Dear editor,
Phew!! Prime Minister Perry Christie has finally appointed the Constitutional Reform Committee. Despite his promise to do so within thirty days of becoming Prime Minister, such appointment was long overdue as it didn’t come about for over two hundred days. What has been heralded as “one of the most significant promise made during the 2002 campaign”, was introduced without much fanfare. On the day before Christmas Eve when everyone was either out shopping or in the Junkanoo shacks, these appointments appeared to have been sneaked in just to say that they were made before the year was out.
It is with great interest to note that one of the problems with the previous Referendum was certainly not the substance as Prime Minister Perry Christie had voted for and supported the provisions in the House of Parliament when it was being debated. Difficulty arose when one considered the timing of the referendum as some felt that it was too close to a General Election. Six to eight month post election 2002 would have been ideal as there was strong indications that the referendum would pass without any major challenge.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the mandate and scope of this constitutional reform has radically changed. No longer are we talking about a simple amendment that would have ended gender discrimination with regards to Immigration matters or entrench already existing Commissions. Instead, this committee will look at the whole constitution with a view of making fundamental changes. This committee is expected to provide a provisional report in about two years. Simply put, chances are now remote that there will be a referendum within this term of the PLP government. There will be an inadequate amount of time that is needed to educate the public on these new recommendations. When one considers the mount of time and effect spent on educating the public on simple and basic amendments as in the previous referendum, when persons including Prime Minister Perry Christie with all of his years as a lawyer frankly admitting that he did not understand the questions of the referendum..How now is the average John Q Public expected to understand what is now likely to be a new Constitution?
Furthermore, the make up of this committee is of great concern. One of the co-chairman, the Honorable Paul Adderley as the Attorney General in the previous PLP government so blatantly disregarded the provisions of the Constitution and the Rule of Law when he permitted the unanimous decision by the Privy Council in the D’Arcy Ryan case to be contemptuously disregarded. Also, the vigorous prosecution of Loinel Dorsett by the Paul Adderley’s office was to such an extent, that the question arose as to whether or not free speech as defined in the constitution existed in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. With such a history of challenging the Constitution, the Honorable Paul Adderley should excuse himself from any such committee discussing the Constitution. Can you imagine Adolph Hitler or Osama bin Laden on a committee discussing religious freedom?
Ironically, one of the main criticism of the 1972 Constitutional Committee that traveled to London to negotiate the Constitution for an Independent Bahamas, was that it was biased against women as there was not a single Bahamian woman making up a part of that delegation. Consequently, the views of Bahamian women were not represented. The current Committee still has a minority of women even though women make up the majority of the population. Failure to address the issue of gender equality with respect to Bahamian men and women marrying a non-Bahamian spouse and their offspring will result in Bahamian women being treated as second class citizens as currently exist and the most backwards constitutionally in the region!
It is comforting to know that there a number of well known pastors on this committee providing spiritual guidance and hopefully being the watchdogs of immorality and integrity as well. Incredibly, over the years when the apitimy of immorality existed, and the Bahamas turned it back by ignoring pain and suffering well documented over the past three decades by so many people, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING was heard from most of these pastors. The interruption of normal family life often with a forced separation of family life due to oppressive and discriminating policies against the Bahamian and their offspring by a non-Bahamian spouse, little if anything was heard from these “concerned” pastors to comfort these innocent victims of discrimination.
Finally, as indicted by Prime Minister Christie, it is hoped that these committee will address these issues with complete objectivity, within the best interest of the Bahamian people. However, of concern is that at least two members of the committee have publicly made racist and anti-foreign statements. In the end, it is sincerely hoped that the Bahamian people will do the right thing.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Leatendore Percentie
Secretary
Grand Bahama Human Rights Association.
Freeport, Bahamas
January 10th, 2003.
