...celebrating the 54th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution

Celebrating the triumph of Cuba's revolution

By YURI GALA LOPEZ

I'd like to thank you for joining us in celebrating the 54th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution, officially commemorated on January 1st. That day in the year 1959 marked a milestone for my homeland because the victory of the revolutionary forces allowed the Cuban people to attain true independence and sovereignty.

Since then, the Cuban people undertook their project of freedom, solidarity and social justice, facing hostility and aggressions of various kinds. The Cuban Revolution has overcome those obstacles and just started its 55th year of existence and counting.

Year 2012 was a very dynamic one for Cuba in many areas. Cuba held elections for its local government structures at the municipal level, a process which was implemented successfully. On February 3, Cubans will go to the polls to vote for provincial delegates and members of Parliament.

Despite the tensions associated with the global economic and financial crisis and other external challenges, the Cuban economy was expected to close year 2012 with a 3.1 per cent growth of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For 2013, Cuba foresees a 3.7 per cent GDP growth.

The gradual updating of Cuba's economic model continued. Last December, Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruz pointed out that:

"The updating of the Cuban economic model is advancing at a firm pace and it now begins to address major, broader and more complex issues, based on the premise that everything we do is aimed at the preservation and development of a sustainable and prosperous Socialist society, the only guarantee for the independence and national sovereignty achieved by several generations of fellow countrymen in more than 140 years of struggle."

In 2012 Cuba had to face important natural challenges. In October, Hurricane Sandy caused significant losses for my country, mainly in its Eastern region, where Santiago de Cuba, the country's second largest city, was particularly hit. However, the recovery process of the storm-damaged provinces is underway. International solidarity was shown to us in a myriad of ways, something which we deeply appreciate.

Last year, Cuba managed to preserve important social achievements. For example, my country ended 2012 with an infant mortality rate of 4.6 per 1000 live births, the lowest in the Americas. For the fifth consecutive year, Cuba registered a child mortality rate under five, an expression of the human development index. Moreover, the country reported the second lowest maternal mortality rate in its history.

On the other hand, the new migratory measures recently announced by the Cuban Government show its willingness to continue strengthening the relations between the nation and its emigration.

Cuba continues to enjoy an increasing international recognition maintaining diplomatic relations with over 180 countries. We keep receiving the moral support of many governments and peoples of the world in our denunciation of the five-decade old blockade, while solidarity is growing in the case of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States.

By the end of this month, Cuba will assume the Pro tempore Presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a step which entails an immense honour and a great responsibility to which my country will devote the greatest efforts and energies.

In spite of our economic challenges and convinced of the importance of globalising solidarity to build a better world, Cuba has continued to provide its modest cooperation to other sister nations of the South. For example, more than 29,000 youth from 115 countries are now studying in Cuba. Out of those, more than 18,000 scholarship holders come from Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

In December 2012, Cubans together with the Caribbean people again celebrated the Caricom-Cuba Day, but this time was special because we also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the joint decision adopted by four countries, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.

That brave and historic political decision taken in 1972 by those newly independent countries, in a climate of hostility and enormous pressures, was a breach in the isolation imposed on Cuba and marked the beginning of the close and excellent relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that Cuba enjoys today with all CARICOM member States.

The year 2012 was indeed very fruitful for Cuba-Jamaica relations, precisely the year when we celebrated four decades of bilateral diplomacy based on strong friendship, cooperation and solidarity.

More than 200 Jamaicans are studying medicine and other university courses in Cuba under the relevant scholarship programme. In addition to that, over 200 Cubans specialists are part of bilateral cooperation programmes implemented in Jamaica mainly in the fields of health and education.

Last year, the Cuba-Jamaica Ophthalmology Centre, located in Kingston, performed more than 1,400 surgeries. Since 2005 to date, more than 65,000 Jamaicans have been screened under that programme, while more than 9,000 patients have undergone eye surgery free of charge to them.

Both countries continued to exchange high level delegations during 2012. In January, a Cuban delegation headed by His Excellency Esteban Lazo, vice-president of the Council of State, visited Kingston to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Most Hon Portia Simpson Miller as Prime Minister. In December, Jamaica was visited by a Cuban delegation led by parliamentarian Kenia Serrano, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples.

In the same line, Cuba received the official visit of a delegation headed by the Hon AJ Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Cuba was also visited by other high-level Jamaican delegations, including those led by the Honourable Ministers of Youth and Culture, Health, Science and Technology, and by the Attorney General.

Both countries continued to support each other in international fora. Last October, at the UN General Assembly, the Government of Jamaica (along with 187 countries) supported again the resolution on the necessity of ending the unjust US blockade against Cuba. That position was also shared by the House of Representatives of Jamaica. Cuba deeply appreciates that solidarity. We also thank those Jamaicans who continue to be involved in friendship groups with Cuba.

I'd like you to join me in a toast to the 54th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, and to the further strengthening of the longstanding friendship between the peoples and governments of Jamaica and Cuba.

 

Yuri Gala Lopez is Cuba's Ambassador to Jamaica. The edited speech was delivered at a diplomatic reception on January 16 to mark the 54th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, officially commemorated on January 1.

January 31, 2013

Jamaica Observer

Bahamas Blog International

Business leaders in The Bahamas are urging the Bahamian government to treat the defeated gambling referendum as a learning experience ...for the upcoming oil drilling referendum

Govt urged to tackle oil vote ‘differently’

Analysts say proposed legislation prior to referendum would build consensus, eliminate politics and improve education over exploratory drill

JEFFREY TODD
Guardian Business Editor
jeffrey@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas

Business leaders are urging the government to treat the gambling issue as a learning experience for the upcoming oil drilling referendum.

While the "Vote No" campaign was victorious on Monday, observers have noted that low turnout and general apathy impacted the democratic process.

The government was frequently criticized for being unclear in the referendum questions and failing to introduce specific legislation to back up the possible legalization of gaming.  The vote also became highly politicized, prompting rival parties to endorse opposing views.

For an upcoming oil drilling referendum, a decision that could indeed reshape the country's economy, the process must be handled "in a completely different way", according to Richard Coulson, a well-known financial consultant.

"The government will need to go to great lengths to explain what the issues are," he told Guardian Business.

"Oil drilling is not a moral or religious issue.  It will be a matter of whether you can explain the economic advantages and technical reasons why the environment can be protected.  If those points can be explained, there should be no rejection."

In the nation's young history, both referendums brought to the people have been strongly rejected.

Coulson said that changes are needed to ensure referendums occur properly without placing the country's future at risk.

On the issue of oil drilling, he urged politicians to arrive at a consensus prior to the vote by crafting a detailed proposal and piece of legislation on how the process would be administered.

Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama Peter Turnquest agreed that future referendums need parliamentary involvement.

Turnquest said that the current government tried to "push" the idea of gambling on Bahamians, believing that people would simply vote yes.  The former head of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce said specific legislation must go through a "period of education" whereby the public is taken through the process.

"Anything short of that will result in a similar kind of situation," he added.

Indeed, a negative result in regards to oil drilling is the last thing the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) wants, not to mention its legions of international shareholders.

As Bahamians voted in the gambling referendum, investors in BPC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) watched keenly and speculated on when a vote on oil exploration could occur.

Shares of BPC ended yesterday's trading at 5.51 pence.  That compares to around 16 pence per share back in February 2012.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) pledged a referendum on the subject prior to coming into power last May.

At the time, Opposition Leader Perry Christie drew headlines when he confirmed that he was a legal consultant for Davis & Co., the law firm that represented BPC.  Meanwhile, the Free National Movement (FNM) famously revoked BPC’s licences during the election.

These licenses were reinstated by the PLP after coming into power.

It has been speculated that a referendum on oil drilling could occur by the summer, although no formal timeline or process has been announced by government.

January 30, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Cuba on the road to Latin American and Caribbean unity

By Livia Rodríguez Delis & Juan Diego Nusa Peñalver

CUBA is to assume the presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) at the next Heads of State and Government Summit of the bloc in Chile, January 27-28.

 

As Cuban President Raúl Castro affirmed during the closing session of the 7th Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power, "This is a great honor, a great responsibility, to which we are committed to devoting our best efforts and energy."

It also confirms CELAC member countries’ confidence in Cuba’s principles and values, its wide-reaching foreign policy, its vision of the problems facing humanity and characteristic solidarity, all of which will give new impetus to the bloc’s development and consolidation.

It is also palpable evidence of the failure of the U.S. policy of isolation maintained against Cuba since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.

Resentful of the expression of unity and solidarity signified by any event of this nature in what it regards as its backyard, Washington has always attempted to block any kind of Cuban relations with the rest of the nations on the continent.

This policy of isolation began to collapse on December 8, 1972, when Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago all established diplomatic relations with Cuba, in an act of unquestionable political courage on the part of these small Caribbean nations.

"If we go back to the 1960’s, Cuba only had diplomatic relations with Mexico (given U.S. pressure) and very few commercial links in the region," noted Deputy Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Orlando Hernández Guillén, approached by Granma International for an overview of the current situation of commercial ties between Cuba and Latin American and Caribbean sister nations.

"After the decisive step in relation to Cuba taken by the four English-speaking Caribbean countries, little by little Latin American nations approached us, some of them utilizing commercial links and others the diplomatic context. And today, the country has become an active member of the Latin American community."

 

What does maintaining relations with nations of the region signify for Cuba?

The priority of ties with Latin America is included in the Constitution of the Republic, which establishes that our government bases its international relations on principles of equality of rights, self-determination, territorial integrity, the independence of states, beneficial international cooperation and mutual and equitable interest; as well as the peaceful resolution of controversies on equal footing, and other principles proclaimed in the United Nations Charter and other international treaties to which Cuba is a party.

At the same time, it reaffirms Cuba’s willingness to integrate and cooperate with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, which share a common identity and the historic need to advance together toward economic and political integration in order to achieve genuine independence, something which will allow us to attain the position we merit in the world.

This is endorsed in the Guidelines approved at the 6th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, which also specify basic aspects of our close ties with Latin America, through the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and the Association of Caribbean States, among other sub-regional institutions to which Cuba belongs. These have also provided a space for the development of relations with other countries, with the exception of the Organization of American States (OAS) and its sub-system of institutions.

Currently, Cuba’s foreign trade with the region represents more than 40% of its commercial interchange at the global level. This places the country in one of the top spots in the region, with regards to the volume of intraregional trade.

 

In this aspect, the relations we have with Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela have an important weight. In the case of Venezuela, it is our first trading partner, from which we obtain a significant amount of the energy resources the country needs to complement national production.

Even though the Cuban government is developing concrete actions to promote the replacement of food imports, the country still spend $1,700-1,800 million (per year) in this context alone, and Latin America is an important supplier of foodstuffs, basically countries like Brazil and Argentina, which are large global exporters of food and also in the case of Cuba.

In terms of numbers, Cuban exports to Latin America amount to approximately 650 tariff positions within the region. This is not all that we would like, but it speaks of the development achieved in the last few years through trade, no longer confined to exports of sugar and nickel, which have little weight in the region, but diversified, ranging from services (especially in health) and biotechnology products to construction materials.

In the same way, we import from Latin America raw materials, intermediate products, machinery and equipment, above all from Brazil, whose industry has the capacity to contribute this kind of technological goods.

Through our relations with Latin American countries, today there are also financial resources to support these relations. We have credit lines with Brazil and Venezuela and these are an important base, not only in the context of trade, but to advance investment and development processes in the country.

For example, the Port of Mariel construction, which is going ahead with Brazilian cooperation and funding and the participation of Brazilian and Cuban entities. This monumental work is symbolic of Cuba’s cooperation with the region and particularly with that South American nation.

Other financial arrangements and credit lines with distinct characteristics are provided by Venezuela and these are playing a very important role in our economic/commercial activity.

 

What were the elements that favored the impetus of links with the sub-region?

Relations with Latin America have reached this point because of Cuba’s gradual progress in terms of preferential trade links with virtually all of the ALADI member countries, which created the conditions for the country to become the 12th full member of the largest Latin American economic integration group in 1999.

That made it possible to extend ties with this group of states and negotiate parallel agreements with Central American countries like Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador and nations comprising the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

In some cases these agreements have advanced more and respond to the political circumstances of our bilateral links, as is the case with Venezuela and Bolivia, with which Cuba currently has relations which we could say are equivalent to free trade, as there are no tariffs related to the circulation of merchandise.

We negotiated this in May 2012 with Venezuela and had previously done so with Bolivia.

I must mention that Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines as members comprise the ALBA, a new kind of integration organization which, on the basis of political processes taking place in the region, has made it possible to draw up plans of a far greater reach within the approximation and integration processes among our peoples in the economic, financial, social and cultural spheres.

Thus, Cuba is fully inserted in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and is incorporated in all the area’s coordination and integration structures, apart from the OAS.

 

How has Cuba been able to resist the hardships of the international financial crisis and, in particular, how has our foreign trade confronted the U.S. blockade?

 

We have been able to resist the hardships of the international financial crisis primarily because of our people’s capacity for resistance (the Cuban economy grew 3.1% in 2012) and an intelligent strategy at the point when the situation became more serious and tense; by seeking within the country all possible means of saving, channeling limited resources available into sectors with a capacity to generate income, and limiting imports.

All those who trusted in Cuba at that moment can see that they were fully justified, because as the Cuban economy has confronted the crisis with more success, the tense situations which presented themselves at one point with foreign counterparts have been resolved.

On the other hand, Cuba has been intelligent in terms of confronting the 50-year economic, commercial and financial blockade of the U.S. government, a measure strongly directed in its actions against our country’s financial sector at the international level.

The Obama administration is the one to have imposed the most fines on foreign banking institutions for engaging in normal relations with Cuba and obviously, that means that the country’s way of confronting the blockade has also been more astute and careful. In this battle we have the support of the international community, which has repeatedly condemned this failed policy in the United Nations and many other forums.

January 25, 2013

Granma.cu

 

Bahamas Blog International

 

In the lead-up to the January 28, 2013 Gambling Referendum in The Bahamas, Dr. Miles Munroe expressed concern that a group of lobbyists were using their monetary influence to pressure the democratically elected government ...to legitimise their personal interests ...at the expense of the Bahamian People

Munroe: Voting Yes Is Electing An Alternative Government

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune242 Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas

 

THE gambling referendum that Bahamians are about to entertain could be the election of an alternative government, Dr Miles Munroe said last night to members at Bahamas Faith Ministries International on Carmichael Road.

In the lead-up to the gambling referendum scheduled for January 28, Dr Munroe made a statement to his audience, which was aired live on ZNS TV-13, expressing concern that a group of lobbyists were using their monetary influence to pressure the democratically elected government to legitimise their personal interests at the expense of the people.

“This referendum that we’re about to entertain could be the election of an alternative government.

“You went to the polls some months ago and you elected a government to govern our country. At least that is what it seemed like,” the minister said.

“But I want you to think about this carefully. There should only be one government at a time in our country. There shouldn’t be a secret government, a shadow government, a government pulling strings behind the scenes, a government controlling decisions by lobbying, a government manipulating policy and legislation by monetary influence.”

“We are supposed to have a government that makes decisions without influence from any specific group of people and every decision they make should be made in the best interest of the population of our country,” he said.

Dr Munroe noted that the motivations seemed to be the country’s surrender to the powers with money, which in his words, would make the establishment of a national lottery and state sponsored gambling seem logical.

“National lottery and state sponsored gambling is an alternative government taxing the citizens without benefit to the citizen. In other words, it’s a second government collecting taxes. The only problem is, it is not benefitting the citizens, only a few people,” the minister explained.

Dr Munroe made recommendations for the government that included them admitting that they are not ready for the referendum, accepting responsibility for the populace not being ready, and ultimately postponing the referendum to allow the College of the Bahamas to be engaged in “completing research on the present and future impact of national gaming on our local population”.

“The purpose for a higher learning institution,” he said, “is to assist governments in research efforts in order to make sound decisions that are in the best interest of the people.”

Dr Munroe told his congregation and visual audience that a country could never have a clean government again if it’s government allowed itself to be pressured by the influence of gaming bosses.

“If a small group of lobbyers pressure the government legitimately voted into power to legitimise their personal interest, then we will never have a pure government again,” he said.

Tribune 242

Bahamas Blog International

Considerations And Implications Of The Upcoming Gaming Referendum In The Bahamas

Considerations And Implications Of The Upcoming Gaming Referendum



By ANDRE ROLLINS, MP

Bahamas Gaming Board chairman

 

 

 

AS WE go to the polls to decide on whether we will support the regulation and taxation of web shop gaming and/or the establishment of a national lottery, as chairman for the Gaming Board of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I wish to share the following considerations and implications of the upcoming gaming referendum.

 

Firstly, gaming is either legal or illegal. Some would argue that gaming should be either legal and open to all, or illegal and open to none.

 

Our existing gaming legislation does not support this argument as it gives visitors rights to gamble that are not granted to Bahamians, permanent residents and work permit holders currently residing in the Bahamas.

 

Secondly, we cannot permit any industry to operate outside the purview of the law, and without proper regulation and oversight. Currently a substantial amount of gaming occurs in the Bahamas without proper regulation and oversight.

 

If Bahamians wish to have access to gaming as a form of entertainment it must be understood that it is unacceptable for it to continue in an unregulated manner. The position of this government must be clear: We cannot regulate the sector in part; it must be regulated as a whole.

 

To continue to allow gaming houses in the Bahamas to exist without appropriate regulatory controls creates the potential for the infiltration of and control by criminal entities, which could very easily produce adverse domestic and international consequences.

 

Our nation’s financial regulatory regime and the reporting requirements it imposes on businesses engaged in financial services, cannot be effective if it ignores a large group of businesses which conduct significant financial transactions.

 

This is critical for our country if we wish to maintain our standing as a responsible financial services jurisdiction compliant with international anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism best practices.

 

Our country must be seen to be continuing along a progressive path of reform not just in the eyes of the international community, but also in the eyes of our citizens. The government cannot be perceived as being guilty of engendering a culture where laws are selectively observed and applied; where law enforcement and not justice is blind.

 

The government must be aggressive in bringing all local gaming operations into conformity with the laws governing gaming – laws that promote high standards for participation in the industry by the owners, vendors, employees and patrons of all gaming establishments and which create safeguards to protect the interests of the gaming and non-gaming public alike.

 

Currently, lawful gaming regimes exist throughout the Caribbean in Barbados, Anguilla, St Maarten, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, the US Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and Belize.

 

A regional operator with a presence in each of these countries reports that existing underground gaming enterprises existed in all of them before the introduction of lawful regimes and the regulated operations all survived despite concerns that they would be undermined by fears of the impact taxation would have on operator revenue and/or player winnings.

 

The expansion of the Bahamas’ regulatory regime to cover gaming by locals would create a new recurrent revenue stream for the government. To be consistent with the practices of respected gaming jurisdictions around the world, the government must clearly outline “good causes” that would be funded by this voluntary tax.

 

Examples of identified “good causes” in other jurisdictions are: education (schools and scholarships), healthcare, senior citizens, the disabled, youth programmes, arts, culture, historic preservation, sports (Olympics), capital improvements, economic revitalisation programmes, public safety, public transportation and public housing.

 

Should the majority of Bahamians vote no to both questions it will be an expression of the public’s wish to deny Bahamians the right to participate in local gaming except as employees of the hotel-based casinos.

 

Based on the long history of Bahamian participation in games of chance and the recognition that historical legal restrictions precipitated the creation of illegal gaming enterprises, it is inevitable that the demand for such activity will persist beyond January 28 even in the face of a no vote.

 

The difference is that the government will be under greater pressure to use its law enforcement resources to respond to illegal gaming – resources that are scarce and themselves under increasing pressure to address the scourge of violent crime affecting parts of our country.

 

While it has admittedly taken far too long for any government to muster the political will and courage to police this unregulated activity and despite the fact that preparation for this referendum has been an awkward and untidy process, it cannot be argued that 50-plus years is insufficient time to know whether or not something should be regulated or taxed for the benefit of our country and people.

 

The alternative is to yield to the calls to postpone this process and risk perpetuating government that is irresponsible and a society that is ungovernable.

 

January 21, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

Bahamas Blog International

 

Bahamas Faith Ministries President Dr. Myles Munroe has recommended to the Constitutional Commission... that:... ...All children born in The Bahamas ...irrespective of their parents' status ...should be offered provisional citizenship ...similar to permanent residency status ...with all rights available to a permanent resident ...up to the age of 18

Munroe wants ‘provisional citizenship’ in constitution

BY ROYSTON JONES Jr.
Guardian Staff Reporter
royston@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas

All children born in The Bahamas irrespective of their parents' status should be offered provisional citizenship similar to permanent residency status with all rights available to a permanent resident up to the age of 18, Bahamas Faith Ministries President Dr. Myles Munroe has recommended to the Constitutional Commission. 

"Where a child is born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamian parents who reside in The Bahamas, that child is not regarded as a Bahamian citizen," Munroe said. 

"The social impact of this current policy is to deprive a child of any official status or sense of reality of belonging for 18 years of his or her life.

"Moreover, this category of persons must be treated with careful consideration and sensitivity.

"...The social impact of this current policy is that the child does not belong to anywhere for 18 years. The child is stateless, without legal or official status and thus due to the psychological, emotional, physiological and mental disillusionment impacting him or her, the sense of disconnect and lack of loyalty and allegiance breeds contempt. 

"This scenario creates the potential for an antisocial response to the society as a whole."  

Babies born in The Bahamas do not automatically become citizens, but the Bahamas Constitution provides that children born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamians could apply for citizenship on their 18th birthday or within the following 12 months.

Munroe presented the recommendation during a meeting of the Constitutional Commission at British Colonial Hilton hotel yesterday. 

He noted that upon turning 18, the young adult is entitled to apply for a Bahamian passport and be registered as a citizen upon successful completion of a citizenship and allegiance test, and swearing the oath of allegiance. 

The provision remains a controversial one in some circles.

Months before the 2012 general election, Haitian President Michel Martelly told more than 6,000 Haitians and Haitian-Bahamians at the church of God Auditorium on Joe Farrington Road that people born in The Bahamas to Haitians are 'stateless'. 

He lamented the plight of people who have to wait until their 18th birthday to apply for Bahamian citizenship. 

During that same meeting, Martelly urged his countrymen to align themselves with the political party that will best serve their interests.

"So until they are 18 they don't belong to anywhere, and yet they were born here, meaning do I have to tell anyone if you send them back to Haiti they probably don't know anybody or won't recognize the place they land?" said Martelly at a press conference the following day. 

His comments sparked outrage among some Bahamians.

Munroe also recommended that the constitution be amended to eliminate discrimination against women; institute a fixed election date; appoint an independent boundaries commission; provide for a non-partisan commission on citizenship and immigration reform; remove the Privy Council as the final appellate court for final criminal appeals and gradually move away from the British Monarch as the head of state, among other things. 

Former Bahamas Christian Council President Bishop Simeon Hall and Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church Rev. Dr. Rex Major also presented recommendations.

Hall agreed that provisions should be made in the constitution for an independent boundaries commission and for the removal of the Privy Council.

He also said the Senate should be abandoned.

“It seems as if its purpose is merely to give privilege to political supporters at the expense of the Bahamian people,” he said.

“I favor those who believe we have outlived our Westminster system of government and it is time to consider The Bahamas as a republic.” 

The commission is expected to present its recommendations to the government on or before March 31, 2013.

January 18, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Guantánamo detention camp: deaths by dryboarding

By Ernesto Carmona, Chilean journalist and writer

IN June of 2006, three prisoners were found dead in the U.S. detention camp on the Guantánamo Naval Base, hanging in their cells from what looked like improvised nooses. Although the Defense Department (DoD) declared "death by suicide," the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) found evidence to the contrary, including the fact that the prisoners’ hands were tied behind their backs. The NCIS evidence suggests that they could have died during fatal interrogation sessions involving the controlled asphyxia technique or dryboarding, a variant of the submarine torture used in countries like Chile during the military dictatorship, which consisted of asphyxiating prisoners by placing a plastic bag over their heads or prolonged immersion with the mouth and nose under water.

The censored NCIS report, validated on November 21, 2011 by the MediaFreedomInternational.org webpage, notes that the Guantánamo Base prison camp has given rise to controversy since it was established as a detention and interrogation center in 2002, described as such by the Bush administration. Guantánamo is Cuban territory illegally occupied by the United States since 1903.

The 2006 NCIS investigation was updated thanks to investigative journalist Almerindo Ojeda, of Truthout, whose extensive work on the NCIS reports poses many questions as to the veracity of the official account presented to the media by U.S. authorities in the Bush era. Much of the NCIS material prompts the following questions:

• Why did the prisoners have their hands tied when they were found hanging in their cells?

• Why were the prisoners gagged with cloth?

• Why did all three prisoners have masks?

• Why was there a bloody T-shirt around the neck of one of the prisoners found hanging in his cell?

• Why is there a page missing from a log book begun on the day the deaths were discovered?

Why were the neck organs (the larynx, the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage) removed from one of the corpses?

Ojeda’s analysis also includes statements by a number of guards working in Guantánamo, who stated that had seen the three prisoners transferred to secret detention centers inside the naval base. Later, the prisoners, already dead, were taken to the medical clinic with their throats stuffed with cloth and visible bruises on their bodies.

Qatari national Ali Saleh al-Marri, lawfully resident in the United States, was subjected to dryboarding after being declared an enemy combatant by George W. Bush in 2003, narrowly escaping death at the hands of government interrogators. Connecting the dots between Ali Al-Marri’s interrogation and dry boarding with the NCIS reports on the three Guantánamo prisoners led Ojeda to the conclusion that death by controlled asphyxiation is the most plausible explanation to date and, doubtless, a much stronger one than the official account of suicide by hanging.

The Ojeda report concluded, "In light of the unanswered questions, one thing remains clear: there is a need for a thorough, independent and transparent investigation into the June 10, 2006, deaths at Guantánamo and, more broadly, for a thorough, independent and transparent inquiry into all the practices and policies of detention enacted since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

In March 2012, Christof Heyns, UN special rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, acknowledged that he was investigating evidence of autopsies which cast doubt on official explanations of the deaths of Guantánamo prisoners Abdul Rahman al Amri and Mohammad Saleh al Hanashi, both of whom died of suicide, according to the Defense Department, in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

The new details surrounding their deaths, as reported by Truthout, challenges the government account of what took place. The new information was assembled on the basis of autopsy reports on the prisoners and other findings related to their detention conditions in Guantánamo, included in detainee statements and those of their lawyers.

The autopsy reports confirmed that Saudi national Abdul al Amri had been found hanging with his hands tied behind his back, and had been tested after his death for the presence of the controversial drug mefloquine (Lariam). Mefloquine can cause neurotoxic and serious psychiatric side.

In the case of Mohammad al Hanashi, the autopsy examiners stated that they had never seen the actual device (or ligature) by which he was said to have strangled himself to death. The ligature was reportedly made from an elastic underwear band from a pair of white briefs. But news reports indicate that this was not the type of underwear in use at Guantánamo at this time. There was also some question as to whether Al Hanashi had been on suicide watch at the time of his death, as he was not found wearing the requisite "suicide smock" typically used on actively suicidal prisoners, despite the fact he had made five suicide attempts in the four weeks prior to his death. (Mapocho Press)

 

January 10, 2013

 

granma.cu

 

Bahamas Blog International