Every time some horrible thing is discovered in the Bahamas, the Government, in its never ending attempt at spin control, announces an “investigation”.
Unfortunately, that’s where it often ends. Merely announcing an investigation usually appeases the general public whose attention span is sadly limited to the headlines of the daily papers and the topics on the latest call-in radio show.
Today’s government investigation promise comes from Immigration Minister Vincent Peet, who is taking ‘active steps’ to investigate allegations of torture at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
Usually, these investigations go nowhere and end up doing little more than wasting taxpayers money. But they do accomplish one important goal… they make it “appear” as if the government is doing something about the matters at hand.
The “investigation” into the Inagua drug stealing incident, the “investigation” into the Sea Hauler tragedy, the “investigation” into the BAIC money scandals, the “investigation into police brutality and extra-judicial killings, the “investigation” into the Korean boats and the “investigation” into the illegally imported luxury cars (found in the south of the island a few years ago) are all examples of costly, time-consuming investigations that resulted in… well, absolutely nothing.
So, nobody is going to hold their breath waiting for the results of Mr. Peet’s latest folly into the investigative arena.
The Immigration Department’s preliminary reports are that the claims are “exaggerated” and “unfounded”, Mr. Peet told a local newspaper.
Already, Mr. Peet has expressed serious concerns over the authenticity of the allegations which he admits, if true, could “adversely affect the Bahamas.”
Denial Ain’t A River in Egypt
For that reason one can almost guarantee that Mr. Peet’s “investigation” will find nothing and deny any wrong-doing on government’s part, as telling the truth would negatively affect tourism and God forbid the government let that happen, even if the Detention Centre is a torture camp.
