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Volume:115 No.35, JANUARY, 12th, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

Friday, January 12, 2018 art theatre film fashio n history beauty puzzle s gardening

Weekend

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Where’s the proof on Fish Fry alert?

Exercise increase caution,’ stating that violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies and sexual assault are common, even during daylight hours and in tourist areas.

The State Department also maintained its stance banning embassy personnel from visiting the Sand Trap in Nassau or using Jet Ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Island; however, its latest warning struck a major blow to one of the city’s most popular cultural offerings, the Fish Fry.

UMBRELLA

THE power of magistrates to grant bail in all but the most serious of offences should be returned forthwith, the country’s top judge said yesterday, as he urged Parliament to pay more than “lip service” to the issue.

Acting Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs, during his address to mark the opening

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO male juveniles were arraigned on murder and other gun-related charges in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

The minors – a 16-yearold and a 15-year-old – appeared before Magistrate Rengin Johnson in connection with two recent separate shooting deaths on Grand Bahama.

The teens were escorted under heavy police guard to the courthouse sometime after 2pm, and their faces were covered as they exited a police vehicle. The minors were accompanied by their guardians in the courtroom, which was closed to the public. Ulean Augustine, the wife of Joel Augustine, was at court but was not allowed inside for the arraignment.

The 16-year-old is charged with the murder of Augustine. It is alleged that on January 1, being concerned with others, at Freeport, Grand Bahama, the accused intentionally caused Augustine’s death.

SEE PAGE FIVE

PM ‘WRONG’ TO PROMISE PROTESTORS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE THREE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis cannot on one hand insist he has a zero-tolerance approach to crime while at the same time promise to absolve the criminal liability of a group of men who protested at Cabbage Beach in 2016 resulting in damage to private property, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday.

As he castigated the prime minister, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader said the Free National Movement (FNM) has very often failed to separate political rhetoric from reality. This, he said, weaves a complicated web that is hard to get out of.

of the 2018 legal year, said stripping magistrates of the authority to grant bail for certain offences is “counter-productive” and has created nothing but “confusion” for magistrates and senior judges.

He said instead of being a “crime fighting tool”, the 2016 amendment to the Bail Act under the former administration has the “potential of creating SEE PAGE SIX

Interview, pgs 4 & 5

TEENAGERS CHARGED ON TWO KILLINGS

BAIL ACT NEEDS URGENT REVIEW

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

Page 8

A time for ‘Uprising’

Artist advocates for decolonis ation

US failed to I WANT A raise any issues BIGGER before warning

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE US State Department’s most recent advisory to its citizens warning them to avoid visiting the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay at night came as a “surprise” to National Security Minister Marvin Dames, who told The Tribune yesterday Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) officials were unaware of any serious issues of concern at the popular tourist attraction.

The advisory, issued on Wednesday, ranks The Bahamas at ‘Level 2:

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YOUNGSTERS are pictured out having fun in the rain yesterday. The rainy weather is expected to continue through the weekend. See page three for more.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

SEE PAGE SEVEN

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas could accumulate over $60m per year in hurricane “preventative medicine” through a Canadian-led proposal for a disaster recovery fund.

Don Maga, principal of The Sand Consulting Group, told Tribune Business yesterday that the 2017 hurricane season showed

The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations “cannot afford to gamble” with their nation’s future.

He warned that Nassau would “never be able to recover” if Category Five storms similar to Hurricanes Irma and Maria scored a direct hit on New Providence unless this nation set aside monies in a secure, properly-managed hurricane relief fund.

Mr Maga and his associates

are proposing to create the Caribbean Recovery Fund as a vehicle for receiving, managing and growing disaster relief funds on behalf of this nation and the wider Caribbean. Funds would be raised from The Bahamas levying a $5-$10 per head tax on its visitors - a fee that could raise more than $60m per annum based on this nation’s 6.3 million annual visitors.

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PAGE 2, Friday, January 12, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Fresh Prepared, In-store, Daily.

WSC and union in ‘good faith’ talks

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

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AFTER weeks of contention between management of the Water and Sewerage Corporation and the Bahamas Utilities Service and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU), union leader Dwayne Woods said yesterday both parties are back to “negotiating in good faith”.

Mr Woods told The Tribune he thinks management has “learned its lesson” and everything is “back to normal” at WSC. On Monday, Mr Woods claimed it was a coincidence that water pressure throughout New Providence was low one day after workers reportedly staged a “sick out” at WSC. Mr Woods said the water pressure over the weekend was just as low as employees’ morale.

He also denied WSC employees were involved in industrial action but said “the workers were sick because the weather was cold” and employees “were stressed due to the unwarranted theft allegations”.

Last Friday, 30 employees at WSC engaged in a sick out, according to WSC Chairman Adrian Gibson, who told members of the press the move was “unwarranted”.

Earlier that week, Mr

ADRIAN GIBSON Woods warned if the corporation continues its probe into theft allegations, “they will have war.” He also threatened workers would commence a “withdrawal of enthusiasm”.

A day later, three employees were questioned by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Mr Woods confirmed the employees were released after two hours and have since returned to work with no charges.

“Listen, we have always contended that there were 18 fire hydrants in inventory in June and 18 remain in inventory. So we were baffled as to why the corporation attempted to do this investigation or whatever they were doing,” Mr Woods said yesterday.

“We applaud the police for investigating and letting our workers go and performing their job professionally.

We always contended that our people were innocent so now everything is back to normal

and we are back to negotiating with them in good faith. I think they learned their lesson.”

Mr Woods claims WSC accused three of the union’s members of stealing a fire hydrant from the corporation’s premises.

In December, The Tribune reported police were called in to review files of an internal investigation at WSC, which began as a theft probe but has since turned up other “sensitive matters.”

At a press conference last month, Mr Gibson told reporters he made the decision to file a formal complaint with police over findings of the Internal Controls and Compliance Division after consultation with Works Minister Desmond Bannister.

In addition to the internal investigation, the government also engaged Ernst & Young to undertake a forensic audit of WSC. Five people have been sent on leave since investigations began; however, Mr Gibson confirmed three of them have since been brought back to work.

Asked by reporters about theft, Mr Gibson said there was an alleged theft of items and when asked the value, he said it was in the “thousands of dollars.”

He added there were several “offshoots” which were of grave concern.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 12, 2018, PAGE 3

YOUNGSTERS are pictured out having fun in the rain yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

RAINY WEEKEND EXPECTED AFTER DAYS OF DOWNPOUR

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE “above normal” rainfall seen in the capital over the past week is expected to persist through the weekend, according to Chief Meteorologist at the Department of Meteorology Basil Dean.

Cooler weather is also expected to last until the middle of next week.

Mr Dean told The Tribune trends recorded this week surpass the 1.29-inch average for January.

According to the veteran meteorologist, The Bahamas has recorded 1.95 inches of rainfall so far this month.

“There is no need for

panic or concern at this time,” Mr Dean insisted.

“What we are saying can be explained and, to be clear, it isn’t far off the norm for this part of the year.

“We have a stationary front sitting over the southeast section of the country, coupled with a trough over the northeastern section.

Moreover, there is also a

mid to upper-level low to the northwest.

“These three systems are maintaining the instability we are seeing now. Looking ahead, we expect the low to move toward the northeast (today), into (this) evening.”

Mr Dean said forecasters believe the high levels of rainfall should give way to

a major cold front, which is expected to move through the islands of The Bahamas late Sunday, on through the middle of next week.

“We are in the dry season, but with that comes stretches of rainfall, often followed by stretches of cool weather. What we’ve seen since last week is just that trend. So no need for

panic or concern.

“This is just a little above normal, but nothing extreme. We will see a turnaround in the coming days,” he concluded.

Forecasters have issued several thunderstorm warnings in recent days, most of which were followed by extended periods of intense rainfall.

Where’s the proof on Fish Fry alert?

Friday, 12th January 2018

from page one In an interview with The Tribune yesterday - the day after the cultural hub was singled out as dangerous - Mr Dames was adamant there certainly hasn’t been anything that would have caused any serious level of concern, especially at Arawak Cay where there is a police station on site headed by a superintendent and supported by the RBPF’s Central Division.

This is one of the largest divisions in New Providence and has the backing of mobile patrols, the minister said.

While maintaining that he couldn’t say, based on his daily conversations with Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson what constituted the warning, the minister said the Minnis administration is in the business of fixing problems.

He said if the United States is aware of certain issues, the doors are always open to discuss how they can be resolved.

“Am I surprised? Yeah.

Of course I am,” said Mr Dames. “There is some level of surprise. Surprise from the standpoint that as far as I am aware, our level of communication with the US, I would say, is a very good one.

“If there were concerns, then one would have expected they would have been communicated to the commissioner. I speak to the commissioner on a daily basis and this is one of those things that came up this morning and he was not aware of any issues having to do with Arawak Cay. “And secondly when we look at our reporting matters, there certainly hasn’t been anything based on my conversation with the commissioner that would have brought about any serious level of concerns. As you are fully aware there is a police station on Arawak Cay and it’s headed by a police superintendent.

“That station is supported by the station just east of Nassau Street, which is supported by the Central Division, which is one of

ARAWAK Cay.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

the largest divisions in New Providence and that too is overlaid by the presence of mobile patrol vehicles.

“Now I couldn’t say what constituted this, but we would, as we have always been, and certainly this government is in the business of fixing problems.

“So, if there are issues that the US may be aware of that we are not, our doors are always open to discuss how we can work together to resolve these issues because people are often affected by decisions that are made such as this and the key is what are the issues so that we can bring to bear whatever we need to ensure that all parties concerned are happy and that we can move beyond this.”

Mr Dames said while the government has made marked progress in the fight against crime, it realises a lot more must be done.

“This is a dynamic business and we will continue

to work with residents, our partners and everyone else to continue to stop the flow of illegal firearms entering this country to mitigate the amount of firearms and drugs flowing through – we are responsible for neither manufacturing or producing - and to stop the trafficking in persons throughout this country and to reduce violent crimes to make communities safe and by extension the nation safe. That’s our objective as a government.

“While we know that we have a significant amount of work to do we are confident that as we roll out our policies and get the support of the Bahamian people that we’ll be ok.”

On the same day the warning was issued, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said the advisory was “odd and troubling,” adding he was “at a loss” over why the State Department would opt to target the area given there is an

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on-site police station.

Vendors on the strip underscored the critical importance of both local and tourist traffic, expressing major concerns over the advisory’s impact on eateries struggling to survive in the current economic climate.

Jason Burrows, proprietor of Deep Creek, called on the government to make an immediate intervention.

The restaurant has been at Arawak Cay for 15 years.

Mr Burrows acknowledged the area was not immune to crime or conflict, but said it was important to contextualise incidents as it was not representative of the business community.

In line with previous travel warnings, the State Department also advises its citizens to avoid the Overthe-Hill area.

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PAGE 4, Friday, January 12, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Immigration issues a global matter THIS week’s televised meeting between President Trump and US Congressional leaders to discuss policy on immigration has brought the issue once again to the forefront of public discourse in America.

As a matter of major and continuing concern in many other parts of the world, it is also never far from the international spotlight. For example, migration in huge numbers from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe and the current flow of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape persecution in their homeland, while the issue of free movement of people within the European Union single market is at the heart of the debate about Britain’s departure from the bloc.

Traditionally, the issue is sensitive in the USA, not only because it is a nation of immigrants itself but also because of the President’s controversial and apparently inflexible stance so that immigration policy has turned into a long-running dispute simmering just below the surface. Perhaps here in The Bahamas we can learn some lessons from experience elsewhere as we watch developments in the US and Europe and are reminded of our own problems in relation to migration from Haiti.

Immigration is taking centre stage in Washington because of the pressing need to deal with the system of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which dates back to 2012 and may now be phased out so that thousands could face deportation. It provided a level of temporary amnesty to minors who came to the US with undocumented parents but it does not give them legal status.

To the outsider, the logical, decent and humane action would be to grant them citizenship. But this is likely to be opposed by conservatives who reject amnesty on the grounds it opens the floodgates to other illegals looking for a pathway to eventual citizenship.

In addition to DACA, other issues like “chain” immigration remain to be resolved in the US before moving on to so-called comprehensive reform to handle the estimated 11 million unauthorised immigrants. Securing the nation’s borders – including the much discussed wall in the south – and protecting the interests of US citizens and legal immigrants through a merit-based system seem to be essential while immigration reform will also need bipartisan political support.

Meanwhile, the refugee and immigration crisis in Europe is unending.

Thousands continue to try to reach Europe either to escape conflict in the Middle East or to break loose from poverty and deprivation in their own countries. Once they have reached a European Union nation state, they can move freely within the borderless Schengen area, and German Chancellor Merkel’s open door policy will doubtless have encouraged more and more

to come. This has contrasted with the refusal by Poland, Hungary and others to accept EU quotas for member states.

In the circumstances, it is surprising French President Emmanuel Macron, a staunch supporter of the EU, has announced a stronger immigration policy involving a clampdown on those arriving illegally including expulsion of economic migrants who do not qualify for asylum. He is quoted as saying: “We cannot welcome everyone and we can’t act without rules.”

The mass movement of people across international borders is clearly unworkable and unsustainable. Uncontrolled large-scale immigration causes major disruption in the receiving countries. In The Bahamas, we are faced with large numbers of Haitians seeking a new life here. Unless Haiti can achieve greater stability and rebuild its economy in order to provide a reasonable standard of living for its ten million citizens, the flow of refugees and economic migrants northwards will continue. Realistically, the prospects of that happening in the coming years seems very unlikely.

We believe, therefore, Dr Minnis’s government is justified in taking its current hard line both in intercepting migrants on the high seas and deporting them as well as in expelling those who are undocumented and therefore living here illegally so long as in doing so the letter of the law is followed. It is right that foreigners who wish to live in The Bahamas should have to do so legally.

Last year, the Department of Immigration deported nearly 7,000 people, and in October undocumented immigrants were given until the end of the year to leave or face deportation unless they applied for legal status. In enforcing a clampdown, it is also reasonable to put the onus on employers in the private sector to ensure they do not have such people on their payroll.

We share the concerns of human rights activists about deportation of the children of undocumented immigrants who were born here but failed to regularise their status on reaching the age of 18. Some of them may have feared exposure and will have shied away from the process as a result. We hope such cases will be handled sensitively and, again, with due legal process. In the past, enforcement of the law has been patchy and it is important this should be tightened up.

In addition, we hope the Prime Minister will ensure his instructions more than six months ago to bring forward legislation for establishment of an Immigration Board will be acted upon. In a modern democracy, it should not be the role of the Cabinet to make decisions about citizenship and residency. Unless there are concerns about national security, such decisions should be made by an independent board in accordance with established criteria which are published for all to see.

Majority Rule Day EDITOR, The Tribune.

I READ with great interest Mr Cedric Parker’s letter in yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) Tribune. The points he made were indeed so relevant.

I am a WHITE Bahamian. I was not made this way by choice, but the good Lord Almighty in His wisdom made me this way.

Many of my dearest and closest friends are BLACK. I love them as much as my white friends, and feel fortunate indeed to be able to call them my friends.

I totally abhor racial discrimination in any way, shape or form, and it cannot be denied that black Bahamians were discriminated against for many decades.

However, to have a national holiday being designated “Majority Rule Day” really IS discrimination against

our white minority, many of and consequently should whom have made significant take advantage of this and lasting contributions fact in our promotion of to the development of Tourism. this wonderful country. Is the fact that Columbus Not least the ridding of was white have anything to this country of pirates by do with the decision to cast Woodes Rogers in the early him aside and re-designate 18th century, thus paving October 12th to National the way for the Democratic Heroes Day? Could somesystem of government that one please let us know we enjoy today. who, specifically, these “Majority Rule Day” National Heroes are, and is an insult and is dis- what heroic acts they percriminatory to the white formed to warrant having community, as is the a holiday designated to change from Columbus them?

Day to “National Heroes I love this country, and Day”. We cannot deny it saddens me beyond that Christopher Columbus description to see the way it “discovered” us in 1492, is changing, and our inherand, as Mr. Parker pointed ent values of decency and out, this day is celebrated godliness literally “going in America, even though down the tubes”.

Columbus never went there!

JOANNA We should be proud that ROBERTSON The Bahamas was his first Nassau, landing in the New World, January 10, 2018

Methods to tackle crime EDITOR, The Tribune.

DEAR Tribune and the Ministry of National Security, after my first success with the first letter, involving how The Bahamas would benefit from Private Military Contractors.

I thought about another important thing involving the police and the Defence Force.

Why are we still doing the same old tactics over and over with crime? We obviously have all the available time to rethink our strategy and attempt something new.

Instead, the police suffer low manpower, outdated and garbage-grade gear and petty distractions. How can citizens ensure that officers can protect their homes and their businesses if there’s no firm presence in crime heavy areas?

All while this is happening, the amount of gangs in Nassau has doubled over the years. Last time Carlos Reed gave the statistics in 2010, there’s 52 gangs and over 20,000 young men and women are involved, both recruits and hardened criminals, while both the police and the Bahamian navy is both 1,500 and 3,000 in individual personnel. This is a severe disadvantage the when number of recruits joining the forces are around 100 to 260 men and women, while gangs have double the amount of street gangsters joining every few months.

They’re still deadly, despite how homicides and armed robberies have decreased in the recent weeks. However, this is temporary. If the police drop their guard, they’ll go back on a killing frenzy.

Thanks to the high-powered weapons and a sense of immunity, they feel like they can kill anyone and get away with it. Worse, that behaviour is encouraged by the lack of enforcement for extended periods of time.

The Defence Force could had made a short-term solution by coming ashore to help out the police in disrupting the gangs.

Their training in tactical

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net environments would had been put to good use, and it puts the gangs in a severe disadvantage as the criminals aren’t trained at all to handle any weapon type above handguns. Teamwork can also work for the soldiers and a detriment to the enemy.

What I’m saying is.

We can’t be passive in the matters of crime in the Caribbean, because all we’re doing is following the flawed strategies that allowed criminals to evolve into more serious threats. We keep sidetracking to avoid paying to enhance our police and the Navy. This shows law enforcement has no backbone to deter more serious criminal organisations from setting up in The Bahamas.

Instead of wasting time on ineffective solutions.

The Ministry of National Security needs to undergo a complete overhaul of both the RBDF and the RBPF to maximise effectiveness and ensure that the gangs are put down before things get worse. I thought about several ways that this overhaul can work based on reasonable options.

First is for the police and the Defence Force to have more modern gear, as the Uzi used by the police and the L1A1 SLR in the Defence Force is massively outdated and unacceptable.

A sufficient replacement is the HK416 and 417 rifles, the MP7 and other modern weapons are more easier to handle. In reality, we don’t need to be a major standing Navy in the world. We just need modern gear to replace all outdated gear, along with adding more tougher vehicle such as transport helicopters and armoured vehicles capable of resisting explosive damage.

Second is to add advanced forensics technology to the police... and to have a new police

training school larger than the old one. This would help the RBDF as they need a larger base for manpower, to coordinate missions effectively and viable equipment.

Third, both agencies need more training and live exercises to sharpen their skills extensively...

Then we could get another form of an intelligence agency, not the one that spies on people. And the last thing is for the RBDF is a Special Forces unit on the lines of the British SAS and Navy SEALs...

For regional needs, we need a special operations unit capable of handling defensive measures for gunrunners and drug smugglers that transport their cargo into Bahamian waters, along with a joint effort with other host nations to help them stamp out more dangerous criminals in other Caribbean nations that will pose a later threat to The Bahamas or the US. Ultimately, we need to arrest hundreds and thousands of criminals involved in gangs to reduce their numbers to below 10,000 and regain control of the streets. We can start by depriving them the flow of drugs, the production of drugs and the guns... We should unleash the fullest extent of the law upon them - ultimately enough to scare them for good.

With all of these measures. I plead to Marvin Dames, the entirety of the Ministry of National Security and everyone in both government and society to adopt these measures in hopes of restoring safety in Nassau, to show these criminals that we’re tired of being hunted down no matter what we do.. This could be expensive, but at the end of the day ensuring the safety of the country fully is never cheap.

You have to do it fully, which will cost us but the rewards are greater than what you paid for.

AMMAKA RUSSELL Nassau, January 5, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 12, 2018, PAGE 5

Police signal crackdown planned on gun traffickers

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander has warned police would be taking an aggressive approach to crack down on firearm traffickers.

He stressed the Royal Bahamas Police Force would be working with US counterparts to disrupt the flow of guns coming from the United States.

“We have taken a lot of weapons off the streets and charged a number of persons; we know a lot of the weapons are coming in from the US,” he said.

ACP Fernander said police have identified areas where the guns are coming in and have a pretty good idea who these traffickers are.

He noted guns are used in 99 percent of the country’s murders and other serious crimes, such as armed robberies.

“We are wide open in the

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander.

Family Islands and we will take an aggressive approach to eliminate firearm traffickers,” he stressed.

Another area of concern, he said, is gang activity and the recruitment of youngsters by seasoned criminals.

He said police are receiving information that young men are becoming involved in gang activity in Grand Bahama.

“We are addressing that and we are going to see how we can save some of these young men,” he said.

The police will look at visiting the schools and speaking with youngsters about the dangers of becoming involved in gang activity, ACP Fernander said during a recent press conference in Grand Bahama.

“Based on the information, we believe some criminals have left New Providence and are here on the island recruiting youngsters.”

ACP Fernander is encouraging parents to pay attention to their children.

“Know where they are and who they are hanging with,” he said.

Dudley Seide, the founder of Reach Out Youth Organisation (ROYO), said too many young men are dying daily on the streets and it is time to stop ignoring the problem.

He is rallying youth and church leaders on Grand Bahama to join with him next Tuesday at 6pm at Reach Out Community Centre on Banyon Lane to come up with a plan to reach the young men, and stop the killings on the streets.

“We plan to stop these young men from dying on our streets,” he said. “Crime is everyone’s problem, and

as long as people continue to sit and do nothing, the problem will not go away.”

Mr Seide said that young men have lost hope and purpose for the lives.

“Our young men in their minds are thinking that they are not going to live long, so that’s why they have no fear. I was like that too when I was younger because in my mind I was saying, ‘I ain’t going to live long, I have no purpose.’

“But we need to share with these young boys out there that they have a purpose in their life,” he said.

Mr Seide said murderers are walking around like stars and bragging about how many they have ‘dropped’ on the streets.

“They just don’t care who they kill,” he said. “Until we let them know they have a purpose in their lives, this trend will continue. I was lost once also, and that’s why I can speak this way because I thought I had no purpose also.”

CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO HELP CHILDREN AFFECTED BY VIOLENCE NEARLY a year has passed since The Bahamas Crisis Centre initiated the National Early Intervention Programme for Children Exposed to Violence (NEIPC) in February 2016.

With the growing demand to provide specific trauma-focused therapy for people who have experienced all forms of violence – be it sexual violence, grief over a lost loved one, witnessing a murder, or any other sort of traumatic experience – NEIPC specifically offers help to children ages two to 18. It’s one of a number of vital individual and community help programmes facilitated by the Crisis Centre that will continue to endure following a recent donation made to the organisation by CIBC FirstCaribbean.

Ayla Roberts, director of NEIPC, said: “As a non-profit organisation,

there are many needs we try to meet for families, and those needs can be particularly challenging.

One of them is to continue to have enough support in place for people who experience trauma – hence, the development of this programme.

We provide specific trauma-focused therapy for people who’ve experienced all forms of violence – be it sexual assault, grief, witnessing a murder, or any other sort of traumatic experience.”

Based on the programme’s criteria, The Bahamas Crisis Centre has facilitated over 800 counselling sessions as of mid-December.

“Violence is all around us,” said Ms Roberts. “Every day people are walking through our doors in need of advice and support because of what they’re witnessing and experiencing in their homes, their schools,

and their communities. We’re really trying to enhance the programme and expand its reach, because as we all know there is an increase in violence, and there need to be preventative measures in place to support people who need to heal and recover from these traumatic experiences. That is one of the ways we will apply the funding and support given to us by CIBC FirstCaribbean, in addition to other initiatives we hope to start and keep going.”

“The Bahamas Crisis Centre is a safe place for people who often have nowhere else to go,” said CIBC FirstCaribbean Marketing Manager Maya Nottage. “They help with bullying and domestic violence awareness programmes in schools throughout the Bahamas, and conduct community workshops

and training sessions that offer professional help on how to address trauma and gender-based violence. Their 24-hour hotline and legal advocacy haven’t faltered in 35 years. We’re confident that our donation will go a long way in supporting their efforts, which we know are desperately needed to protect the social fabric of our community.”

Among the hundreds of families The Bahamas Crisis Centre has served, the NEIPC programme has managed to improve countless lives.

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance from The Bahamas Crisis Centre, call their 24 hour hotline at 328-0922. You can also message the organisation on Facebook or visit their website at Bahamascrisiscentre.org.

TEENAGERS CHARGED ON TWO KILLINGS from page one

He was not required to enter a plea to the charge, and Magistrate Johnson adjourned the matter to be heard before a juvenile panel on January 25.

Augustine, 40, an electrician and operator of a barbershop, and radio host, was the country’s first murder victim for 2018. He was shot in the Gladstone Terrace area.

The 15-year-old was charged with the murder of Kevin Roberts. It is alleged that on January 5, the accused intentionally caused the death of Roberts, an employee of Freeport Ship Services.

Roberts’ death was the island’s second murder for 2018.

The juvenile was not required to enter a plea to the charge.

The juvenile was also charged with possession of an unlicenced firearm and possession of ammunition.

It is alleged that on January 5, the accused was found in possession of a black .9mm Glock without being the holder of a special licence. It is also alleged that on the same date, he was found in possession of five rounds of .9mm ammunition without being the holder of a firearm certificate.

Magistrate Johnson adjourned the matters to be heard before a juvenile panel on January 25.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 6, Friday, January 12, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Bail act needs urgent review

from page one

resentment toward the authorities by those young persons caught up in this conveyor belt process.”

The 2016 amendment to the Bail Act made charges of intentional libel, assault, stealing and a number of other previously bailable offences non-bailable in Magistrate’s Court. It resulted in an increase in the number of people being remanded to the Department of Correctional Services and having to apply for a bond in the Supreme Court.

The amendment did not return the power of magistrates to grant bail for the offences of drug possession with intent to supply, certain firearms matters, rape, housebreaking, attempted murder and threats of death.

Yesterday, Acting Chief Justice Isaacs said what now typically happens in the Magistrate’s Court is defendants charged with minor crimes, typically “young offenders”, ultimately find themselves remanded to prison.

He said it is then left up to the defendant, assuming “he or she has the wherewithal”, to hire a lawyer to apply to the Supreme Court for a bail hearing. If a defendant cannot afford a lawyer, however, he said the process of applying personally is “invariably extended” over a much longer period.

He said the 2016 amendment has not only increased the Supreme Court’s workload and “often throws the bail list out of sync”, it “strands young persons in prison for minor offences prior to trial” when previously a magistrate would routinely grant bail, sometimes with additional conditions.

“Returning the authority to magistrates to grant bail in all but the most serious offences, such as murder, manslaughter and

THE MARCH to mark the opening of the new legal year. armed robbery, ought to be given more than lip service, which is all that it has received to date,” he said.

“The statutory authority of magistrates to grant bail for minor offences ought to be returned forthwith.”

He added: “This is a serious issue and I can only fathom that the aim of the executive was to pitch in on the fight against crime, which is to be commended.

There has been, however, some perverse results. I use as an example, the fact that a magistrate cannot grant bail for these minor offences, but the police can.”

Acting Chief Justice Isaacs also touched on the “double jeopardy” for people who are released on bail at the Supreme Court with conditions.

He said apart from signing a bond along with one or two sureties, a person granted bail is often subject to other conditions such as reporting to a police station nearest their home on specific days, usually before 6pm, wearing an electronic monitoring device or being subject to a curfew.

The “double jeopardy” occurs upon the “exposure” of an accused person to have bail revoked

THE COUNTRY’S top judge has hit out at the “uninformed destructive

attacks” on judicial officers by certain individuals over the past year, as he stressed the importance of a judiciary free from “extraneous noises” and “improper influences”.

Acting Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs, during his address to mark the opening of the 2018 legal year, said while criticism of judicial decisions is expected and often “worthy of analysis”, such attacks are “not acceptable” and “help no one”.

Although he did not specify which attacks he was referring to, he noted the judiciary has endured “notorious examples” of those attacks over the past year.

The acting chief justice also stressed the importance of “judicial independence,” charging the courts should not be “subject to improper influences from the other branches of government,

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff subsequent to the Crown’s application because that person breached their bail conditions, usually for failing to report to a police station or less frequently, failing to appear for trial.

He said the issue has become further “complicated” by legislation that empowers magistrates to imprison people for breach of their respective bail conditions, notwithstanding the bail having been granted by the Supreme Court.

Additionally, he said it is a “matter of record” that accused people are being sent to prison by

magistrates for one year as punishment for what he said is a “standalone offence” in breach of bail conditions. And that, he said, takes place long before the substantive charge is even heard, “on which the accused person may very well be acquitted”.

However, the acting chief justice said that an accused person would have already served time for a matter that is “ancillary” to the original offence.

“This legislation may be another attempt to fight crime but the result has created confusion for both magistrates and judges,” he

said. “Bearing in mind the principle that legislation is presumed to be constitutional, I would not go further than to say that this issue ought to be revisited.”

Last year, his predecessor and now Court of Appeal President Sir Hartman Longley said the judicial system can be “significantly improved” if the jurisdiction of stipendiary and circuit magistrates in many cases of bail is restored.

At the time, Sir Hartman said “precious time” is wasted at both levels in “matters than can and perhaps ought to be dealt with at the summary level.”

‘WE MUST END THESE ATTACKS ON JUSTICE SYSTEM’

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

or from private or partisan interests.”

In September, outspoken self-styled activist Omar Archer was convicted and sentenced to 21 days in prison by Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson for contemptuous remarks he previously made about the legal proceedings against former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson. The sentence was suspended once Archer made donations to two charities and performed community service.

That same month, a bench warrant was issued for the arrest of media personality Christina “Chrissy Love” Thompson for failing to appear before that same judge to face charges of contempt of court stemming from certain remarks she made about Mr Gibson’s legal proceedings.

“Criticism of judicial decisions is expected, and if often worthy of analysis,”

Acting Chief Justice Isaacs said in his address. “What is not acceptable is uninformed destructive attacks on judicial officers or on the judiciary as a whole, and we have had notorious examples of such attacks over the past year, which helps no one.

“At its core the concept means that judicial officers must be free from interference in the decision making process. Judicial officers are even independent of each other, but naturally there are times when a collegiate effort is required on one legal issue or another.

“The job of a judicial officer is to interpret the law in any given case and a conscious effort must be made to block out all extraneous noises.”

He added: “At the administrative level, the judiciary has its life blood, funding, supplied by the executive.

This arrangement is unavoidable since the purse

strings of all of government is properly controlled by the executive. The general liaison between the judiciary and the executive is the attorney general.”

Acting Chief Justice Isaacs then referred to a quote from former Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley’s address in 2016, which read: “The judiciary is not a department of the Office of the Attorney General, it is an independent branch of government headed by the chief justice, a fact that seems to escape some in the administration at times.”

Acting Chief Justice Isaacs continued: “I referred to that brief quote to underline the effort that must be made to ensure the independence of the judiciary while at the same time for the executive and the judiciary to nurture that delicate balance between the branches, which together make up our democracy.”

60 PERCENT DROP IN USE OF NOLLE PROSEQUIS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE use of nolle prosequi orders to hack away at the backlog of criminal matters before the courts decreased by more than 60 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday.

Mr Bethel, in making his remarks during the opening of the 2018 legal year, said 31 cases were disposed of in 2017 via a nolle prosequi – or a stop prosecution order – compared with the 92 in 2016, making for a 66 percent decrease.

Mr Bethel said this “threefold decrease” is indicative of a “policy to use the power of the nolle more sparingly and only in those cases which are hopelessly beyond prosecution.”

Mr Bethel also said the criminal justice conviction rate averaged around

67 percent for all offences and was just over 70 percent for murder and related offences, such as attempted murder and manslaughter.

He also said the Office of the Attorney General prosecuted 78 murder and related offences in 2017, 54 of which resulted in guilty verdicts while 16 resulted in not guilty verdicts.

Mr Bethel said while those figures are “still a ways off” from the 75-80 percent conviction rate his office is currently targeting, it is still a “very decent conviction rate” when compared with the statistics of “comparable jurisdictions”.

Mr Bethel also said 231 voluntary bills of indictment (VBI) were served in 2017 and that the practice will continue in 2018.

Mr Bethel also mentioned a number of initiatives his office plans to implement to improve the efficiency of justice, which include, the “enhanced use”

of digital technology in the preparation and presentation of cases; implementing an electronic bail management system that will allow people on bail seeking to report to police stations to do so via fingerprint and biometric scans; and encouraging magistrates and judges to more actively manage the trial process as opposed to being “neutral arbiters or judicial umpires”.

Regarding the last item, Mr Bethel said his office will recommence consultation with the legal profession and the judiciary in short order with a view of implementing “Bahamian Civil Procedure Rules,” which he said will hopefully replace the existing Supreme Court rules.

Mr Bethel also said his office will, over the next several months, work closely with the judiciary and the Ministry of Public Works to create two new courtrooms:

a civil family court and a criminal court, the latter of which will give “focused attention” to sexual offences, domestic violence matters and backlog cases.

He said the civil court will be renovated and housed in the courtroom formerly used in the eastern downstairs part of the main Supreme Court building and the criminal court at the north-east corner of the Saffrey Square arcade. These will allow for the appointment of additional Supreme Court judges, he said. “… It is my hope that the efforts of all those engaged in the profession of the law, at the bench or the bar, public or private, and those supporting in an administrative capacity, be guided in 2018 by the single quest for justice, which Lord Gardiner, QC, a former lord chancellor of the UK, described as ‘the conscience of the legal profession,’” Mr Bethel said.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 12, 2018, PAGE 7

PM ‘wrong’ to promise protestors from page one If he were in Dr Minnis’ shoes, Mr Davis said he would not have taken the same approach. Instead the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said he would have ensured he understood the situation in its entirety before making promises to absolve the men of any wrong doing.

Former Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson also underscored that no prime minister has the power to discontinue any criminal matter.

She told The Tribune yesterday the determination to discontinue or “nolle” a matter is a legal and not a political decision. The attorney general, on the advice of the legal advisors in the Office of the Attorney General, especially the director of public prosecutions, may decide to issue a nolle prosequi to end prosecution, she said.

Mr Davis has said he believes the matter will most likely be sent to the Prerogative of Mercy. The committee is headed by National Security Minister Marvin Dames.

Asked about this yesterday, the minister said the body has not yet met but plans were underway for the first meeting to commence sometime within the first quarter of the year.

However, Mr Dames was unable to give The Tribune an outright answer on whether it would consider this issue. Instead he several times insisted that if the prime minister promised to expunge the records of those charged in the matter, then it would be done.

“Well a lot of things are said on the campaign trail and that’s one of the things he said whether it was a mistake only time evolving can say,” Mr Davis said yesterday when he was asked whether he believed the prime minister was mistaken to have made such a promise while in opposition.

DR Hubert Minnis at the time he made the promise to Cabbage Beach protestors.

“Again it’s a matter of often and which seems to When she was contacted choices one makes,” the be the mantra of the FNM yesterday, Mrs MaynardPLP leader added. “I would they don’t separate the two Gibson responded via email first of all before you make and hence they find them- saying: “A take away from any statement, promises selves as it were weaving this is that we Bahamians about any matter the first these webs that they catch must understand our legal order one would expect themselves in and that’s the system and the separation was for you to understand challenge yet again. of powers. Also we must the full import of the issues “If you ask me if I would train ourselves and our chilyou are facing and then have done that I would say dren to gather information, how it would be dealt with no. I would have had to ask questions and come to thereafter. understand the full issues our own conclusions, based “I don’t know that Dr and there is a limit to pro- on facts – in and out of Minnis as the leader of tests. Everyone has a right political season. the party before becoming to protest but you have to “The law of The Bahaprime minister understood be responsible. It ought mas is clear - no prime all those details because not to include criminal minister has the power to quite frankly it was an issue activity at all,” Mr Davis ‘nolle’ a matter. That power that related to private prop- also said. is, at the moment, vested in erty and the right of persons “The question is if you the attorney general. As I being able to access private have zero tolerance for have said, and other former property. criminal activity then you attorneys general have said, “When you deal with can’t on the one hand have the determination to dislegal matters there is a zero tolerance for crimi- continue or nolle a matter balance one has to strike nal activity and then turn is a legal and not a political and you have to separate around and say I am going decision.” what I call political rheto- to absolve one from crimiShe continued: “The attorric from reality and very nal liability.” ney general, on the advice

of the legal advisors in the Office of the AttorneyGeneral, especially the DPP, may decide to issue a nolle.

And, as the DPP has said, nolles are issued only where there is a constitutional issue or an evidential issue that adversely affects a matter.

“Observers should note that discontinuations nolles - and other matters before the criminal courts up until May 2017 were placed on the Office of the Attorney General’s website.

This open and transparent accounting to the public has ceased. Placing the information on the website gives the public information – the facts, from which we can make up our own minds – in and out of political season.”

On Tuesday, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said Dr Minnis did not regret pledging to expunge the

men’s records.

Ten people were charged, including for obstruction and disorderly conduct, in 2016 after they protested limited vendor access to Cabbage Beach. Some protestors tore down a fence that blocked the entrance to the beach not long after the government had announced the pathway would be opened for a period of time while it sought a resolution with the property owner.

As leader of the opposition, Dr Minnis said he “expected the charges to be dropped,” and if they were not he said “the records will be wiped clean” under an FNM government.

Many months later, the protestors have been in and out of court but have been unable to meet Dr Minnis so he could make good on his promise to them.

BAHAMIAN NEO-NAZI JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS IN EXPLOSIVES CASE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN Brandon Russell, the self-described Neo-Nazi and former St Andrews School student who first came under scrutiny when his roommate allegedly committed a double murder, has been sentenced to five years in a US federal prison on explosive charges.

Russell, 22, pleaded guilty in September to possession of an unregistered destructive device and improper storage of explosive materials in his Florida apartment, where police officers also found his slain roommates Jeremy Himmelman and Andrew Oneschuk.

Murder suspect Devon Arthurs, who also shared the Tampa Palms apartment, told police Russell was planning acts of terrorism - which led to the discovery of explosive chemicals and bomb-making materials and his later arrest.

Russell is the grandson of owners of a longstanding Grand Bahama family business, Park ‘N Shop, run by William and Molly Russell.

He is a dual citizen of the United States and Bahamas, and is a member of the Florida National Guard.

Russell returned to his Florida home from duty on May 19 to find the dead bodies of two of his roommates, according to investigators.

Police reportedly arrived a short time later with his other roommate, 18-yearold Devon Arthurs, who had held up a nearby smoke shop and confessed to killing the men because they disrespected his Muslim faith.

Arthurs told police he had recently converted to Islam and no longer shared the same Neo-Nazi beliefs as his roommates.

He also told police, according to The Miami Herald’s account of the arrest affidavit, that Brandon Russell had previously “threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure” in Neo-Nazi online chat rooms.

During a sweep of the apartment, the FBI and Tampa police found a white, cake-like substance in its underground garage that tested positive for hexamethane triperoxide diamine (HMTD), a highly explosive substance. Police also found empty bullet casings that contained fuses which could be used as a detonator, according to The Miami Herald.

In Russell’s bedroom, the FBI reportedly found a framed photograph of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and executed for detonating a bomb in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.

According to the Associated Press, Russell’s mother and grandmother called him a follower who liked to please his friends during the four-hour court hearing on Tuesday.

AP reports defence attorney Ian Goldstein said his client has accepted responsibility and that he wants to move forward with his life.

He called Russell’s mother, who said the young man was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and for having attention deficit disorder since he was young.

“He was always looking for something to belong to,” said Brigiite Chantalle Russell-Hilts.

Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Russell to 11 years in prison, significantly more than the federal guidelines called for. They said Russell’s behaviour between the time his roommates were found dead and when he

was arrested — he went to another Atomwaffen member’s house, then bought guns and drove to South Florida — indicated his propensity for violence..

Prosecutor Josephine Thomas noted that “there have been other violent incidents in this country where people are claiming allegiance to Atomwaffen.”

When asked about this later, she declined to give specifics.

Mr Goldstein maintained his client was traumatised by the deaths of his roommates and already suffered from mental issues.

Prosecutors, he said, wanted to lock Russell up longer ‘solely because of the things he believes.’

Although he admitted to having the bomb-making materials, there was no evidence he intended to use them against anyone, Goldstein asserted.

“Put him in jail for 11 years and he’s going to get out and be a young, angry, untreated man,” Mr Goldstein said, suggesting the judge sentence him to two and a half years in prison.

“The longer sentence you impose, the worse outcome you’ll have. He’ll be in prison with other people who believe the same things.”

However, in a court filing Sunday, prosecutors said Russell drew a diagram of how to make an explosive in a letter he apparently intended to deliver to another “Atomwaffen Division” member outside jail.

The AP report read: “The FBI obtained copies of other letters in which Russell drew plans for an ‘Airborne Leaflet Dropping Device’ showing Nazi propaganda falling from the sky, prosecutors said.

“In one letter, Russell attached a blurb about a 16-year-old Nazi who in 1962 told a judge, ‘I don’t care how long you put me in

jail, your honour, ... as soon as I get out, I will go right back to fight for my White Race and my America!’”

When summoned forward for sentencing, Judge Bucklew asked the young man if he had anything to say.

“I’m sorry for what I have done,” Russell said in a soft voice. “I take responsibility for what if have done.”

BRANDON RUSSELL

PAGE 8, Friday, January 12, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

THE STRAIGHT DOPE ON

MARIJUANA FINALLY the topic of legalising Marijuana has been sparked (no pun intended) in The Bahamas.

After years of secretive back room discussions, it appears the citizenry of the 242 want their voices to be heard loud and clear. Both those who are pro, aswell as those con on the issue, eant their voices and contributions to the debate to be heard.

A recent Tribune poll showed that 77.78% of Bahamians agreed that Marijuana should be decriminalised, while 22.28% believe it should not.

A town hall meeting organised by CARICOM’s Regional Commission on Marijuana on Friday night drew strong positions from those attending.

Those in attendance were lively and passionately in favour of the decriminalisation and legalisation of marijuana.

However, it remains to be seen how accurately the audience represented all Bahamians’ views.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis will devote a day of Cabinet meetings to discuss marijuana and marital rape with his ministers,

according to Press Secretary Anthony Newbold.

“Cabinet will spend a day discussing that and will have that discussion before any other movement is made with respect to that.

The prime minister has said and continues to emphasise that whatever happens, the Bahamian people must have a say in whatever that final decision is determined to be. That decision will be made after the Bahamian people have had an opportunity to weigh in extensively on that issue just like any other.”

Wow, a whole day dedicated to discussing the matter.

We have many pertinent issues nationally that need to be adressed, so to see a whole day devouted by the government to one matter, tells me said matter is one of importance. And may hold a lot more weight than

properly and efficiently in presenting their views, inorder to make an impact on government.

Minister of National Security Mr Dames said: “I have some thoughts on it but when we discuss it as a Cabinet, most certainly people think. we’ll come back with our I applaud Dr Minnis’ position. But I said before bravado in putting such a we have to come to this sensative issue to the citi- point in this country where zens of The Bahamas, for we begin to debate issues their input on the matter. like that. There’s no hidden Now, hopefully, he will agenda or no secret. This take heavily in to consid- is what democracy is all eration the about. wishes of ‘Of the many “But at the people, concerns when the end of like he has the day, stated, before discussing whatever making any decriminalisation, direction we final decision Bahamian youth no go we as a on the topic. longer facing travel government The will have to reviews are bans, lingering ensure that mixed among police records, we are fully the Minnis unemployment etc. prepared. cabinet.

“We have Deputy for being caught been moniPrime Min- with minor amount toring what ister Peter been of marijuana ranks has Turnquest taking place told report- at the top.’ throughout ers: “I do the United not subscribe States. Canada to this train of thought, is a little ahead of us but The Bahamas must chart at that point as well where the way for itself. What- they are contemplating it ever steps the country and certainly the Caribbean takes should align with its as well. So this is a global own traditions, culture and discussion that is currently values.” being had.”

State Minister for Legal Foreign Affairs Minister Affairs Elsworth John- Darren Henfield said: “No son also emphasised that reasonable person can deny to ensure the conversa- the country must examine tion about legalising or laws that criminalise people decriminalising marijuana caught with small amounts persists, activists and agents of the substance.” of change must organise Based on these various and prepare themselves responses from learned

individuals in the present administration, as well as the citizenry, “Dis ga be long.”

Might I suggest, as we do with almost everything else, pull a page out of our neighbours to the North’s books. (The PLP did it with their “Spy Bill”, the FNM with “Fake News”, so why not?)

It seems the Americans are onto something both financially and socially. Portugal and Urugay are two other models that can also be drawn upon for critical analysis, but since we like to “follow fashion” of the good ole USA, we can note there are seven states that have legalised recreational marijuana, and 27 states that have legalised marijuana for medicinal use.

The information and statistics from those states would be start.

Of the many concerns when discussing decriminalisation, Bahamian youth no longer facing travel bans, lingering police records, unemployment etc. for being caught with minor amount of marijuana ranks at the top. Decriminalisation on small recreational ammounts is long over due.

A good model of this is the District of Columbia, which decriminalised recreational

marijuana, making it legal for residents to carry up to two ounces of cannabis and own six plants.

However, it’s still illegal to purchase pot in the district, or to be found in possession of amounts over the legal limits.

The legalisation of recreational marijuana gives rise to a whole new economy surrounding the production of cannabis, oils, lotions, edibles and paraphernalia.

(I bet Rastafarians in The Bahamas would love this...

“Irie nuts...Irie erryting!”)

Medicinally, marijuana is legal in more than half the states in America, and just as there is a market there, we have one here. Countless Bahamians suffer from many debilitating illnesses who may benefit immensely from medicinal marijuana.

We must objectively look at the pros and cons of the entire matter, the benificial effect it could have on so many levels locally, if we decriminalised or introduced medical and recreational marijuana and come to a decision.

I have no idea where the national conversation on cannabis is going but I’m impressed we now feel mature enough as a nation to even have the conversation.

Next week, part two, the financial benefits and social questions of legalising Marijuana, as well as its effect on crime.

Until next week, be safe, I’m off to catch “Cheech and Chong Up in Smoke” on Netflix, how ironic this is on, all things considered.

THE debate over decriminalising marijuana has been in the news this week, with Tribune readers discussing the issue online.

OldFort2012 said: “Make it legal to grow. Make it compulsory to sell all production to 1 licenced company, which will be a PPP. Licence that company to produce derivatives.

Licence that company to sell derivative products to tourists in shops. Give every Bahamian a free shareholding in that company once up and running, however minimal, but without right to vote. With right to dividends. Some sort of preferreds. I would be shocked if that company did not have a turnover of at least $200m with annual profits of $100m.”

Sheeprunner12 had this suggestion: “Start with allowing every Bahamian to be able to possess 3 ounces of weed or grow five trees for personal use without getting locked up . . . and allow medical marijuana. But beyond that . . . make any other possession or intent to supply ILLEGAL.” There was this from SP:

back to attracting the much sought after tourism dollar it will continue to have to chiefly remain dependent on Americans vacationing on our islands and it’s bad business to ignore the growing relaxation of marijuana use laws in US states.”

To which ThisIsOurs responded with: “This is ‘manufactured’ urgency and clear evidence Dr Minnis never had a plan.

Sidetracked once again.

The real urgencies are crime, jobs, health and education. If these users can’t bring it upon themselves to stop, even on fear of being caught, brought before a judge, fined, having their ability to travel to the US denied and rejected for employment, I say we have a SERIOUS problem with marijuana addiction.”

Emac had this to say: “If I were the government, I would put it to the people. But the decriminalising aspect should be carried out now without any further talks. Too many young people with great potential have been marred by a joint. All in all though, how could the Bahamas go wrong by at least making it legal for medical purposes? The recreational use should be put on hold after more public debate.”

And in The Tribune’s online poll, we asked readers if they were in favour of decriminalising marijuana.

The majority of those voting - 78 per cent – said they were.

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

READERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON MARIJUANA

“Marijuana is being legalised or decriminalised in ‘real countries’, and the Bahamas is talking about debating the issue, while other countries are using the opportunity for profit, simultaneously making prison space for real criminals? If we are so intelligent to ‘debate’ this issue that others have long ago concluded, why are we a borderline failed state compared to the rest of these countries?”

TalRussell said: “The urgency for the decriminalisation of marijuana for medical and recreational use is vital when we are jailing users and attaching negative stigmas to our people by burdening their characters with criminal records.

“If the Bahamaland’s tourism economy wants get

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 12, 2018, PAGE 9

‘Don’t bulldoze shanty towns - create a Little Haiti instead’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY Fred Smith, QC, yesterday urged the government to “form a little Haiti” in The Bahamas instead of bulldozing shanty towns and “destroying people’s lives”.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Smith also applauded Attorney General Carl Bethel for forming a committee to deal with the prevalence of shanty towns.

Last week, Mr Bethel told reporters his office has set up a committee to “review the whole question of shanty towns” and “provide legal guidance”.

He said once his office puts in place the structure and methodologies, the committee will advise the government on what should

be done “in an appropriate, lawful and constitutional manner”.

Mr Smith, who is also the president of Rights Bahamas, also offered to appoint a member to sit on the committee so that the “sensitive, complicated, and diverse issues can be addressed in a humane and lawful manner”.

“This is a far better approach than simply turning up at 7am in the morning with a bulldozer to destroy people’s lives.

Shanty towns, ghettos, migrant villages and refugee camps are created all over the world. The Bahamas is not unique with The Mud in Abaco or the many Haitian villages in New Providence but I urge this government to be visionary and compassionate and to make a virtue out of necessity,” Mr Smith said.

“It was a shocking terrorist tactic by Fred Mitchell and the Progressive Liberal Party to begin arbitrarily and unconstitutionally bulldozing down people’s homes,” he added.

“People have rights and I remind the government that even citizens in waiting who are Bahamians of Haitian descent, and or even migrants whether here legally or illegally are protected just like Bahamians by the Constitution. These villages have existed, some of them for 20, 30, 40 years and people have gained the right in some instances to title of the land by virtue of adverse possession but also in many instances by actually getting sales documents from owners of the Bahamian land.

“So people have built some concrete houses, wooden houses with

KEVIN HARRIS NAMED BAHAMAS INFORMATION SERVICES CHIEF VETERAN radio broadcaster, talk show host and media and public relations executive Kevin Harris has been appointed director general of Bahamas Information Services (BIS).

Mr Harris’ appointment took effect January 1. He succeeds Luther Smith who served in the post for the past three and a half years.

A 20-year veteran in the broadcast and media industry, Mr Harris has worked as a radio personality for a number of radio stations including 100 Jamz, 101.9 Joy FM, Spirit Gospel 92.5 FM and Guardian Radio 96.9 FM. He also served as a radio talk show host and producer for the highly popular and nationally aired radio programme “State of Affairs with Kevin Harris”.

Mr Harris also has over 25 years’ experience as an advertising, marketing and public relations consultant.

He served as the very first marketing executive for British American Bank and Western Union in the Bahamas from 1996 to 1998.

Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, parliamentary secretary for information and communications in the Office of the Prime Minister, who has responsibility for BIS and the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, welcomed Mr Harris’ appointment while thanking Mr Smith for work done during his tenure.

“As Bahamas Information Services works towards ensuring positive growth and development in its field, we are confident that the appointment of Mr Harris will indeed take us in the right direction,” Mrs Parker-Edgecombe said.

“Furthermore, we are grateful for the job Mr Luther Smith has done in the last three-plus years and wish him well in all of his endeavours. Amidst an ever-changing environment in the information and communications sector,

KEVIN HARRIS Mr Harris’ skills to lead the organisation having served in the area of media for so many years, will undoubtedly work to our benefit.

“BIS will witness a dynamic transformation as Mr Harris and his executive team chart the way forward utilising both technology and human resources to ensure that vital information pertaining to the government and governance of our country is widely disseminated with relevance, accuracy and speed as demanded by our citizenry and indeed those of the world,” Mrs Parker-Edgecombe added.

Born in Nassau in 1970, Mr Harris attended Columbus Primary School, C H Reeves Junior High School and the Government High School from which he graduated in 1997.

An ordained minister, Mr

Harris holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Christian Life School of Theology.

Widely known in gospel and entertainment industries as “Minister K,” Mr Harris is the founder and president of the Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards, which is now considered the world’s premier music awards for Bahamian and Caribbean Gospel Music. The Marlin Awards celebrates its 22nd anniversary this year.

Mr Harris also served as the local entertainment coordinator for the historic taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show at Atlantis, Paradise Island in 1999, and as the local coordinator for The Bahamas segment of the world tour for late civil rights activist Rosa Parks.

Mr Harris is married to Quetell Harris (nee McPhee), and is the father of three children.

foundations, and they have become a permanent fixture of the Bahamian landscape. The reality is that in The Bahamas we have very poor persons as well as very rich persons, so I urge those who are in power to be compassionate - and as Carl Bethel said - that the government would be dealing with this in an appropriate manner, which would be lawful and constitutional.”

Mr Smith urged the government to research the slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which he said have now become a tourist attraction after the Brazilian government assisted with sanitation, power, water and waste management.

“I urge the government to look online at the painted favelas of Rio de Janeiro which have become

an artistic delight and have inspired the people in those communities to express themselves artistically with painting, handicraft, and it has become a very attractive touristic feature,” he said.

“Haiti has hundreds of years of craftsmanship culture. Paintings, woodwork, metalwork from Haiti are renowned internationally and in the Caribbean.

If we have such a huge population of Bahamians of Haitian descent, or Haitians, we should encourage them to become like that of Miami and create a little Haiti where they can celebrate their ethnic and cultural diversity. Trying to make it work is far better than inflicting government-institutionalised terrorism on poor people, even though they are migrants.”

A Department of Environmental Health report conducted in 2013 found that serious environmental and health concerns exist across the shanty town network, and that a number of illicit industries flourish there – among them the illegal burning of pine forest to produce coal and the unauthorised sale of prescription medication.

In 2012, the Christie administration formed a special unit to address shanty towns. In 2014, some residents of a shanty town off Carmichael Road had their homes bulldozed by contractors hired by the Ministry of Environment following eviction notices.

The next year, residents of a community in Gamble Heights said they were “hopeless and homeless” after demolition began at their shanty town.

PAGE 10, Friday, January 12, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

PUERTO RICO MURDER COUNT RISES AFTER HURRICANE CAROLINA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Before the sun rose on the first day of 2018, someone called 911 to report the charred, bullet-riddled body of a man with a snake-like tattoo on his left hand, lying beside a road in the Puerto Rican town of Vega Baja.

The next day, two men were found dead with their feet and hands bound in Bayamon, a working-class city southwest of the capital. Another man was shot to death before dawn in nearby Vega Baja while trying to stop thieves from stealing his generator.

Thirty-two people have been slain in Puerto Rico in the first 11 days of the year, double the number killed over the same period in 2017. If the surge proves to be more than just a temporary blip, January could be the most homicidal month on the island in at least two years, adding a dangerous new element to the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria, its worst disaster in decades.

While the number of homicides did not immediately spike in the weeks after the hurricane struck on Sept 20, police and independent experts say many killings appear at least partly related to its aftereffects.

The storm has plunged much of the island into darkness, increased economic hardship and contributed to a sickout by police, all fueling lawlessness. What’s more, officials say a turf war has broken out among drug gangs looking to grab territory after the storm’s disruption.

IMMIGRATION RAIDS ON 7-11 STORES LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven immigration agents filed into a 7-Eleven store before dawn Wednesday, waited for people to go through the checkout line and told arriving customers and a driver delivering beer to wait outside. A federal inspection was underway, they said.

Within 20 minutes, they verified that the cashier had a valid green card and served notice on the owner to produce hiring records in three days that deal with employees’ immigration status.

The well-rehearsed scene, executed with quiet efficiency in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, played out at about 100 7-Eleven stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia, a rolling operation that officials called the largest immigration action against an employer under Donald Trump’s presidency.

The employment audits and interviews with store workers could lead to criminal charges or fines. And they appeared to open a new front in Trump’s expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 percent increase in deportation arrests and pledges to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico.

ASSANGE GRANTED NATIONALITY

BY ECUADOR

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after more than five years of living in asylum at the nation’s embassy in London, officials announced Thursday.

Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said officials accepted Assange’s request for naturalisation in December, and they continue to look for a long-term resolution to a situation that has vexed officials since 2012.

Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange has remained in the embassy.

A FIREFIGHTER stands on the roof of a house submerged in mud and rocks in Montecito, California.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

CELLPHONE ALERTS CAME AS MUDSLIDES HIT By the Associated Press

MANY Californians in the area hit hardest by this week’s deadly mudslides did not heed warnings for hours and days by emergency officials encouraging them to evacuate their homes — and then received cellphone alerts of imminent slides when the massive streams of debris were already heading toward them or had already hit their neighborhoods.

Wireless emergency alerts are cellphone messages sent to everyone in a region, similar to the Amber alerts that are sent to cellphone users in specific areas when

authorities are trying to find missing children.

The alert sent by Santa Barbara County officials to all those in mandatory and voluntary evacuation areas went out around 3:50 a.m. Tuesday, Rob Lewin, the county’s emergency management director said Thursday. It followed a cellphone alert sent by the National Weather Service, he said.

There has been no outpouring of complaints from people that wireless warnings should have been sent out earlier, and residents of affected areas spoke with The Associated Press said they knew they lived in

evacuation areas but chose not to leave.

The first slides tore through Montecito about 3:30 a.m. and continued after the county cellphone alerts went out, destroying or damaging 400 homes and killing at least 17 people. The vast majority of those homes were in areas already designated by authorities as under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.

The National Weather Service sent out four wireless emergency alerts in various areas of Santa Barbara County between 2:30 a.m. and noon on Tuesday, spokeswoman Susan

Buchanan said.

The warnings for residents to leave had been issued for days before the mudslides through social media, news media and community information emails about the potential for mudflows from the huge wildfire scar in hills above neighborhoods. Sheriff’s deputies also knocked on doors in the mandatory evacuation area to warn residents to leave.

Another emergency management official told the Los Angeles Times that county officials decided not to use the its push alert system to cellphones earlier

for concern it might not be taken seriously.

“If you tell everyone to get out, everyone get out, the next time people won’t listen,” emergency manager Jeff Gater told the newspaper. “If you cry wolf, people stop listening.”

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown defended the timing of the wireless emergency alert, saying they are supposed “to be used to notify someone of an active incident that is occurring.”

“It was activated at the appropriate time actually when the event was occurring,” Brown said at a news conference Thursday.

Outrage at Trump slur on Haiti and African countries WASHINGTON Associated Press IN bluntly vulgar language, President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why the US would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “s***hole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway, as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal, according to people briefed on the extraordinary Oval Office conversation.

Trump’s contemptuous description of an entire continent startled lawmakers in the meeting and immediately revived charges that the president is racist.

The White House did not deny his remark but issued a statement saying Trump supports immigration policies that welcome “those who can contribute to our society”.

Trump’s comments came as two senators presented details of a bipartisan compromise that would extend protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants — and also strengthen border protections as Trump has insisted.

The lawmakers had hoped Trump would back their accord, an agreement among six senators evenly split among Republicans and Democrats, ending a months-long, bitter dispute over protecting the “Dreamers”. But the White House later rejected it, plunging the issue back into uncertainty just eight days before a deadline that threatens a government shutdown.

Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No 2 Democrat, explained that as part

PRESIDENT Donald Trump listens during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

Photo: Evan Vucci/AP of that deal, a lottery for countries like Norway. visas that has benefited Trump met this week with people from Africa and Norwegian Prime Minister other nations would be Erna Solberg. ended, the sources said, Asked about the remarks, though there could be White House spokesman another way for them to Raj Shah did not deny apply. Durbin said people them. would be allowed to stay in “Certain Washington polthe US who fled here after iticians choose to fight for disasters hit their homes in foreign countries, but Presiplaces including El Salva- dent Trump will always dor, Guatemala and Haiti. fight for the American Trump specifically ques- people,” he said. tioned why the US would Trump’s remarks were want to admit more people remarkable even by the from Haiti. As for Africa, standards of a president he asked why more people who has been accused from “s***hole countries” by his foes of racist attishould be allowed into the tudes and has routinely US, the sources said. smashed through public The president suggested decorum that his modern that instead, the US should predecessors have generally allow more entrants from embraced.

Trump has claimed without evidence that Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, wasn’t born in the United States, has said Mexican immigrants were “bringing crime” and were “rapists” and said there were “very fine people on both sides” after violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one counter-protester dead.

“Racist,” tweeted Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-NY, after Thursday’s story broke. But it wasn’t just Democrats objecting.

Republican Rep Mia Love of Utah, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, said Trump’s comments were “unkind, divisive, elitist and fly in the face of our nation’s values”. She said, “This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation” and Trump must apologise to the American people “and the nations he so wantonly maligned”.

Trump has called himself the “least racist person that you’ve ever met”.

Critics also have questioned his mental fitness to serve as president, citing his inability to muster some policy details and his tweets asserting his “nuclear button” is bigger than North Korea’s. He responded to such criticism with a recent tweet calling himself “a very stable genius” who is “like, really smart”.

The Trump administration announced late last year that it would end a temporary residency permit program that allowed nearly 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States following a devastating 2010 earthquake.

Trump has spoken positively about Haitians in public. During a 2016 campaign event in Miami, he said “the Haitian people deserve better” and told the audience of Haitian-Americans he wanted to “be your greatest champion, and I will be your champion”.

The agreement that Durbin and Sen Lindsey Graham, R-SC, described to Trump also includes his $1.6 billion request for a first installment on his longsought border wall, aides familiar with the agreement said.

Trump’s request covers 74 miles of border wall as part of a 10-year, $18 billion proposal.

Democrats had long vowed they wouldn’t fund the wall but are accepting the opening request as part of a broader plan that protects from deportation about 800,000 younger immigrants brought to the country as children and now here illegally.

The deal also would include restrictions on a program allowing immigrants to bring some relatives to the US. In an afternoon of drama and confusing developments, four other GOP lawmakers — including hardliners on immigration — were also in Trump’s office for Thursday’s meeting, a development sources said Durbin and Graham did not expect. It was unclear why the four Republicans were there, and the session did not produce the results the two senators were hoping for.

“There has not been a deal reached yet,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

THOUSANDS PROTEST FORMER PERU PRESIDENT’S PARDON LIMA, PERU Associated Press

THOUSANDS of Peruvians are demonstrating against the medical pardon that freed former strongman Alberto Fujimori from a 25-year prison sentence.

Thursday night’s protest in Lima marks the second time in less than a month that Peruvians have

taken to the streets to protest the pardon granted

by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Demonstrators carried signs with phrases like “Assassin Fujimori” and held photographs of the 25 Peruvians whose deaths the former president was convicted of playing a role in.

Fujimori was pardoned

on humanitarian grounds on Christmas Eve. He was released from a clinic less than two weeks later and in messages on Twitter has urged Peruvians to cast aside their bitterness.

Some Peruvians credit Fujimori with defeating the nation’s Maoist guerrillas, but others condemn him for permitting human rights abuses.

ACTORS wearing masks depicting former president Alberto Fujimori and former spy-chief Vladimiro Montesinos, left.