLP leader conceded he paid a "political price" for not demanding that Mr Gibson and former Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith leave the party after having a scuffle in the Cabinet room in 2006. Despite opposition in some quarters, both men were nominated to represent the party in the 2007 general election. Mr Gibson won over FNM newcomer Michael Turnquest while Mr Smith was defeated by National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest.
"At the end of the day there is no doubt that I suffered as a result of what people perceived to be my response to the fight in Cabinet. Clearly after the fight there was a body of opinion that felt Kenyatta nor Keod Smith ought to be nominated to contest the seats (in 2007).
"I paid a price on Kenyatta so when he left I would have been disappointed that someone I made that commitment for (resigned) but that happens in politics and we moved on to demonstrate that the party has grown stronger as a result of it."
The men were not booted from the party because Mr Christie believed in second chances. He claimed that the altercation was just a heated moment that was exaggerated by political opponents.
"The fight I think was intensely blown out of proportion. I had always had a commitment to the redemptive power of a second chance. (From all accounts) it was one of those sparks that took place and everyone moved on.
"Politics being what it is, it was near election time and the FNM blew it up. When we reviewed the matter our opinion was they should not be disqualified," Mr Christie said.
June 18, 2011
tribune242
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Deputy Chief Reporter
tribune242
tthompson@tribunemedia.net
KENYATTA Gibson's departure from the Progressive Liberal Party "meant nothing" to Opposition leader Perry Christie who told The Tribune he never considered resigning as PLP chief over the ordeal.
In fact, Mr Christie said he was relieved to turn over a "problem" Member of Parliament - whose notorious Cabinet "fight" hurt Mr Christie's image - to the Free National Movement.
The Farm Road MP's comments came after a newspaper claimed the veteran politician considered stepping down in the wake of Mr Gibson's exit - and an earlier election court case defeat - based on a US Embassy cable obtained by whistleblower Wikileaks.
Mr Christie dismissed the cable as mere speculation crafted around political fodder of 2008.
"This is absolutely a figment of someone's imagination. I never told that to my wife, my children, never told it to my best friend, never told it to the people in the political organisation that I lead," Mr Christie told The Tribune yesterday.
"No one who is close to me could say that," Mr Christie said. He added that he did not forge close relationships with American diplomats in 2008, the year Mr Gibson left the PLP, and did not discuss his political future with them.
Although he conceded Mr Gibson's exodus was a blow to the PLP and to his image, Mr Christie said he redeemed himself after he won 84 per cent of his party's vote in his re-election bid at the party's 2009 convention. He added that the PLP's victory in the 2010 Elizabeth by-election was another redeeming factor which strengthened the party.
"The whole Kenyatta Gibson thing meant nothing to me. In fact I thought I had transferred a problem I had to the FNM and I thought 'God bless them'. I went on to the (PLP's) national convention and scored a very successful victory and went into the by-election and won."
The PLP leader conceded he paid a "political price" for not demanding that Mr Gibson and former Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith leave the party after having a scuffle in the Cabinet room in 2006. Despite opposition in some quarters, both men were nominated to represent the party in the 2007 general election. Mr Gibson won over FNM newcomer Michael Turnquest while Mr Smith was defeated by National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest.
"At the end of the day there is no doubt that I suffered as a result of what people perceived to be my response to the fight in Cabinet. Clearly after the fight there was a body of opinion that felt Kenyatta nor Keod Smith ought to be nominated to contest the seats (in 2007).
"I paid a price on Kenyatta so when he left I would have been disappointed that someone I made that commitment for (resigned) but that happens in politics and we moved on to demonstrate that the party has grown stronger as a result of it."
The men were not booted from the party because Mr Christie believed in second chances. He claimed that the altercation was just a heated moment that was exaggerated by political opponents.
"The fight I think was intensely blown out of proportion. I had always had a commitment to the redemptive power of a second chance. (From all accounts) it was one of those sparks that took place and everyone moved on.
"Politics being what it is, it was near election time and the FNM blew it up. When we reviewed the matter our opinion was they should not be disqualified," Mr Christie said.
June 18, 2011
tribune242
Sunday, June 19, 2011
WikiLeaks cables: Perry Christie, the opposition leader planned to resign from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) if it was unsuccessful in its Election Court challenges that followed the 2007 general election - according to a U.S. Embassy diplomatic cable written in 2008
Cable: Christie considered resigning
BY CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
U.S. Embassy official says 'backstabbing' plagued PLP govt
Opposition Leader Perry Christie told a U.S. Embassy official that he planned to resign from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) if the party was unsuccessful in its Election Court challenges that followed the 2007 poll, according to a diplomatic cable written in 2008.
The official wrote that Christie indicated that “he would stay on only as long as the PLP had a realistic chance of being named the victor in the contested seats.”
It is unclear which embassy official wrote the cable, but then Ambassador Ned Siegel’s name is at the end of the document.
Following the 2007 general election, the PLP through its defeated candidates challenged three seats: Pinewood, Marco City and Blue Hills.
It lost both the Pinewood and Marco City challenges. The Blue Hills challenge was dropped.
Leslie Miller, who ran for the PLP in Blue Hills, said he considered the challenge a waste of time, as elections are not won in court.
After the Pinewood loss, and Kenyatta Gibson’s resignation from the PLP, the American diplomat speculated in the 2008 cable that Christie was about to step down.
“For the foreseeable future, the PLP will be distracted and consumed with its ongoing internal disarray and lack of direction,” the official wrote.
“The party convention, if and when it is held, may not resolve even the leadership crisis....With this defection (Gibson) and the FNM victory in the first court challenge, it is likely that Christie will now step aside unless the factionalism is so strong that no consensus can be reached on a successor.”
In the 2008 cable, the embassy official wrote, “Gibson’s resignation is a big nail in Perry Christie’s political coffin.
“It will intensify pressure for Christie to step aside for new leadership. It also eases political pressure on the FNM, which is expecting to win ongoing court challenges to three seats by the PLP.”
The embassy official expressed the view that Gibson’s “attack” on Christie after his resignation from the party was ironic given that he was one of the MPs involved in a high-profile fight in the Cabinet Office while the PLP was in office.
“Christie’s unwillingness to replace Gibson fed the image of his indecisiveness as a leader, and of the PLP as a party without internal discipline,” the cable said.
“Christie no doubt feels personally betrayed for having stood by Gibson only to have Gibson bite his hand.”
The cable added: “The resignation has laid bare the fractional lines in the party, with the party’s official website now being used to criticize other members, and those members in turn publicly criticizing the party’s own website.”
The embassy official wrote that Gibson’s resignation undermined the PLP leadership’s post-election strategy of contesting the three seats.
“The resignation, which was accompanied by a blistering exchange with the PLP leadership, is a blow to the embattled PLP leader, former Prime Minister Perry Christie.”
The official opined at the time that Gibson’s resignation was certain to reopen debate about Christie’s record and the need for strategic changes following the PLP’s “shock election defeat” in May 2007.
“The unexpected resignation has bared to the public the infighting and backstabbing that had plagued the PLP during its time in office and has only intensified following the PLP’s loss,” the cable said.
“The turnabout in parliamentary fortunes eases pressure on the FNM government as it struggles to deal with daunting challenges of crime and stagnating tourism numbers.”
The U.S. Embassy official also wrote that Gibson’s surprise resignation not only upset the PLP’s post-election strategy, but further undermined the already “weak position of PLP leader Perry Christie who, like the rest of the party, was reportedly blindsided by the news.”
The official noted in that 2008 cable that Gibson’s resignation came only days after the PLP’s spokesman on foreign affairs, Fred Mitchell, sought to downplay in a media statement the liklihood of any leadership challenges at the next PLP convention.
“On the contrary, Gibson’s strategically timed announcement on the eve of the anniversary of the PLP’s achievement of Majority Rule in 1967 added insult to injury by upstaging the party’s commemoration,” the official said.
“It has also intensified questions about Christie’s viability as opposition leader.”
But at the party’s convention in 2009, Christie crushed his opponents, winning more than 80 percent of the votes cast for party leader.
RELIEF FOR EMBATTLED FNM
The 2008 cable characterized Kenyatta Gibson’s resignation as a relief for the “embattled Free National Movement”.
“Striking like a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky, news of Gibson’s resignation came just in time to become the top story on evening news broadcasts and morning newspaper headlines, pushing all other current affairs aside,” the official wrote.
The cable added that the media splash handed the FNM a bit of unexpected relief after months of pressure from negative crime stories and unfavorable tourism numbers, coupled with stinging opposition attacks over both.
“The FNM’s presumed courtship of another MP whose allegiance to the PLP may be shaky, Malcom Adderley, may also return to center stage,” the official wrote.
“Speculation about Adderley’s loyalties returned to the forefront recently after Prime Minister Ingraham reappointed him to a two-year position as chairman of the Gaming Board, the sole PLP member to hold on to such a position after the May 2007 elections.
“While the urgency of such an effort might wane, the prospects for another defection cannot be ruled out.”
Adderley resigned from the PLP and Parliament in early 2010, triggering the Elizabeth by-election, which was won by the PLP’s Ryan Pinder.
In a recent interview with The Nassau Guardian, Christie said some of what the American diplomats attributed to him was inaccurate, and their characterization of him as weak and indecisive was also wrong.
Christie said the leak of the cables is a lesson to public officials that they need to be more disciplined in how they deal with foreign diplomats.
Christie added that he had no concerns that the cables would negatively affect him politically.
Jun 17, 2011
thenassauguardian
BY CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
U.S. Embassy official says 'backstabbing' plagued PLP govt
Opposition Leader Perry Christie told a U.S. Embassy official that he planned to resign from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) if the party was unsuccessful in its Election Court challenges that followed the 2007 poll, according to a diplomatic cable written in 2008.
The official wrote that Christie indicated that “he would stay on only as long as the PLP had a realistic chance of being named the victor in the contested seats.”
It is unclear which embassy official wrote the cable, but then Ambassador Ned Siegel’s name is at the end of the document.
Following the 2007 general election, the PLP through its defeated candidates challenged three seats: Pinewood, Marco City and Blue Hills.
It lost both the Pinewood and Marco City challenges. The Blue Hills challenge was dropped.
Leslie Miller, who ran for the PLP in Blue Hills, said he considered the challenge a waste of time, as elections are not won in court.
After the Pinewood loss, and Kenyatta Gibson’s resignation from the PLP, the American diplomat speculated in the 2008 cable that Christie was about to step down.
“For the foreseeable future, the PLP will be distracted and consumed with its ongoing internal disarray and lack of direction,” the official wrote.
“The party convention, if and when it is held, may not resolve even the leadership crisis....With this defection (Gibson) and the FNM victory in the first court challenge, it is likely that Christie will now step aside unless the factionalism is so strong that no consensus can be reached on a successor.”
In the 2008 cable, the embassy official wrote, “Gibson’s resignation is a big nail in Perry Christie’s political coffin.
“It will intensify pressure for Christie to step aside for new leadership. It also eases political pressure on the FNM, which is expecting to win ongoing court challenges to three seats by the PLP.”
The embassy official expressed the view that Gibson’s “attack” on Christie after his resignation from the party was ironic given that he was one of the MPs involved in a high-profile fight in the Cabinet Office while the PLP was in office.
“Christie’s unwillingness to replace Gibson fed the image of his indecisiveness as a leader, and of the PLP as a party without internal discipline,” the cable said.
“Christie no doubt feels personally betrayed for having stood by Gibson only to have Gibson bite his hand.”
The cable added: “The resignation has laid bare the fractional lines in the party, with the party’s official website now being used to criticize other members, and those members in turn publicly criticizing the party’s own website.”
The embassy official wrote that Gibson’s resignation undermined the PLP leadership’s post-election strategy of contesting the three seats.
“The resignation, which was accompanied by a blistering exchange with the PLP leadership, is a blow to the embattled PLP leader, former Prime Minister Perry Christie.”
The official opined at the time that Gibson’s resignation was certain to reopen debate about Christie’s record and the need for strategic changes following the PLP’s “shock election defeat” in May 2007.
“The unexpected resignation has bared to the public the infighting and backstabbing that had plagued the PLP during its time in office and has only intensified following the PLP’s loss,” the cable said.
“The turnabout in parliamentary fortunes eases pressure on the FNM government as it struggles to deal with daunting challenges of crime and stagnating tourism numbers.”
The U.S. Embassy official also wrote that Gibson’s surprise resignation not only upset the PLP’s post-election strategy, but further undermined the already “weak position of PLP leader Perry Christie who, like the rest of the party, was reportedly blindsided by the news.”
The official noted in that 2008 cable that Gibson’s resignation came only days after the PLP’s spokesman on foreign affairs, Fred Mitchell, sought to downplay in a media statement the liklihood of any leadership challenges at the next PLP convention.
“On the contrary, Gibson’s strategically timed announcement on the eve of the anniversary of the PLP’s achievement of Majority Rule in 1967 added insult to injury by upstaging the party’s commemoration,” the official said.
“It has also intensified questions about Christie’s viability as opposition leader.”
But at the party’s convention in 2009, Christie crushed his opponents, winning more than 80 percent of the votes cast for party leader.
RELIEF FOR EMBATTLED FNM
The 2008 cable characterized Kenyatta Gibson’s resignation as a relief for the “embattled Free National Movement”.
“Striking like a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky, news of Gibson’s resignation came just in time to become the top story on evening news broadcasts and morning newspaper headlines, pushing all other current affairs aside,” the official wrote.
The cable added that the media splash handed the FNM a bit of unexpected relief after months of pressure from negative crime stories and unfavorable tourism numbers, coupled with stinging opposition attacks over both.
“The FNM’s presumed courtship of another MP whose allegiance to the PLP may be shaky, Malcom Adderley, may also return to center stage,” the official wrote.
“Speculation about Adderley’s loyalties returned to the forefront recently after Prime Minister Ingraham reappointed him to a two-year position as chairman of the Gaming Board, the sole PLP member to hold on to such a position after the May 2007 elections.
“While the urgency of such an effort might wane, the prospects for another defection cannot be ruled out.”
Adderley resigned from the PLP and Parliament in early 2010, triggering the Elizabeth by-election, which was won by the PLP’s Ryan Pinder.
In a recent interview with The Nassau Guardian, Christie said some of what the American diplomats attributed to him was inaccurate, and their characterization of him as weak and indecisive was also wrong.
Christie said the leak of the cables is a lesson to public officials that they need to be more disciplined in how they deal with foreign diplomats.
Christie added that he had no concerns that the cables would negatively affect him politically.
Jun 17, 2011
thenassauguardian
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Crime, punishment, lost faith in the judicial system and vigilante justice
What should be the punishment for crime?
tribune242
A FATHER, grieving over his dead daughter, yesterday condemned this country's highest court for restoring hope of a full life to the man who had brutally murdered her nine years earlier.
On Wednesday London's Privy Council removed the noose that had threatened the neck of Maxo Tido. Instead it sent him back to the Bahamas' Court of Appeal to fix an "appropriate sentence" for a murder they recognised as "appalling," but "not one which warrants the most condign punishment of death."
Tido was the first condemned man sentenced to be hanged by a judge after the Privy Council ruled that no longer could a jury's murder conviction result in an automatic death sentence. Rather a judge now had to consider the merits of each case and decide whether the evidence was such as to warrant death by hanging.
Supreme Court Justice Anita Allen ruled that the brutality of the 16-year-old girl's death merited no mercy for her killer-- he was to hang by the neck until dead. The Advisory Committee of the Prerogative of Mercy agreed, but stayed his execution until he could appeal to the Bahamas's highest court -- the Privy Council.
The results of this decision means a life sentence for Tido. However, it is now up to our legislators to redefine the meaning of "life" in cases such as this. In future "life" should no longer mean 25 years with good behaviour, but full life, with the prisoner leaving his cell only when the undertaker arrives to take him to the graveyard.
The dead girl's father warned that the Privy Council's decision could lead to vigilante justice if people continue to lose faith in the judicial system.
Unfortunately that faith has already been lost and, at least among the criminals, vigilante justice is on the rise.
National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest attributes 44 per cent of this year's murders to drugs. As the drug dealers squabble among themselves and settle their own scores with the gun, they are assisting the judicial system in clearing cases from the court's calendar.
For example, about two weeks ago a man accused of murder was released on bail by a judge. His trial was still pending. A week later he was dead -- shot by another who is "well known to the police," also presumably out on bail.
A few weeks ago a young man was shot in his hand in Fox Hill. If his tangled web is traced back a couple of years, two feuding factions can be found to be the root cause. They will probably gun it out until no man is left standing on either side. One side taking retaliatory measures against the other has resulted so far in at least three violent deaths in this case. This today is what is happening on our streets -- vigilante justice is alive and well.
A police officer commented a few days ago that last weekend was a quiet one on the crime front. He attributed it to the police's new strike force, which had rounded up at least 100 persons for various offences before the holiday weekend.
Opposition politicians like to accuse government for not taking crime seriously. This is nonsense. The government is doing its best, the police are doing their best, the community, where the problem lies, is yet to step up to the plate.
Opposition politicians claim they have the answer to reduce crime. If they have a secret weapon, they are guarding it closely. As far as the PLP are concerned Urban Renewal is the balm that will heal all. It had no healing charm when the PLP were in power, it would be interesting to know what makes the PLP think that it will be any different if they were returned as the government. They are trying to make the public believe that the Ingraham government killed Urban Renewal when it came to power. A redesigned urban renewal programme is still in place, however, it is no longer PLP-style.
The truth is no one --certainly no political party -- has the answer to how to reduce crime. The will of an angered people resolved to restore morality to their communities is the only power that can turn the tide. Until that day comes, the criminals will call the shots.
There are those who maintain that the death penalty is the most effective deterrent to crime. Others say it is life imprisonment. No one knows the answer. Proof hangs in the balance on either side of this complex question. When human nature is involved there is no answer that fits all.
The answer is not to rid ourselves of the Privy Council -- it is too important to this nation in many other ways. However, it is now up to Bahamians to make certain that when persons are convicted of such heinous crimes, all hope of returning to society is removed forever. This is probably the cruelest of all punishments.
June 17, 2011
tribune242
tribune242
A FATHER, grieving over his dead daughter, yesterday condemned this country's highest court for restoring hope of a full life to the man who had brutally murdered her nine years earlier.
On Wednesday London's Privy Council removed the noose that had threatened the neck of Maxo Tido. Instead it sent him back to the Bahamas' Court of Appeal to fix an "appropriate sentence" for a murder they recognised as "appalling," but "not one which warrants the most condign punishment of death."
Tido was the first condemned man sentenced to be hanged by a judge after the Privy Council ruled that no longer could a jury's murder conviction result in an automatic death sentence. Rather a judge now had to consider the merits of each case and decide whether the evidence was such as to warrant death by hanging.
Supreme Court Justice Anita Allen ruled that the brutality of the 16-year-old girl's death merited no mercy for her killer-- he was to hang by the neck until dead. The Advisory Committee of the Prerogative of Mercy agreed, but stayed his execution until he could appeal to the Bahamas's highest court -- the Privy Council.
The results of this decision means a life sentence for Tido. However, it is now up to our legislators to redefine the meaning of "life" in cases such as this. In future "life" should no longer mean 25 years with good behaviour, but full life, with the prisoner leaving his cell only when the undertaker arrives to take him to the graveyard.
The dead girl's father warned that the Privy Council's decision could lead to vigilante justice if people continue to lose faith in the judicial system.
Unfortunately that faith has already been lost and, at least among the criminals, vigilante justice is on the rise.
National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest attributes 44 per cent of this year's murders to drugs. As the drug dealers squabble among themselves and settle their own scores with the gun, they are assisting the judicial system in clearing cases from the court's calendar.
For example, about two weeks ago a man accused of murder was released on bail by a judge. His trial was still pending. A week later he was dead -- shot by another who is "well known to the police," also presumably out on bail.
A few weeks ago a young man was shot in his hand in Fox Hill. If his tangled web is traced back a couple of years, two feuding factions can be found to be the root cause. They will probably gun it out until no man is left standing on either side. One side taking retaliatory measures against the other has resulted so far in at least three violent deaths in this case. This today is what is happening on our streets -- vigilante justice is alive and well.
A police officer commented a few days ago that last weekend was a quiet one on the crime front. He attributed it to the police's new strike force, which had rounded up at least 100 persons for various offences before the holiday weekend.
Opposition politicians like to accuse government for not taking crime seriously. This is nonsense. The government is doing its best, the police are doing their best, the community, where the problem lies, is yet to step up to the plate.
Opposition politicians claim they have the answer to reduce crime. If they have a secret weapon, they are guarding it closely. As far as the PLP are concerned Urban Renewal is the balm that will heal all. It had no healing charm when the PLP were in power, it would be interesting to know what makes the PLP think that it will be any different if they were returned as the government. They are trying to make the public believe that the Ingraham government killed Urban Renewal when it came to power. A redesigned urban renewal programme is still in place, however, it is no longer PLP-style.
The truth is no one --certainly no political party -- has the answer to how to reduce crime. The will of an angered people resolved to restore morality to their communities is the only power that can turn the tide. Until that day comes, the criminals will call the shots.
There are those who maintain that the death penalty is the most effective deterrent to crime. Others say it is life imprisonment. No one knows the answer. Proof hangs in the balance on either side of this complex question. When human nature is involved there is no answer that fits all.
The answer is not to rid ourselves of the Privy Council -- it is too important to this nation in many other ways. However, it is now up to Bahamians to make certain that when persons are convicted of such heinous crimes, all hope of returning to society is removed forever. This is probably the cruelest of all punishments.
June 17, 2011
tribune242
Friday, June 17, 2011
WikiLeaks United States Embassy cables: Embassy officials viewed the cozy relationship between Foreign Affairs Minister Brent Symonette and then Charge d'affaires Brent Hardt as a major plus in convincing The Bahamas to be more supportive of U.S. positions on the world stage
Cables reveal DPM's close U.S. ties
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
United States Embassy officials viewed the cozy relationship between Foreign Affairs Minister Brent Symonette and then Charge d'affaires Brent Hardt as a major plus in convincing The Bahamas to be more supportive of U.S. positions on the world stage, according to cables obtained by The Nassau Guardian through WikiLeaks.
One of the cables described Symonette as “a reluctant foreign minister”.
Symonette was also described as “a frank and open interlocutor” for the embassy and “a good friend”.
“In recent years, he has been a valuable contact on political and economic issues,” said the 2007 cable.
“He and the charge (Brent Hardt) — whose residence is next door to Symonette’s — enjoy a close personal relationship reinforced by family friendships.”
The cable added, “The charge enjoys direct access to Symonette, and expects that the new professional relationship will benefit from the outstanding communication they enjoy.
“The charge has found Symonette to be direct, pragmatic, and generally pro-U.S., though a staunch defender of Bahamian national interests.”
The cable said Free National Movement (FNM) insiders had predicted that former Bahamian Ambassador to the U.S. Joshua Sears would be named foreign minister.
“Asked last summer by the charge about his potential portfolios in an FNM government, Symonette dismissed the idea of serving as foreign minister, saying he could not see himself for hours in ‘endless, unproductive meetings with CARICOM officials,” said the 2007 cable.
“However, with Sears losing his race for Parliament, and with Symonette’s experience as opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, he and the prime minister apparently had a change of heart.”
The cable said Symonette’s appointment as foreign minister is “a best-case scenario” for the United States.
“[Prime Minister Hubert] Ingraham’s decision to tap his deputy prime minister, a known friend of the U.S., as minister of foreign affairs reflects Ingraham’s understanding of the importance of the U.S. relationship and Ingraham’s commitment to making it work for both sides,” the cable said.
“It may also have reflected a recognition that Symonette’s extensive web of local business activities could have created conflicts of interest with other portfolios, as was the case with the airport contract in his last administration.
“Symonette also had little interest in positions such as minister of works, repairing roads and installing stoplights.
“Symonette’s pragmatism, openness to the U.S. and our views, and direct channels of communication with Post promise a stronger, more productive relationship than under the often brooding, sensitive, and aloof Fred Mitchell.”
The embassy official wrote that Symonette will also strongly support the Unites States’ core counter-drug and migrant interdiction programs.
“His Bahamian nationalist focus may lead to a more pragmatic direction in foreign affairs that abandons former Minister Mitchell’s penchant for world travel, building distant ties with India and China, and activism in the Non-Aligned Movement.
“Given his avowed skepticism of the value of CARICOM, we expect Symonette will keep Bahamian engagement with its neighbors to the minimum necessary for good relations.
“With Bahamian national issues dominating his focus, regional and big picture international issues will likely fade as priorities. As a result, we expect The Bahamas’ flirtation with Cuba to cool, potentially reducing Bahamian presence in Cuba from an embassy to a consulate.
“We also hope that Symonette’s pragmatic orientation will lead to greater receptiveness to concluding a Proliferation Security Initiative Agreement — which had languished over the past year with the indecisive PLP government.”
UBP LEGACY
The embassy official noted that Symonette is a successful businessman and a former attorney general and minister of tourism in previous FNM governments.
“Symonette, whose father was the last pre-Independence premier of The Bahamas, is one of a handful of white Bahamians who have remained engaged in post-Independence Bahamian politics,” the cable said.
Symonette was described as a “no-nonsense leader with limited tolerance for inefficiency.”
“We can expect him to be a strong partner for the U.S., who will be more decisive and more inclined to support U.S. positions than his predecessor,” the cable said.
“As he is new to international diplomacy, we have an opportunity to shape his perceptions early on priority U.S. concerns such as a Proliferation Security Agreement and U.N. human rights issues.”
The embassy official wrote that the appointment of Symonette as DPM and The Bahamas’ representative to foreign governments was seen in part as Ingraham’s response to the Progressive Liberal Party’s effort to play the race card during the campaign against Symonette and the FNM, whose roots go back to the white-dominated United Bahamian Party (UBP) of the pre-Independence Bahamas.
“Brent Symonette’s UBP heritage has been a political liability, and became a focus of PLP campaigning leading up to the elections in the overwhelmingly black Bahamas,” the cable said.
“While safe in his wealthy eastern constituency, some public perceptions of Symonette have inescapably been tied to issues of race and [his father’s] minority rule legacy.
“The PLP went out of (its) way to exploit his father’s past — with mixed successs.
“The FNM victory in the face of PLP charges that Ingraham intended to turn power over to Symonette, who would then ‘turn back’ to the era of racial discrimination, suggests a growing political maturity among a majority of Bahamian voters for whom such racial politics had limited traction.”
The cable noted that Symonette was defiant of PLP campaign efforts to marginalize him because of his race and legacy.
“In fact, Symonette derives extra motivation from his desire to ensure that all Bahamians, black and white alike, can participate in the political life of The Bahamas,” the official wrote.
“His willingness to face the barrage of PLP attacks in a political campaign and to stand up for his father despite a difficult legacy are telling of a highly motivated and strong-minded politician.”
The official wrote that Symonette was voted deputy leader reportedly to help balance the fiery Ingraham with his calm, thoughtful demeanor in the 2007 general election.
“Symonette’s deep ties with the Bahamian business community and access to local investors contributed to his appeal to the party faithful,” the cable said.
“...Among the wealthiest individuals in Bahamian politics, Symonette reported $56 million in net worth in required pre-election disclosures.
“However, those disclosures reportedly do not include interests held in trust or partnership, and some estimate Symonette’s wealth to exceed $250 million.
“Symonette nevertheless lives modestly and supports many causes without fanfare and behind-the-scenes.”
Jun 16, 2011
thenassauguardian
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
United States Embassy officials viewed the cozy relationship between Foreign Affairs Minister Brent Symonette and then Charge d'affaires Brent Hardt as a major plus in convincing The Bahamas to be more supportive of U.S. positions on the world stage, according to cables obtained by The Nassau Guardian through WikiLeaks.
One of the cables described Symonette as “a reluctant foreign minister”.
Symonette was also described as “a frank and open interlocutor” for the embassy and “a good friend”.
“In recent years, he has been a valuable contact on political and economic issues,” said the 2007 cable.
“He and the charge (Brent Hardt) — whose residence is next door to Symonette’s — enjoy a close personal relationship reinforced by family friendships.”
The cable added, “The charge enjoys direct access to Symonette, and expects that the new professional relationship will benefit from the outstanding communication they enjoy.
“The charge has found Symonette to be direct, pragmatic, and generally pro-U.S., though a staunch defender of Bahamian national interests.”
The cable said Free National Movement (FNM) insiders had predicted that former Bahamian Ambassador to the U.S. Joshua Sears would be named foreign minister.
“Asked last summer by the charge about his potential portfolios in an FNM government, Symonette dismissed the idea of serving as foreign minister, saying he could not see himself for hours in ‘endless, unproductive meetings with CARICOM officials,” said the 2007 cable.
“However, with Sears losing his race for Parliament, and with Symonette’s experience as opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, he and the prime minister apparently had a change of heart.”
The cable said Symonette’s appointment as foreign minister is “a best-case scenario” for the United States.
“[Prime Minister Hubert] Ingraham’s decision to tap his deputy prime minister, a known friend of the U.S., as minister of foreign affairs reflects Ingraham’s understanding of the importance of the U.S. relationship and Ingraham’s commitment to making it work for both sides,” the cable said.
“It may also have reflected a recognition that Symonette’s extensive web of local business activities could have created conflicts of interest with other portfolios, as was the case with the airport contract in his last administration.
“Symonette also had little interest in positions such as minister of works, repairing roads and installing stoplights.
“Symonette’s pragmatism, openness to the U.S. and our views, and direct channels of communication with Post promise a stronger, more productive relationship than under the often brooding, sensitive, and aloof Fred Mitchell.”
The embassy official wrote that Symonette will also strongly support the Unites States’ core counter-drug and migrant interdiction programs.
“His Bahamian nationalist focus may lead to a more pragmatic direction in foreign affairs that abandons former Minister Mitchell’s penchant for world travel, building distant ties with India and China, and activism in the Non-Aligned Movement.
“Given his avowed skepticism of the value of CARICOM, we expect Symonette will keep Bahamian engagement with its neighbors to the minimum necessary for good relations.
“With Bahamian national issues dominating his focus, regional and big picture international issues will likely fade as priorities. As a result, we expect The Bahamas’ flirtation with Cuba to cool, potentially reducing Bahamian presence in Cuba from an embassy to a consulate.
“We also hope that Symonette’s pragmatic orientation will lead to greater receptiveness to concluding a Proliferation Security Initiative Agreement — which had languished over the past year with the indecisive PLP government.”
UBP LEGACY
The embassy official noted that Symonette is a successful businessman and a former attorney general and minister of tourism in previous FNM governments.
“Symonette, whose father was the last pre-Independence premier of The Bahamas, is one of a handful of white Bahamians who have remained engaged in post-Independence Bahamian politics,” the cable said.
Symonette was described as a “no-nonsense leader with limited tolerance for inefficiency.”
“We can expect him to be a strong partner for the U.S., who will be more decisive and more inclined to support U.S. positions than his predecessor,” the cable said.
“As he is new to international diplomacy, we have an opportunity to shape his perceptions early on priority U.S. concerns such as a Proliferation Security Agreement and U.N. human rights issues.”
The embassy official wrote that the appointment of Symonette as DPM and The Bahamas’ representative to foreign governments was seen in part as Ingraham’s response to the Progressive Liberal Party’s effort to play the race card during the campaign against Symonette and the FNM, whose roots go back to the white-dominated United Bahamian Party (UBP) of the pre-Independence Bahamas.
“Brent Symonette’s UBP heritage has been a political liability, and became a focus of PLP campaigning leading up to the elections in the overwhelmingly black Bahamas,” the cable said.
“While safe in his wealthy eastern constituency, some public perceptions of Symonette have inescapably been tied to issues of race and [his father’s] minority rule legacy.
“The PLP went out of (its) way to exploit his father’s past — with mixed successs.
“The FNM victory in the face of PLP charges that Ingraham intended to turn power over to Symonette, who would then ‘turn back’ to the era of racial discrimination, suggests a growing political maturity among a majority of Bahamian voters for whom such racial politics had limited traction.”
The cable noted that Symonette was defiant of PLP campaign efforts to marginalize him because of his race and legacy.
“In fact, Symonette derives extra motivation from his desire to ensure that all Bahamians, black and white alike, can participate in the political life of The Bahamas,” the official wrote.
“His willingness to face the barrage of PLP attacks in a political campaign and to stand up for his father despite a difficult legacy are telling of a highly motivated and strong-minded politician.”
The official wrote that Symonette was voted deputy leader reportedly to help balance the fiery Ingraham with his calm, thoughtful demeanor in the 2007 general election.
“Symonette’s deep ties with the Bahamian business community and access to local investors contributed to his appeal to the party faithful,” the cable said.
“...Among the wealthiest individuals in Bahamian politics, Symonette reported $56 million in net worth in required pre-election disclosures.
“However, those disclosures reportedly do not include interests held in trust or partnership, and some estimate Symonette’s wealth to exceed $250 million.
“Symonette nevertheless lives modestly and supports many causes without fanfare and behind-the-scenes.”
Jun 16, 2011
thenassauguardian
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