Fred Mitchell is putting a new spin on the US government’s human rights report, saying that the Bahamas has “an open and transparent government” with nothing to hide. Most Bahamians and people familiar with the Bahamas laughed uncomfortably when hearing that remark.
Mr. Mitchell, playing with semantics, pointed out that the report, released by the US State Department on Monday, did not accuse the Bahamas of having an official policy sanctioning human rights abuses of any kind. Although, it did put the cause of such violations squarely on the government’s back. In fact, all abuse allegations mentioned in the report stem from government agencies and departments. Also, Mr. Mitchell apparently forgot that the Bahamas constitution does indeed sanction discrimination against women.
“We ought to be proud in the Bahamas that we have an open and transparent government with systems that respond to any allegations of inhumane treatment or conduct,” Mr. Mitchell said.
His statement directly contradicts the report which highlights the fact that a number of human rights investigations have been stalled or have disappeared in the court system. The hapless politician, running damage control for the Bahamas government, also conveniently ignores the fact that the Bahamas legal system has an international reputation for being corrupt and dysfunctional.
He emphasised that the Bahamas is an “open society” where anyone is free to make their comments and findings public. However, numeorus reports have indicated that is not the case, with many residents living in fear of victimization should they publicly criticize the government. Foreigners who do so are routinely threatened with deportation. There are very few attorneys who would even consider suing the government despite widely publicised instances of victimization. Human rights lawyer, Fred Smith, who Mr. Mitchell criticizes in his press release, is one of the few willing to do so.
Sourced from an article in The Tribune by Paco Nunez
