The iPINIONS Journal

At an extraordinary summit in Cuba this week, leaders of all countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) called on President-elect Barack Obama to lift America’s nearly 50-year embargo against their host country.

As we gather today in Cuba, the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America is still in place… The Caribbean community hopes that the transformational change which is underway in the United States will finally relegate that measure to history. (Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, CARICOM president)

I have written a number of commentaries calling on American presidents, including Bill Clinton, to relegate this embargo to history. For example, here’s what I wrote on January 24, 2006 in one entitled President Bush, seal your legacy: Lift the embargo against Cuba:  

Advocates for America’s puerile, inhumane and hypocritical policy towards Cuba invariably cite Fidel Castro’s dictatorship as justification for sustained hostilities. But all one has to do is cite China - with whose dictators the U.S. courts a very beneficial relationship - to dismiss this justification as demonstrably specious….

Nevertheless, I find it ironic, if not misguided, that CARICOM leaders traveled to Cuba - in an unprecedented show of unity amongst themselves and solidarity with the Castro regime - for this elusive purpose.

After all, MY call was always tempered by my hope that a fully integrated CARICOM would be firmly established to compete economically (and politically) in the region with a Cuba unbound by the perennial restrictions the US has placed on its growth. 

Yet here we had all of the leaders of a congenitally fractious CARICOM advocating for a cause that is sure to hasten the economic demise of their respective countries.  Indeed, its member states are notorious for the zero-sum fighting over tourism and off-shore financial services that has prevented their integration.

CARICOM leaders pose with host Raul Castro for the “family photo” in front of Jose Marti monument in Santa Efigenia cemetery in Santiago de Cuba: (L to R front) Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo; Dominica’s PM Roosevelt Skerrit; Barbados PM David Thompson; Antigua and Barbuda’s PM Baldwin Spencer; Cuba’s President Raul Castro; Bahmas’ PM Hubert Ingraham; Belize’s PM Dean Barrow; Grenada’s PM Tillman Thomas and Haiti’s President Rene Preval. (L to R back) Association of Caribbean States representative Fernando Andrade; Trinidad & Tobago’s PM Patrick Manning; Saint Lucia’s PM Stephenson King; Saint Kitts & Nevis PM Denzil Douglas; jamaica’s PM Bruce Golding; St Vincent & the Granedines PM Ralph Gonsalves; Suriname’s President Ronald Venetiaan; Caricom’s President Edwin Carrington and Oriental Caribbean States organization representative Len Ismael.

Meanwhile, the irony seemed completely lost on them that they were attending a summit to discuss economic ties with a country that not only poses a far greater threat to their economies than the global financial crisis but also looms as yet another cause for more zero-sum infighting.  

Specifically, CARICOM countries are already reeling from the loss of remittances (from Caribbean nationals working in America) and tourism revenues as a result of the economic recession in the US.  And the large sucking sound that will be heard throughout our region if this embargo is lifted will be American tourists abandoning the Caribbean for more exotic, and cheaper, vacations in Cuba.

More to the point, President-elect Barack Obama has already declared that, like every other president over the past 50 years, he has no intention of lifting the embargo against Cuba - unless Cuba becomes a bona fide democracy, which nobody expects any time soon.  In fact, he has promised only to lift restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba. 

Of course this suits Fidel (of nine lives) and his brother Raul just fine. Indeed, the wily Castros must thank their lucky stars for the double standard that has governed political and moral outrage against this embargo. Because those who condemn American leaders have invariably granted the Castros absolution despite the fact that Fidel and Raul have imposed a 50-year embargo on their own people - in terms of travel, freedom of expression and other basic human rights - that has been even more oppressive than the US embargo. 

But it must have seemed an insult to his visiting Caribbean comrades when Raul greeted them at the opening of this summit by declaring that Cuba is “prepared to battle the embargo for another 50 years”. Frankly, one wonders why CARICOM leaders coordinated this highly publicized trip to make such a patently quixotic, adversarial and futile call.  After all, this is hardly the way to begin a constructive relationship with the US president-elect.

Instead, their time would have been far better spent holding a summit in a member state for the sole purpose of discussing ways of lobbying Obama to amend his pending legislation entitled Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. Because this Act contains provisions that could prove even more devastating to our regional economies than the fallout from this global financial crisis or the loss of tourism market share to Cuba. 

Never mind their perennial dithering (since 1973) over the categorical imperative of economic integration to better withstand the other looming effects of globalization….

Related Articles:
President Bush, seal your legacy: Lift the embargo…
Raul pledges to continue Fidel’s 50-year revolution

It never ceases to disappoint me when - upon casual enquiry - I learn that Caribbean natives can cite dates and facts about the emancipation of American slaves, but are clueless about the emancipation of our own enslaved ancestors.

What makes this ignorance so egregious, however, is that the predominantly (and perennially) white leaders of the United States have never even deemed the emancipation of American slaves worthy of commemoration.

By contrast, the predominantly (and perennially) black leaders of the Caribbean have actually established a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of Caribbean slavery. (Never mind that it was over 150 years after abolition before the leaders of Trinidad and Tobago became the first to do so in 1985.)

For the record, the British Parliament passed The Slavery Abolition Act, which abolished slavery throughout the British colonies, on 24 August 1833. However, the Act did not come into force until 1 August 1834, which is why we purportedly observe “Emancipation Day” on the first Monday in August.

Yet, from the outset, our leaders have shown no greater reverence for the occasion this holiday commemorates than they have for any of the innocuous bank holidays we inherited from our colonial masters. Moreover, given that one will be hard-pressed to see or hear any mention of Emancipation Day in the media today, it’s no wonder our people are so ignorant in this respect.

Therefore, I hereby entreat all Caribbean leaders to honor the sacrifices of our enslaved ancestors henceforth by leading us in a moment of silence (before we all rush off for another day at the beach) on Emancipation Day.

Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
Caribbeannetnews.com

Published on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: Regular readers of Caribbean Net News know that Anthony Livingston Hall is one of our featured columnists who writes on a wide variety of topics on a weekly basis.  His commentaries on political developments in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), however, have proved to be most provocative and prophetic. For example:

On corruption in the TCI government

Over a year ago Hall wrote a commentary entitled A wannabe gangsta…perhaps, but Premier Misick is no genocidal Mugabe - in which he called on the British government to inquire into alleged corruption in the TCI government. 

Specifically, he warned that gross abuses were going unchecked because “…this Governor [HE Richard Tauwhare], like our Premier, seems only interested in enjoying the ceremonial trappings and perks, as opposed to performing the duties and responsibilities, of his office.”

This, and subsequent commentaries challenging the British government to honour its constitutional obligations to ensure good governance in the TCI, incited considerable wrath amongst members of the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) against Hall.  In fact, a provoked Premier Hon. Michael Misick even took to the floor of Parliament to denounce him. 

Nevertheless, there is no denying that Hall’s commentaries have proved uncannily prophetic. 

On appointing a Commission of Inquiry

At a time when he stood alone in calling for a Commission of Inquiry, the PNP and even the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were insisting that there was “insufficient evidence” to appoint one. 

Yet, on 10 July 2008, the outgoing Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Richard Tauwhare, “appointed a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into whether there is information that corruption or other serious dishonesty in relation to past and present elected members of  the House of Assembly (previously known as the Legislative Council)  may have taken place in recent years”.

On PNP motion to halt Inquiry

In his commentary on 18 July entitled TCI government attempts to halt British Inquiry into corruption, Hall dismissed a PNP motion to restrain the Inquiry from proceeding “as frivolous and utterly without merit”.  But many people thought that Ariel Misick QC, the celebrated lawyer who filed the motion, would make him eat his words.

However, on Monday the Chief Justice of the TCI Supreme Court rejected the motion on the very legal grounds Hall predicted he would.

On Premier calling snap elections and declaring independence

Now rumours are spreading in the TCI about Premier Misick preparing to dissolve the Parliament and win re-election on a manifesto calling for independence from Britain as “an end run around the Commission of Inquiry”.

Therefore, given his unimpeachable record, Caribbean Net News decided to seek Hall’s opinion on this prospect.  The following is what he said:

“The notion that Premier Misick and his party will be able to render the Commission of Inquiry irrelevant  by dissolving Parliament, winning snap elections and declaring independence is every bit as impudent and uninformed as the notion that they could prevail in court on a motion to restrain the Commission from proceeding. 

“Frankly, despite their salutary neglect, which so shocked and appalled Sir John Stanley, even the British could not stand by and allow them to perpetrate such a ploy.  After all, it would not only constitute a brazen attempt to pervert the course of justice that the Inquiry was convened to deliver, but also pose an untenable challenge to Britain’s constitutional authority…..  

“For the record, Premier Misick has no authority to dissolve Parliament.  He can only advise the Governor to do so. However, the Governor is not obliged to accept any advice offered by the Premier - especially if, in his discretion, he deems it in the national interest of the country to ignore that advice. 

“More to the point, the Constitution provides that the Governor can do anything when acting under instructions given to him or her by Her Majesty’s government.  This means that if the British instruct even the acting governor not to prorogue or dissolve parliament, that’s it! 

“Besides, since this Commission of Inquiry is independent of parliament, its work would not be affected by prorogation or dissolution. Therefore, frog marching our people towards independence would not necessarily give the Premier and others the immunity from prosecution they so desperately seek.

“Never mind that once TCIslanders realize all of the benefits and protections of UK citizenship we would lose if we were to become independent (some of which John Hartley delineated on 26 July in an article published by the TCI Journal entitled ‘Not the Promised Land’), they are bound to reject the PNP and their election manifesto calling for independence.  

“And I suspect the British would be loath to make the TCI the first of their Caribbean colonies they leave not as a thriving democracy but as a de facto dictatorship.

“Finally, if I may, I would like to extend my offer to negotiate terms for restitution in lieu of prosecution with the Commission on behalf of any TCIslander who may have been ensnared by the adhesive nature of corruption in Premier Misick’s administration. But I urge them to contact me before it’s too late.”

Observers in the TCI and elsewhere will be watching closely as events unfold, to see if Hall is proven right once again.

In an article entitled “TCI Commission of Inquiry: no further comment”, which was published here a week ago today, I wrote the following:

Now that this process is underway, however, I feel obliged to follow my own advice to be patient and let justice take its course … with no further comment (until the Commission issues its report in 16 weeks).

Unfortunately, my assertion that this process is underway proved premature.  Because soon thereafter members of the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) filed a motion in the Supreme Court to prevent the Commission from getting on with its work.

Recall that on 10 July, the British Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), HE Richard Tauwhare, exercised his plenary powers to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to:

…inquire into whether there is information that corruption or other serious dishonesty in relation to past and present elected members of the House of Assembly (previously known as the Legislative Council) may have taken place in recent years.

Naturally, one would have thought that all members of the PNP, especially Premier Hon. Dr. Michael Misick, would have welcomed this Commission.  After all, it finally presents the opportunity for them to have a tribunal squash the allegations of corruption that members of the opposition People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) have been hurling at them for so many years.

Instead, on July 14, Premier Misick accused the British government of mounting:

…nothing more than a Fishing Expedition, to disguise the true plot, to attempt to make criminals out of our politicians, on both sides of the political divide, and destabilize our country.

Then, on the same day, two PNP members of Parliament filed the motion at issue.  (Me thinks they doth protest too much….)

Consequently, on 16 July, my colleagues and I at The TCI Journal commented on their motion in an article entitled “Attempted injunction little more than roadside noise”.  We assumed that this article would expose it as utterly without merit and thereby allay the concerns of all TCIslanders who truly want to see justice prevail; i.e., neither delayed nor denied.

Judging from the number of e-mails I have received over the past 48 hours, however, it seems we have failed to allay those concerns. 

Therefore, with all due respect and deference to Chief Justice Gordon Ward - who is scheduled to rule on this motion on Monday, I feel obliged to comment a little further.

They seek, among other things to restrain me from proceeding with the Commission of Inquiry. I shall take legal advice on the claim and will abide by any order of the Court if and when given.

[Head Commissioner Sir Robin Auld QC]

Alas, my fellow TClslanders, only consciousness of guilt could have compelled Premier Misick and the PNP to react so irrationally and attempt to restrain Sir Robin from proceeding.  They claim that they’re exercising their “constitutional rights to challenge the Terms of Reference of the Commission”.  But, frankly, they would have been better served to exercise their constitutional right against self-incrimination instead….

At any rate, I am confident that the Chief Justice will reject their motion, summarily.  And here’s why:

1. Nothing in the Commission of Inquiry Ordinance prohibits the Governor from setting out the terms of reference as he has; and  
2. The Governor enjoys ”complete discretion” with respect to appointing a Commission - as the FCO’s own legal counsel, Susan Dickson, affirmed recently in Parliamentary testimony.  Moreover, this discretion extends to specifying its terms of reference - as delineated in sections two and three of the Ordinance.

For the record, citing the legal advice they got, the MPs filed their motion based on the following claim:

What the Terms of Reference should have done is to authorize the Commission to enquire into these allegations.  Instead, the Commission is authorized to look for information on elected members.

I fear, however, that this patently flawed argument will only cause the Chief Justice to roll his eyes in dismay, if not in disgust.  After all, any first-year law student could have advised them that the Commission cannot inquire into these allegations (which necessarily do not refer to any specific government official) without gathering information on the activities of all elected members whenever the evidence implicates them. 

Actually, as a member of the TCI Bar, I am embarrassed by the frivolous and uninformed nature of this motion.

Yet I believe Sir Robin was wise to acknowledge it.  Because this demonstrates his willingness to accord all subjects of this Commission of Inquiry every conceivable right of due process that criminal defendants are entitled to under our Constitution. 

Furthermore, I am encouraged that he made it clear he will not be deterred by the PNP’s third-rate efforts to hinder or undermine his investigation.

Accordingly, I urge Premier Misick and his party to let justice take its course - wherever and to whomever it may lead - without any further political distractions.

Related Articles:
TCI Commission of Inquiry: no further comment

* This article is also being published today by the TCI Journal and Caribbean Net News - the most widely read newspaper in the Caribbean.

We need the British to honour their constitutional obligations to us by convening a commission of enquiry - not only to investigate the vast scope of these allegations but also to recover public funds that have been embezzled or misappropriated.

["Commission of enquiry on corruption looms for the TCI," The iPINIONS Journal, March 31, 2008]

There has been a great deal of debate lately about whether or not the British Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) will recommend a commission of enquiry to investigate allegations of government corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI).   Thankfully, the FAC will finally settle this question tomorrow with the release of advance copies of its evidence report. 

Either way, the consequences for members of the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) and for our country could not be more grave.

After all, if the FAC recommends an enquiry, this will be tantamount to an indictment against Premier Hon. Michael Misick and his ministers on criminal charges that could lead not only to forfeiture of their ill-gotten gains but also to prison for many of them.

(Never mind that, to prosecute these alleged crimes properly, the British might have to put our country into receivership … again.)

On the other hand, if the FAC fails to recommend an enquiry, the Premier and others - who have been lording over us like African kleptomaniacs - will feel vindicated and thereby emboldened to continue their mismanagement and misappropriation of our national resources.

Of course, I have left no doubt in commentaries over the past year that I believe an enquiry is not only warranted but actually long overdue.  And even though some of my critics have accused me of fomenting wishful thinking in this respect, I’ve been diligent in documenting why this enquiry is almost as necessary to redeem the integrity of the British government as it is to investigate corruption in the TCI government.

It shall redound to British officials’ [contingent] liability and shame that they have allowed TCI officials to perpetrate such brazen fraud and abuse.  Indeed, just imagine the irony of President Robert Mugabe having just cause to tell Prime Minister Gordon Brown to clean up corruption in his own British territory before lecturing him about good governance in Zimbabwe.

["Commission on Enquiry on corruption looms for TCI," The iPINIONS Journal, March 31, 2008]

Premier Misick implicates the British government in his misdeeds every time he blithely asserts that there’s no corruption in the TCI because the British governor signed off on everything….

["Britain has a legal (or superior) responsibility to fix the TCI," Caribbean Net News, June 19, 2008]

Incidentally, just in case the British need more proof that an enquiry is warranted, the European Union dispatched a forensic accountant to the TCI last week to conduct a routine public expenditure and financial accounting assessment. And I’m reliably informed that she found financial governance in the TCI so bereft of any generally recognized principles of accounting that she’s likely to advise the EU to withhold a 3^rd tranche disbursement of around €6 million (US$9.5 million) to our government.

Therefore, when all is said and done, I am convinced that the FAC will recommend a commission of enquiry. 

I caution all members of the ruling PNP to consider carefully whether blind loyalty to this Premier is worth risking their careers, if not their freedom, for….  

PNPers can rest assured that no matter how many kickback schemes or shady land deals they may have transacted (especially involving the promiscuous granting and selling of irredeemable Crown Lands), doing the right thing now will likely reduce their liability to a misdemeanor.

["Alas, throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary to save the TCI," The iPINIONS Journal, October 5, 2007]

Accordingly, I feel obliged to reiterate my admonition for any TCI government official who has used his office to enrich himself unjustly, or for anyone who has benefited from a TCI land transaction that he knew or should have known reeks of fraud, to seek a plea bargain with British authorities - before it’s too late! 

In addition, I hereby restate my (pro bono) offer to facilitate such a plea on behalf of anyone facing legal jeopardy in this respect.

Meanwhile, apropos being held responsible for poor governance and corruption in the TCI, I am also convinced that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will have much to answer for. 

Indeed, it might surprise many to learn that the FAC will be reporting as much on the failures of the FCO to discharge its duty to ensure good governance in all Overseas Territories as on the probable cause to investigate corruption in our country.  And nothing demonstrates the need to hold the FCO to account quite like the damning revelation outgoing TCI Governor Richard Tauwhare made last week.

The Governor stunned the nation by disclosing that - as early as October 2005 - he had such compelling evidence of government corruption that he appealed to his superiors at the FCO to convene a commission of enquiry.   He then conveyed the incredulity he felt when the FCO rejected his appeal - insisting that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

(Alas, this revelation smacked of a patent attempt by Tauwhare to cover his ass.  After all, the FCO conceded in testimony before the FAC that, just like the Governor of the Cayman Islands, Tauwhare is (and was back then) vested by local ordinance with the power to “appoint commissioners to inquire into the conduct and management of any public body, the conduct of any public officer, or into any matter whatsoever which is, in his opinion, of public importance.”)

At any rate, I can think of nothing more appropriate to say about the FCO’s salutary neglect than to echo the disgust FAC committee member Sir John Stanley expressed. Because he said that he was “shocked and appalled” at the way the FCO “fobbed off” its duties and responsibilities by systematically turning a blind eye to mounting evidence of mismanagement and corruption in the TCI with the refrain “This is not a matter for the Foreign Office.”

Hence, it is incumbent upon the FAC to honor parliamentary accountability by ordering an enquiry.  Because only a transparent prosecution of the alleged mismanagement and corruption at issue will restore trust amongst TCIslanders in our government.  Not to mention restoring trust amongst foreign investors (of more sterling character) who are needed to provide the foundation for sustainable development in our country.

Finally, to encourage as much cooperation as possible, I urge the British to vest the appointed commissioners with operational powers to fully execute their mandate.  These should include the power to conduct forensic examination of all transactions involving Crown Lands over the past five years (or more if suspicion warrants); the power to conduct forensic examination of all activity in the bank accounts of all government officials over this same period, and the power to grant cooperating witnesses immunity from prosecution.

Let heads begin to roll….

NOTE:  Once the FAC recommends a commission on enquiry, I suspect many TCIslanders will be anxious to know details about its procedures and time frame for execution.  But these commissions are inherently organic and I doubt even the appointed commissioners will be able to provide reliable information in these respects.

Therefore, I beg all of you to be patient (as the FAC Report works its way through the British parliamentary process) and allow justice in this case to take its course - with all deliberate speed.

ENDNOTE:  Many TCI residents have e-mailed me asking why our erstwhile globe-trotting Premier now seems grounded in the TCI.  Perhaps this excerpt from one of my previous articles will provide some insight:

When rape allegations against the Premier first surfaced, I advised him to stay far away from the United States because he would surely be arrested.  And the last thing our people need is to see yet another TCI leader being hauled off from Miami International Airport in handcuffs.

["Premier Misick blames me for bankrupting the TCI?" The iPINIONS Journal, April 25, 2008; "TCI Premier Misick accused of Rape," Caribbean Net News, April 11, 2008] 

Related Articles:
Commission of Enquiry looms for TCI
Britain has a legal (or superior) responsibility to fix the TCI
Alas, throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary to save the TCI
TCI Premier Misick accused of Rape
Premier Misick blames me for bankrupting the TCI?