Why we reject the draft constitution for the Turks and Caicos Islands

By Douglas Parnell
Leader, Peoples Democratic Movement


The Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) rejects the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) draft constitution. Offered below are a number of reasons taken from our party’s position paper on the issue why it is unacceptable for our people and country at this stage of our development.

The 2010 review of the constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands comes from an unfortunate period of maladministration and corruption exposed by a far reaching Commission of Inquiry requested by our party for the good of the country.

The findings of the Commission were shocking, and exposed numerous failings on the part of individuals in the last government, including individuals in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Governor. Ironically, while the Commission was in oral hearings, the Turks and Caicos Governor was still busy signing off on transactions where there was alleged corruption. The final report does not cite one constitutional failure as a cause for these alarming acts on the part of ministers.

It must be pointed out that this was not the first Commission of Inquiry to be requested. If former Governor Richard Tauwhare is to be believed, he declared at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in May 2008 that he had requested the FCO to call a commission of inquiry as far back as 2005. This was during a period before the 2006 constitution was enacted and in reality the Governor had greater authority and responsibility to act and correct failures of the local government at that time.

The FCO did not listen. What remains to be seen is whether the FCO will listen to the voice and wishes of the people to return our 2006 constitution or whether the FCO and its ministers will turn a deaf ear towards our concerns on OUR constitution.

As for the information in the Commission of Inquiry, the PDM stands resolute in our stance that “we told you so” and can safely say that we did what was right during this period of maladministration, unlike Governors Poston and Tauwhare, Meg Munn and Leigh Turner, who did what was wrong and ignored our concerns of corruption, and gross maladministration when they were brought forward and were summarily dismissed as lacking sufficient evidence.

The greatest obstacle to good governance and deterrent to sound financial management is a lack of hearing and adherence to the already existing laws of the Turks and Caicos Islands on the part of persons in authority. When this happens with locally elected officials, we have a remedy at the polls through a General Election, but when this happens with UK officials at the FCO the people of the territory have no recourse and we suffer for years, sometimes even decades.

Even today the FCO is not listening to their own MPs such as Andrew Rosindell and Lord Nigel Jones, who have both warned that a constitution cannot and should not be forced on the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Even to this day the FCO has neglected to pave a path for direct negotiations with the political parties on any change to the constitution as called for by our party and the British Parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Turks and Caicos Islands, despite the precedent set during the 1986 suspension.

The FCO must remember that it has appointed over the years governors and attorneys general who have not served the interest of the people, but who served their own interest and broke the law.

The FCO cannot simply look at the last eight years and try to impose a constitution on the people based upon this period but it must look back and honestly assess its own failings, gross neglect and incompetence in administering its constitutional obligations to the Turks and Caicos people and our territory, obligations that is has agreed with the world to uphold and move towards. Yet, in this FCO draft constitution, the UK’s United Nations obligations are being disregarded. It is clear that the FCO is attempting to move the country backwards to an era of colonialism. It is seeking to extend temporary direct rule into permanent authority over the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands through its proposed draft constitution. This is unacceptable and we utterly reject it.

One of the measures being used to extend permanent authority over the Turks and Caicos people and their government is by granting greater authority to the governor under the pretext of correcting failures of the past. The governor would be granted the authority to:

a) reject the decision of cabinet,
b) make decisions contrary to cabinet; and
c) solely make appointments to public bodies.

Two cases come to mind that discredit this theory that granting greater constitutional power to governors will avoid corruption or conflicts of interest. Specific examples arise, namely, Attorney General Terrence Donnegan and Governor Christopher Turner. These two cases involved abuses of constitutional power. One was convicted and deported after the 1986 inquiry and the other left the territory in disgrace after granting special concessions to close relatives, which ended up costing the Turks and Caicos Islands people millions of dollars to correct. The FCO and the British Government did nothing to pay for their mistakes.

The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands cannot trust their constitutional destiny to a governor with unchecked power and authority over the three branches of government, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Our history has proven that governors can and will fail to act with integrity and honesty in their decision making powers. This draft FCO constitution also grants the governor unchecked power and authority over the institutions protecting the three branches of government making him a complete and total constitutional dictator.

We have been down this road before where the level of incompetence and corruption in government by locally elected officials, coupled with the incompetence and neglect at the FCO, has caused our country’s constitution to be temporarily suspended. We have equally been down the road where the imposed solutions to fix the equal failings of the locally elected government and the FCO robs the people of their democratic, constitutional and fundamental human rights. We wish not to go down that road again as proposed in this draft constitution.

In introducing the draft 2006 constitution for public consultation and debate, Lord Triesman remarked, “The UK has only retained those powers, including for the Governor, which are – and will remain -- necessary in TCI to ensure the implementation of international obligations; to protect itself against contingent liabilities; and to ensure good governance.” So what happened to the governor and his constitutional ability to ensure good governance? Again, it was not the people or the constitution that failed. It was the individuals the FCO appointed who failed in giving the necessary attention to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The FCO now seeks to cover up its failings and problems by imposing an untenable constitution on an unwilling people.

The fact is the FCO failed to uphold their responsibility for good governance, yet the people are being punished for it through a draft constitution that is regressive. This draft represents a major backward step for the people and the protection of their fundamental rights. Specifically, it has components that ignore the will of the people as expressed through their representatives in our Parliamentary system of democracy. This document would eliminate Parliament’s authority on specific matters. The message communicated is one of distrust and suspicion.

We can only conclude from the constitutional proposals that the FCO does not trust the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands to make sound decisions through their representatives and the mechanisms to make law because decisions can be overridden, limited and removed from Parliament’s ability to handle the country’s business. This is dangerous.

In exercising its remit in the Turks and Caicos Islands the FCO should be concentrating on fulfilling its commitment made to the rest of the world in the United Nations charter.

The UK will argue, wrongly, that it is not bound by International obligation, as former FCO minister under the Labour government, Lord Triesman, claimed in his speech to the Turks and Caicos Islands on April 24, 2006.

He said, “In this context, it might be helpful if I set out the UK position on alternative forms of relationship, some of which I know have been discussed here in TCI in recent weeks. UN General Assembly Resolution 1541 set out some options for the relationship between Administering Powers and Territories, including independence, integration and free association. The UK did not vote in favour of that resolution, and does not regard itself as bound by it”.

However, we are eager to point out to the FCO that not being bound to 1541 does not mean there isn’t still an obligation to Turks and Caicos Islands under the United Nations Charter. The text of Chapter XI of Article 73 paragraph A and B of the United Nations Charter, Declaration Regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories, reads, “Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:

a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;

b. to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;

Clearly, if we are to hold the British Government to account for their role in helping the Turks and Caicos Islands and our people achieve any measure of advancement, the grade would be low. The fact is this exercise of constitutional change is counter and opposite to the obligations that the UK government has agreed to the world to uphold with regard to Turks and Caicos Islands. We reject it and will continue the work on drafting a constitution for the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

May 18, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The Bahamas Government is looking at amending existing legislation to allow persons to use solar energy in their homes

Government looking to amend legislation for use of solar energy


By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net


FREEPORT - Minister of State for the Environment Phenton Neymour said Government is looking at amending existing legislation to allow persons to use solar energy in their homes.

Mr Neymour, who was in Grand Bahama for the launch of the national energy efficiency programme, said Government is encouraging Bahamians throughout the country to conserve energy in their homes.

On Saturday, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) were distributed to hundreds of residents here on Grand Bahama.

CFLs are energy-efficient and use 75 per cent less energy compared to the incandescent light bulbs. CFL bulbs last for three to five years and result in a savings of $20 per bulb annually.

According to Mr Neymour, approximately 50,000 CFLs have been distributed throughout New Providence and 100,000 in the Family Islands.

Additionally, he noted it is Government's objective to address the current legislation which hinders individuals using solar energy in their homes and interconnecting with the power grid.

The state minister said Government is expected to begin a pilot project using solar power systems next month in an effort to address any potential challenges in interconnecting between the power company and the customer.

"We have 33 solar (power) systems which we will offer to Bahamians; we will raffle it and once individuals are able to pay for installation then we will monitor their system and interconnection with a view of looking at all problems they have with the power company because the design of the system is important for safety reasons," he said.

"We want to ensure it is done safely with a view that later on we can open our current legislation to allow individuals to produce their own energy from solar power and at the same time use energy that is generated from the power company."

State Minister Neymour said there is already a provision in the Electricity Act that allows individuals in the Family Islands to produce up to 25 kilowatts in their own home without requiring provision from a power company.

In New Providence, he noted that individuals can produce up to 250 kilowatts in their home.

Mr Neymour said the solar power systems they are proposing are ones where individuals can get feedback from the power company.

"The sun does not shine 24 hours and so it is cheaper to have a solar (energy) system where you do not have a battery to store that energy during the day to be used at night," he said.

Mr Neymour said the battery is very expensive and lasts for only seven years, and would be more expensive in the long run.

"So it is significantly cheaper if we can eliminate the battery aspect of it where they can produce their own energy in the day and then receive energy from the power company at nights, that makes the use of solar more practical and cheaper. And so that is the direction we are headed."

Mr Neymour said the government is also encouraging Bahamians to look at constructing their homes to be more energy efficient.

He said they will soon be launching solar water heaters which the Government has also purchased under the national energy efficiency programme. "We have a select number of them and we will be offering them to Bahamians in the near future," he said.

Mr Neymour said government continues to conduct research and studies regarding the potential for renewable energy in the Family Islands.

He noted that the island of Andros has the greatest potential for renewable energy.

"We recognised that Andros has a potential bio mass using pine to generate energy and the potential for using algae to produce bio-diesel. We went to Abaco which also has great potential for bio mass," he said.

May 17, 2011

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Latin America and the Caribbean move toward energy security

Caracas, 13 May. AVN .- One of the main issues analyzed during a meeting by the people responsible for the energy area in Latin America and the Caribbean was the construction of an institutionality to be able to execute the proposals made on energy security, informed the Venezuelan Energy and Oil minister Rafael Ramirez.

The encounter held in a hotel in Caracas is part of the preliminary meetings in the framework of the Third Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (CALC) that will take place in Venezuela on July 5.

“Energy security includes a reliable and direct supply; for such reason, there are proposals to create mixed ventures in which each country can manage sovereignly its own resources without intermediaries that create so much speculation in the international oil market. We have progressed a lot in that matter in the Caribbean and in the South,” Ramirez explained.

In the first journey, it was decided the themes that will be discussed during the ministerial meeting of this Friday in which it is expected the attendance of the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs minister Nicolas Maduro.

From Friday"s meeting, a series of proposals will emerge and they will be debated over by the head of States next July during the Third CALC Summit.

“Solidarity, complementarity,energy security and asymmetries were the main themes discussed on Thursday,” he added

Ramirez stated that ministers have also debated over energy cooperation, since the countries in the meeting are part of Petrocaribe and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and proposals have been made to make the two blocs work in the same direction.

The Venezuelan minister recalled that besides Petrocaribe, Venezuela has alliances in 8 mixed ventures in the Caribbean and is participating in the South in diverse natural gas, oil and fuel projects with Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia.

“We have reached some progress in a bilateral way, but we think that this is an extraordinary proposal because we are holding talks with countries with common problems and we are building a fundamental bloc so as to give support to the socio-economic development of our nations,” he added.

Ramirez recalled that Latin America and the Caribbean have become one of the regions in the world with more hydrocarbon reserves, “which will be very important for the planning in next years.”

09:38 13/05/2011

avn

Bahamas Blog International

Haiti at the dawn of a new era!

By Jean H Charles

On Saturday, May 14, 2011, Joseph Michel Martelly was sworn in as the 56th president of the nation of Haiti. It has been a transition fought for and earned by the people of the country against all odds, national and international. The first round was mired with irregularities that only popular anger forced corrective measures to put Michel Martelly on the next round of the balloting.

The second round was enmeshed with allegations of corruption by and in favour of the legislators affiliated with Unity, the government sponsored political party. President Martelly has a cry of heart, begging the electoral board not to derail the beginning phase of his lobbying effort to tell the world that Haiti, free of political strife, is once again open for business!

This island nation, well known now all over the world, because of the devastating earthquake that destroyed its capital on January 12, 2010, has been languishing in economic stagnation for the past sixty years because of poor at best, corrupt and criminal governance at worst.

The first one hundred days will indicate the new direction of the Martelly government. The masses deprived of the most rudimentary indices of amenities – water, electricity, decent roads -- have high expectations from the new regime.

The recent earthquake has brought into the country widespread devastation, and it has brought also universal cooperation from the most obscure to the well known international service agency. To the naked eye as well as to the astute observer, it seems as though such massive outpouring of help went into the country as a flood pours into an open field.

Haiti is the best field study of the axiom that “those who can, will not, and those who will, cannot.” The government of Michel Martelly wants to prove that those who will can turn things around very quickly if there is a convergence of the right actors with the right policies. A day before the inauguration of his mandate he energized a million men and above all women to take a broom to clean the streets in a mass movement of voluntarism.

The right policies include turning around the two parts of the head that form the nation to make it look at the same vision of the future for each citizen. This operation demands an affirmative action on behalf of those who are the most deprived of financial incubation to create products with plus value to increase their wealth. It demands also reaching out to those who already have, with tax incentives to build a national economy that will satisfy the expectation of a 10 million strong population with growing purchasing power.

The right policies called for the (re)building of the infrastructure of the nation, starting with the smaller rural counties to the capital. For the past two hundred years in the life of the nation, no rural county, nay no town or city, has received a minimum annual earmarked funding for the building or the upkeep of essential services such roads, sewers and waste disposal, potable water, electricity and internet services.

The Preval government created the CNE (National Center of Equipment) to build and maintain local roads. That instrument was transformed into an electoral machine, turned sometimes into a criminal enterprise at the service of one man instead of the nation.

The Martelly government will need to revamp this institution to supplement and intensify the contribution of the EU – European Community – in infrastructure support to Haiti.

The new government is very friendly to the concept of PPP -- public-private partnerships -- to circle the country with all the modern infrastructural apparatus -- transportation, fiber optics, ferry services, electricity, and communications, etc.

Efficient international trade requires, as said Alan Beattie in False Economy, good communications, cheap and reliable transport, as well as certainty about getting the goods on time to the customer along with the certainty that the exporter will get paid on time. Haiti is too close to the largest market in the world (the United States) not to take advantage of that opportunity.

The institutions in Haiti in the Preval government have been either an instrument of propaganda with minimum service delivery or a private fief of someone close to those in power to distribute favors, exact pay offs and humiliate and frustrate the ordinary citizen. To obtain a passport, pay domestic taxation, or receive a certified copy of one’s birth certificate, you must visit the capital, stay in a long line and sometimes pay a corrupt broker to obtain service that should be in the regular line of business of each county.

The Martelly government will need to institute in its first one hundred days the culture of hospitality in the delivery of services. That culture should be extended also to the coordination of the international organizations so they can become more effective in their mission as well as the mission of the government in becoming a state friendly to its citizens.

Last but not least the Martelly government will need to extend a hand to the Diaspora so it can energize the reconstruction of the country. He has done so at a gala given by the Diaspora in his honor. He told the crowd, at last “the Diaspora has its own government.” The new amended constitution gives the voting power to the Diaspora. With rights comes also responsibility. I have demonstrated in an earlier essay that the Diaspora as a tool for nation building can be organized only from the home country. The Haitian government must be the moving force incubating the regional organizations to make them effective tools of the Haitian recovery.

The input of the Diaspora has been so far as fragmented as the support of the international organizations in Haiti: a flood spreading into an open field. The sustainable effect has been minimal at best. The forthcoming Diaspora sponsored civil society plan to provide each town with an endowment of 3 million dollars per year for infrastructure and institution building should receive the full blessing of the Haitian government.

The energy of the new president, Michel Joseph Martelly, gives the possibility of forecasting the dawn of a new era of Haitian leadership in the Caribbean. The big international issues, such as the smooth insertion and the re-education of the criminal returnees, the free flowing of services and labor throughout the region, the control and the management of the illegal drug business will find a firm hand in securing the Caribbean basin for growth and development.

Last but not least, the last time there was some muscle (for the best or for the worst) engagement from the big brother (the United States) in the financial situation of the Caribbean was during the governance of Ronald Reagan. The Obama government will have to look at its neighbour, the Caribbean area, and provide at least the 3 billion dollars annual aid that Ronald Reagan, thirty five years ago, provided to the region. Haiti will provide the leadership for such engagement!

May 16, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Wyclef Jean Sees Martelly As Change Leader

From newsamericasnow:



AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Sat. May 15, 2011: Haitian-born, Grammy singer Wyclef Jean, has likened Michel Martelly to Barack Obama.

Jean’s comments came as Martelly, a Kompa singer known for mooning the crowds, was sworn in as the 56th President of the Republic of Haiti, replacing Rene Preval in the post.

Jean, who was among the many gathered for the swearing in on the lawns of the ruined National Palace earlier today, said Martelly’s dynamic promise of change has resonated with the people.

“It means a new start … the people want education not handouts. Now they have a leader who will mobilize then,” Jean told Reuters, comparing Martelly’s election victory with that of U.S. President Barack Obama in November 2008.

Ironically, during Martelly’s swearing in, in the country’s makeshift Parliament, the lights went out.

But the swearing in continues in the dark while Martelly went on to repeat his promises to transform Haiti from a development basket case into a new Caribbean destination for investment and tourism that will provide jobs and better lives for its 10 million people.

“Haiti has been sleeping,” Martelly, 50, said as dozens remained nearby in tent cities close to the former Palace. “Today she will wake up, stand up.”

He pledged to provide free education to the widely uneducated population and swore to bring to justice anyone who brings disorder to the country. Martelly also proposed restoring Haiti’s disbanded army to eventually replace the more than 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers in his country.

Several foreign dignitaries including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Jamaica PM Bruce Golding and DR President Leonel Fernandez attended the swearing in. Though invited, neither former Presidents Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier or Jean Bertrand Aristide attended.


newsamericasnow

Bahamas Blog International

Developing prosperity consciousness through education

By Oliver Mills:



Many Caribbean countries are currently experiencing difficult economic and social challenges to a degree greater than has previously been the case historically. There are budget cuts in many critical areas, additional taxes on others in order to raise additional revenues, salary cuts and various deductions from incomes, despite the fact that incomes on a personal basis are already low. Deductions are therefore being made to incomes, even though the economies are not really experiencing the kind of growth required to sustain economic livelihoods.

There is also increased crime and violence in many of our societies, high employment, and we do not seem to be able to come up with the kind of economic and social model that would place us on the path to sustainable growth and development. Because of this, those members of our society who still manage to survive despite inroads being made on their ability to accumulate capital for further investment and development, become the victims of forces in Caribbean societies bent on committing anti social acts, often preying on the economically better off, as well as on the little that other deprived social groups have.

However, despite these challenges to our social and economic stability, and image, there is the highly important and critical factor of education being the strategy that could develop and sustain our hidden prosperity consciousness, which has been buried by the many years of doubt, social discontent, assumed helplessness in the face of overwhelming economic odds, and the intrusion of false, even negative values into our discourse, and everyday interactions with each other.

With so many socio-economic issues, we often feel burdened down, and many of us tend to either give up, or escape to other countries where we feel our futures would be better secured. It is not so easy, however, since many of the countries we see as havens, experience the same problems we seek to evade through escaping. Because we experience a sense of hopelessness, our consciousness of our authentic capabilities becomes dulled, which results in a paralysis of the will. It is here that education can be used as the elixir with the necessary potency to lift us up from the falseness and negativity that surround us, and provide the tools that would help to rebuild our consciousness of who we are, and our capabilities, and that would catapult us to transforming our situation through an awakened prosperity consciousness.

But what is education, in relation to developing a prosperity consciousness? Education is about how to create and live the good life. A life of success, enjoyment, caring, and transforming ourselves, others, and everything else we touch and interact with. This is its true meaning. It does this by exposing us to critical thinking, critical self-evaluation, and a logical approach to our experiences, so that we are able to manage them in a healthy and positive way. In this sense, it resurrects our smothered consciousness of who we really are, helps us to realise that nothing is ever lost, or unachievable, and that despite our economic circumstances, and those of our societies, we can think differently by formulating and developing a prosperity consciousness, which, when acted upon, brings about unimaginable blessings, economic well being, and prosperity, despite the contradictions around us.

Through critical self-analysis, we are able to change the way we think about ourselves, and the conditions of our society, and so change our way of living and being, so that we begin to live a far richer life, through developing a consciousness that is prosperity oriented, rather than poverty directed. Neglect-oriented thinking disappears, and we are therefore stimulated to redirect our energies to making our situation better, by engaging in those healthy activities that foster abundance. An abundant and prosperity mind-set enables us to attract these qualities to ourselves, and we then operationalise the activities that manifest them.

Engaging in self-discourse is another educational strategy that promotes the development of a healthy prosperity consciousness through education. Whenever we are faced with any adversity, or interact with others with an unhelpful frame of mind, an inner discourse begins, which alerts us to the fact that a situation which is not good for us, and needs our attention. Through self-discourse, which is integral to education, we deal with the cross currents of ideas that preoccupy us, work them out coherently, eliminate the negative elements, and choose only those discourses that are self-enhancing to us. Education is therefore integral to self-discourse, and is itself self-discourse, in a dynamic way. Through self-discourse as education, we change our perspective to one that involves abundance and successful accomplishment, which are directly related to enabling a healthy prosperity consciousness, which fosters positive results, both psychologically and materially. We are able to strengthen our resolve to act, and so set in motion those energies that enable achievement and success to come about. Like attracts like, so that a prosperity consciousness brings to itself prosperous benefits.

Rational analysis is another element in forging a prosperity consciousness through education. It unburdens us, and results in clarity of thought. It also presents us with various alternatives we could choose from, and enables us, through a process of elimination, to choose the one that brings the greatest prosperity benefits. We are therefore never overwhelmed by events and circumstances, but are able to master and direct them to our own good, and the good of society. Economic and social upheavals become opportunities to use our educational training to benefit and progress further and so become victors in any situation.

With rational analysis, we are never victims or casualties, because we constantly analyse various shifts and turns, and therefore develop possible responses. We are never caught napping, because we are intellectually agile, with a philosophically oriented outlook which is prosperity conscious. We are therefore able to harness those tangible and intangible forces to our benefit, and as a result, live in abundance and success. We always see opportunities, not barriers, and therefore act with a knowing, not suspicion, that what we do will work out in our favour. A prosperity consciousness therefore brings prosperous results, since belief precedes, and brings about what we want to be manifested.

In a wider sense, a prosperity consciousness through education transcends myths, precedence, and everyday experiences. We are not held back, or dissuaded by society’s myths and legends, because we have a more transcendent perception of possibilities. Prosperity consciousness means that everything is possible and achievable, that everything changes, never remains the same, and is always in our favour. Most importantly, we project and live what we would like to see, have, and be. It enables us to become and achieve whatever we can conceive. It is more than just faith, rather it is a deep sense of knowing that whatever the situation or issue, we can transcend it to our advantage, and be successful in what we desire. We are therefore not bothered by what happens in our space, because we know we will prevail and reap abundantly despite the experiences of others. No economic, social, or personal challenges can therefore affect us negatively.

Education then, not only builds a prosperity consciousness, but develops it further. It does this by analysis, the process of elimination, and using the best and most rewarding logical selection from among the alternatives that emerge through the process of dialogue and discourse, which are often internal. Through this process, awareness develops, enlightenment occurs, and consciousness regarding which prudent choice will best serve our ends surfaces. Prosperity consciousness therefore emerges as an educational event brought on and sustained by philosophical deliberation, and educational critique. It is not haphazard, or ad hoc, but systematic. It is about being aware of the best among other options that contributes to our greater well being and enhances our personhood.

Having a prosperity consciousness further results in healthy thinking, a positive approach to life, optimism, and expectancy. We expect that everything will always work out well for us. It fosters sensitivity and tranquility on our part, which contribute to a noble and ethical life style. Events always work to our advantage, we become winners, our longevity increases, and it brings about joy, and a sense of inner peace. Education liberates our prosperity consciousness from being smothered, and covered by the dynamics of everyday life, so that we become conscious choosers, who are constantly favoured, and who always experience abundant success.

May 3, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly - Haiti's President elect - promises amnesty for former dictator, Jean Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier

Amnesty For Duvalier On His Mind



News Americas, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Fri. May 13, 2011: The Kompa singer turned President elect of Haiti officially takes the reins tomorrow, but has already promised amnesty for former dictator, Jean Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier.

In an interview with Montreal’s French-language daily La Presse, Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly said that he “could eventually think of that (an amnesty) to the extent that those who were hurt in the past understand the need for reconciliation” and that “I’m leaning toward the side of amnesty and forgiveness.”

But Martelly’s comments on Duvalier are disturbing to many, especially those whose relatives were killed under his brutal dictatorship by his and his father, Papa Doc Duvalier’s Tonton Macouts. The force was created in 1959, only two years after François Duvalier became president, due to the threat posed to the dictator by the regular armed forces. After an attempted coup d’etat against him in 1958, Duvalier disbanded the army and all law enforcement agencies in Haiti, and executed all high-ranking generals. The new militia wore straw hats, blue denim shirts and dark glasses, and were armed with machetes and guns.

Duvalier employed the Tonton Macoutes in a reign of terror against any opponents, including those who proposed progressive social systems. Those who spoke out against Duvalier would disappear at night, or were sometimes attacked in broad daylight. Tonton Macoutes often stoned and burned people alive. Many times the corpses were put on display, often hung in trees for everyone to see. Family members who tried to remove the bodies for proper burial often disappeared themselves, never to be seen again.

They were believed to have been abducted and killed by the MVSN, who were called the “Tonton Macoutes” as a result. Anyone who challenged the MVSN risked assassination. Their unrestrained state terrorism was accompanied by corruption, extortion and personal aggrandizement among the leadership.

Duvalier, 59, returned to Haiti on Jan. 16 after being chased out by a popular uprising 25 years earlier. A large team of Haitian and international lawyers are helping the Haitian government to put together the Duvalier prosecution and process complaints being filed by Duvalier era victims living in Haiti and its Diaspora.

This as Duvalier lives the good life in Haiti, socializing on the jazz circuit while a judge is investigating allegations of crimes committed during his 15-year rule and Duvalier supporters advise Martelly.

newsamericasnow

Bahamas Blog International