The GBHRA expresses its profound condemnation of Minister Shane Gibsonﾴs terrorist and gestapo-like tactics in the enforcement of the Immigration laws of the Bahamas. They are obviously designed to strike terror and fear! Shane Gibson is a menace to our democracy.
Whilst the Association acknowledges the illegal immigration challenges facing the Bahamas, the Association calls upon the Government, and in particular, Minister Gibson, to respect the Rule of Law and due process in the Governmentﾴs attempt to deal with the issue.
Immigration is a particularly sensitive issue and particularly so in respect of the thousands of legal and illegal Haitian immigrants in our Nation.
The idea that anyone in the Bahamas, be they Haitian or otherwise, can simply be rounded up and ﾓprocessedﾒ is anathema to freedom and democracy. It turns the constitutional presumption of innocence upside down and showcases our Government and, by reference, all Bahamian citizens, ﾠas dictators, brutes and thugs in a Banana Republic. Is that truly the international message which we want to send forth in the global village as Bahamian citizens?
The unadulterated policy of overt terrorism against immigrants, whether they be legal or illegal, strikes at the very foundation of our Constitutional democracy. May we remind the Government that terrorist tactics are illegal – even by a PLP Government!
The failure by our Government to respect the Rule of Law and due process in one area of the Nationﾴs governance will also reflect poorly in other areas. As desperately as the Bahamas needs both foreign and domestic investors, for instance, such investors must have faith that in dealing with their issues our Government will respect our laws and will not abandon them to political demagoguery and expediency when it suits the Government of the day.
Arbitrary raids which instill terror in the Haitian/Bahamian community are illegal, morally reprehensible and politically contemptible.
The fact that Minister Gibson finds it acceptable to haul hundreds of innocent and law-abiding people away in the still of the night, to separate children from their parents, to expose human beings to abuse, loss of their property and loss of their dignity, is a national disgrace and he should forthwith resign.
What the Bahamas needs is a Government which approaches the immigration challenge consistently, deliberately and sensibly.
It does not need this PLP Government on the eve of a general election, to use Haitian immigrants as scapegoats to win votes.
Immigration can be a tool of development in this nation. It is an issue which crosses social, cultural and economic lines in the Bahamas. It should be dealt with sensitively and with respect to the rights which legal and illegal immigrants have.
Each of the 179 immigrants who were unlawfully arrested are entitled to sue the Bahamas Government for assault, battery, false imprisonment and breaches of their Constitutional rights and obtain damages, punitive damages, and constitutional damages against the Government for this arbitrary behaviour.
In enforcing our laws, we call upon the Government to do so humanely, respectfully and in a dignified and civilized manner.
Just because many Haitians came here illegally, does not mean that the Bahamas Government is lawfully entitled to terrorise them and treat them illegally.
Arbitrary arrests and detentions without reasonable cause exposes taxpayers to the payment of perhaps millions of dollars in damages if all who are illegally treated sue.
The Bahamas already has bad international press for its treatment of illegal aliens, prison conditions, corruption in Government and general incompetence and ineptitude in the administration of economic affairs.
Our Association does not wish the Bahamas to be further burdened by a reputation for inhumane and degrading treatment of anyone in the Nation
We call upon Minister Gibson, if he does not resign, to stop arbitrary and illegal raids and to conduct the administration of his Ministry in a legal manner, without catering to the politics of an election campaign.
No black person, be they Bahamian or otherwise is safe in the Bahamas anymore, as at anytime ﾓShameless Gibsonﾒ and his Nazi cohorts may roundup, abuse and detain any number of ﾠblack people, and then ﾓprocessﾒ the Bahamians and legal immigrants back into circulation. ﾠThe Bahamas has now been reduced to a nation where each of us must ﾓproveﾒ ourselves innocent. The Constitutional presumption of innocence has been shredded by Shameless Gibson who has even refused to apologize for his abuse.
Whilst the Association encourages the Government to enforce immigration laws, it should do so humanely and within the law.
