Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has finally set the record straight concerning the controversial visit of Haitian President Michel Martelly to The Bahamas.
The Leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Branville McCartney, a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Internet daily and a popular PLP radio talk show host had all wrongly accused the Ingraham administration of orchestrating the visit of the Haitian president.
Ingraham has also been accused of telling Martelly to admonish thousands of his countrymen to support the party that is looking out for them while the country prepares for an election.
Of course, Ingraham’s critics believe Martelly had the Free National Movement (FNM) on his mind when he was speaking to his people about aligning themselves to a party that is pro-Haitian.
To be honest with you, I too was thinking that the Ingraham administration was behind the visit of Martelly to New Providence.
My understanding of this whole situation had been immensely influenced by a popular radio talk show host from New Providence.
I thought Martelly had been invited by the Ingraham administration.
Many persons in Nassau who had called in to a particular radio talk show were convinced that Ingraham was behind the Haitian president’s visit.
Ingraham, however, told the press that his government did not invite the Haitian president to The Bahamas. Martelly came here on his own.
I believe the prime minister. Why shouldn’t I? In my view, Ingraham has proven himself time and again to be a very honest man. I will take him at his word. I have no reason to question the chief executive of this nation.
Nevertheless, there are some radical supporters of the two main opposition parties who are hell-bent on believing what the DNA has said about Ingraham.
These people don’t want to believe Ingraham. Two PLP supporters from Freeport told me that the prime minister was wrong for bringing Martelly into the country in order to win the Haitian vote.
I told one of the men that Opposition Leader Perry Christie should have expressed his concerns to Martelly when he was at his home.
According to the columnist of The Tribune, Martelly was at the home of Christie the day after making those controversial remarks.
I told the PLP supporter that Christie only started criticizing Martelly and the Ingraham administration after hearing so many natural born Bahamians, a popular radio talk show host and Branville McCartney lambasting the Ingraham administration.
When the PLP supporter heard this, he countered by saying that Christie had probably expressed his concerns to the Haitian president at his home.
I responded by saying that if this was so, why didn’t Christie mention this when he gave his keynote address at his party’s candidates launch on Friday night at the Wyndham Nassau Resort.
He couldn’t answer the question.
All he could do was laugh. He knew he had no case. Editor, these people know that Ingraham is telling the truth.
But they want to use this issue in order to turn many natural born Bahamians against the Ingraham administration.
They want to create a situation where natural born Bahamians would be pitted against Haitians and the Ingraham administration.
Remember, the FNM has already been labeled the Foreign National Movement by these people.
You know, Editor, there are persons in this country who are determined to believe the worst about the leader of this country.
If Ingraham gives his side of the story, they will dismiss it without giving it any serious consideration.
All they know is that they are opponents of Ingraham and that is what they are going to remain.
You know, Editor, I am an FNM, but I have criticized the governing party in the past for several decisions that it has made.
I always try to be objective. But it appears that there are some persons in this country who are prepared to believe everything McCartney and Christie say, even if what they say flies in the face of reason and common sense.
Now that the prime minister has clarified this matter, the onus is now on the Bamboo Town Member of Parliament to issue a public apology to the leader of this country and to the FNM government. Because these distortions were made publicly, an apology must also take place publicly. Shortly after Martelly had uttered those irresponsible remarks, McCartney and his supporters were all over the airwaves accusing Ingraham of something he had absolutely nothing to do with.
McCartney seems to be on a mission to wreck the FNM government and the political career of his former leader. If he can unjustly attack the prime minister in the press, then surely he can muster up the courage to issue a retraction in the press. No politician should seek to climb up the political ladder by besmirching the character of their political opponents. And this is what McCartney has got to learn.
Kevin Evans
