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VOLUME:117 No.138, JUNE 15TH, 2020

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‘AMBUSHED’ Police shoot three dead in car after they ‘fired at officer’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE SCENE at the police-involved shooting where three men were shot dead.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

GRIEF stricken family members reacted furiously after police killed three of their relatives on Saturday after an officer was “ambushed” by gunshots. The deaths marked the country’s deadliest police-involved killing since three men were killed in the Blair Estates community in May 2019.

The deceased include 25-yearold Deshoan Smith, also known as “Spider”, and two other men who went by the names “Ridah” and “Dog Bite”. The car in which the men were shot was riddled with bullets.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘SHOCKED’ DAMES BLASTS SANDS’ CRITICISM

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE lists show that 279 people are still missing after Hurricane Dorian, according to National Security Minister Marvin Dames.

Mr Dames revealed the number yesterday in a statement blasting former Health Minister Duane Sands for comments he made last week criticising the government’s handling

DAMES and, right, Sands of the search for those listed as missing in Hurricane Dorian.

The number given by Mr Dames yesterday is at odds with other figures given out

over recent months. On October 9, 2019 Mr Dames told The Tribune 282 people were missing.

On January 14, 2020, the-then commissioner of police Anthony Ferguson said missing person reports were filed for 54 people and last month during a Disaster Recovery Authority press conference Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash said missing person reports were filed for 33 people.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

INSIGHT

FRED SMITH: WE’LL PAY PRICE FOR OUR SHAMEFUL SILENCE

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

COWPEN ROAD ‘AMBUSH’

WE NEED PLANS TO TAKE US IN A NEW DIRECTION, SAYS REV MOSS

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

DISTRESSED family and friends of the men shouted as police cars left the scene following the shootings.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

CHAIRMAN of Bahamas Against Crime Reverend CB Moss is calling for the government and stakeholders to come together to “prepare plans” that would take policing in a “new direction”, following a recent police-involved shooting that left three men dead over the weekend.

On Saturday, police shot and killed three men on Cowpen Road after an officer was “ambushed” by a gunman. In a press statement yesterday, Rev Moss said the relevant stakeholders must meet to review and revamp the current policing policies used to govern the public.

“Enough is enough, a definite change must come,” the statement read.

It added: “While the details of this tragedy are still unclear, what is clear is that this state of affairs cannot continue.

With dozens of young men dying at the hands of the police in the past few years, Rev Moss is calling for an immediate summit with stakeholders to review this tragedy and prepare plans for a ‘new direction’ as it relates to policing the Bahamas.”

The statement said BAC warned the country that crime would “spike” after the emergency protocols were eased since the curfew

and lockdowns were suppressing criminal activity for the time being.

BAC further called for action from the government, warning that if they failed to do so in a timely manner, they would “pay a greater price later.”

“Crime is soaring and will become worse,” the statement continued. “Another police strategy, as promised, is not the answer. All stakeholders, including the communities must come together now to chart the way forward as it relates to public safety in the Bahamas.”

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said Saturday’s shooting occurred after officers on patrol observed a white Honda Accord parked in the eastern section of Spikenard Cemetery.

“Officers went on foot,” he said at the time. “As they approached the vehicle, the vehicle drove off.

Officers then got back into their vehicle and left. A short while later, driving on Cowpen Road again, they saw the vehicle through a side corner.

“They stopped and exited their vehicle. One of the officers approached what we believe to be the driver’s door, as the vehicle is heavily tinted. As he stood there attempting to speak with the driver, shots began to be discharged from the rear seat.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 3

COWPEN ROAD ‘AMBUSH’

Police shoot three dead in car after they ‘fired at officer’ from page one

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said authorities suspect the men were waiting off Cowpen Road to target someone who was attending a burial ceremony. “There was a funeral taking place at the Spikenard cemetery when officers who were on patrol observed a white Honda Accord parked in the eastern section of the cemetery,” he told reporters on Saturday.

“Officers went on foot.

As they approached the vehicle, the vehicle drove off. Officers then got back into their vehicle and left.

A short while later, driving on Cowpen Road again, they saw the vehicle through a side corner. They stopped and exited their patrol vehicle and one of the officers approached what we believe would’ve been the driver door, as the vehicle is heavily tinted. As he stood there attempting to speak with the driver, shots began being discharged from the rear seat. That officer then as he attempted to make his escape, the other officers that were there then engaged the participants

of the vehicle who continued shooting at the officers. Once the shooting stopped we made a check and observed three persons inside the vehicle were suffering from gunshot injuries. We summoned EMS and EMS arrived on the scene a short time later and three of the persons in the vehicle were deceased.”

Commissioner Rolle said of the three officers on the scene, one of them discharged bullets, not the other two. He did not say which of the officers discharged their weapons but noted that none of the officers were injured. The officer who approached the car “was able to get out of the way,” he said, adding: “I think the tint on the car might have assisted with the bullet like that.”

Commissioner Rolle said one weapon, a pistol, was recovered from the car.

Several dozen people huddled yards from the shooting and began screaming in anger as police left the scene in their cars. The mother of one of the men said “police shoot that car up, they meant to kill them” while others called authorities “wicked”.

The mother, who did not give her name, said the car belonged to her son, who she said was 28.

She said while the men were “known to police” she did not think they were the type to shoot at officers.

“And the thing about it is, they known to police of course, so they definitely ain’ the type that will pull gun and shoot at policeman,” she said. “They know ‘bout going spending 48 hours, 94 hours (in custody) and come out so they ain’ gon’ do that, so tell policeman they got to come with another story.”

Another relative insisted “no shots came from out (of) the (deceased’s) car.”

The police-involved killing comes as people around the world protest police brutality and excessive force. It also comes after Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles warned in a ruling that discharging weapons should be a last resort.

On Saturday, the police chief said the event in question is not like the incident referenced in Justice Charles’ ruling. He said Saturday’s shooting involved suspects who “ambushed” and “engaged” police.

THE THREE victims, believed to be Deshoan Smith, also known as ‘Spider’, and two other men who went by the names of ‘Ridah’ and ‘Dog Bite’. Top: The car riddled with bullets.

“I saw that report from the learned judge,” Commissioner Rolle said. “This is not that type of situation here today. This is a situation where an officer was ambushed and we train our officers. You would’ve attended the graduation ceremony just last week where I’m in the process of retraining all officers on the frontline in tactical policing, how to appropriately approach vehicles, how to appropriately apprehend suspects. We don’t train with rubber bullets.

If persons want to engage the members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force they need to be prepared to meet their maker. I’m not training my officers to go out there, I would like for them to return home at the end of the day when they come to work.”

He also said: “I give you the facts as they are. I’ve been following the issues around what has happened in the United States and what has caused this whole thing and that has been a concern. I have been, as I said, we are retraining officers in the whole art of justifiable force and harm and we are retraining and we want the public

to know that we don’t just walk around with a firearm looking for somebody to shoot. The Police Act says the commissioner of police would determine the types of arms that are required for his officers to do their job. We are also exploring some other non-lethal methods but for right now what we have are officers who are armed with firearms. It used to be batons, I don’t think we want officers to go on the roads nowadays with batons.

Everybody riding three deep, four deep, trying to rob people and cause harm.”

The police-involved killing happened on the first Saturday in months where Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ COVID-19

lockdown measures were not in force. Increasing criminal activity as normalcy resumes in the country is a concern, Commissioner Rolle said.

“I have beefed up the presence on the streets and I would advise persons who are interested in violence to change their minds and just stay home because it is very likely that they are going to be apprehended or even have a confrontation,” he said. “We don’t want a confrontation. We’re not going to sit by and allow our officers to be injured or members of the public.

Wherever we can help, our role is to ensure the safety of every person moving in this society.”

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 4, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

BAHA MAR WILL NOT REOPEN UNTIL OCTOBER

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

BAHA MAR has announced it will not resume operations until October and will carry out additional staff cuts.

The luxury hotel property says it has postponed reopening in light of the “evolving nature” of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to its employees last week, Baha Mar also announced the resort will be carrying out additional staff cuts. “Due to the many variables resulting from the evolving nature

of COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Baha Mar’s reopening and hope to resume operations in October of 2020,” the statement read.

It added: “It is our hope that in prolonging our closing, we are setting the stage for a more successful reopening, one that will provide the much-needed economic relief and longterm stability we all depend on. In addition to creating robust COVID-19 safety plans, we are monitoring bookings and travel demand as we strategise the

exact date to reopen and adjust staffing needs.”

Baha Mar said the resort is committed to providing an ex-gratia payment for up to an additional 90 days at 30 percent of employees’ base compensation, in addition to the funds workers would receive from the National Insurance Board.

According to the statement, the resort will also continue to pay insurance premiums necessary to maintain health insurance and life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage of its workers.

In the letter to its employees last week, Baha Mar president Graeme Davis said that the resort’s delayed reopening was one of the “most difficult decisions” resort officials have had to make in the property’s relatively young history.

“In March, we committed to support you as best we can for up to 90 days,” the letter read. “As we near the end of this 90-day period, we will be making additional staffing reductions to align staffing levels with projected business volume upon reopening.

At the end of June, we will

communicate to the individuals being impacted by the staffing reduction to discuss what we will do to support and assist you in making your transition as smooth as possible. We look forward to bringing as many of you back as possible, once our business returns to preCOVID-19 levels.”

When contacted for comment, Director of Labour John Pinder told The Tribune that Baha Mar’s delayed reopening was partially due to low booking rates. “The only thing I can say is we were hoping that when the government gave

the first 30-day extension, that that would have put Baha Mar in some position to start to position themselves to reopen,” he said.

“I guess that wasn’t sufficient time, because from what I’ve heard from them, they don’t have any bookings. And so they had to make a decision to delay their opening until October when they have some bookings.”

Mr Pinder said the “most important thing” the resort could do was make sure current staff members are “retrained to be rehired” once they reopen.

DON’T ALLOW UNTESTED PEOPLE IN, SAY DOCTORS

By RASHAD ROLLE & FARRAH JOHNSON

STALLS reopened at Arawak Cay on Friday.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net AFTER a near three-month closure, vendors and stall owners at Potter’s Cay Dock and Arawak Cay were allowed to reopen for business on Friday.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis made the announcement earlier this month - although no indoor seating is allowed at this point. All restaurants must also follow industry COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.

At Arawak Cay, social distancing markers were seen at one vendor, hand sanitisers were spotted, and some were wearing face masks. Samuel Rolle, manager at Fish Central, admitted to The Tribune the business has lost some money due to the closure. “We lost a lot of money,” he said. “I have a lot of staff and stuff like that and right now I can’t bring them all back to work right now because of what’s going. I wish I could bring all my staff back to work but I can’t do that right now, so I’ll try my best to rotate it and see what I could do to help out.

“I haven’t let nobody go yet, okay. So everybody still on hold on because you never know what could happen. I mean it’s a little rough because right now we can’t sit nobody inside, okay. We only could do curbside or takeouts, or you could sit on benches or upstairs on the balcony.”

Vice-president of the Arawak Cay Business Association and owner of Candie’s Enterprises

Cay stall holders are happy to be back in business Lillian Laramore Smith said she was excited to be back and see Bahamians socialising despite social distancing.

However, she noted the gates were closed at first. After the vendors rallied and several calls were made, the gates were opened. “When the prime minister said we’re open and if the prime minister closed us down and then opened us back up that means the prime minister is meaning open the gates back up,” she said.

She also expressed grievances with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. She said: “The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has a vision for Arawak Cay -that vision is not the vision of the vendors of Arawak Cay. We business owners just like the Chinese and all the other places so we get to make decision.

“We have a lease agreement with the government, we don’t pay rent like Potter’s Cay, so

Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for Potter’s Cay with their collections of funds and maintenance but the only thing they do for Arawak Cay is maintain the bathroom the grounds, the removal of garbage – they’re not in charge of the vendors.”

Meanwhile at the Potter’s Cay Dock, some of the stall owners were unable to open. According to Edward McPhee, of Bangs Fresh Fish and Conch Restaurant and Bar, this was due to renovations and still trying to meet the requirements of the government.

“Potter’s Cay itself has been experiencing difficulties from last year, a couple years in fact,” he said. “We had not recuperated since then and with the hurricane and then now the COVID it was worst. Some of us are really struggling, myself included, we are really struggling to meet the demands that government requires.”

Nicola Sands, of the Doc

Sands stall, said there is still work to be done at Potter’s Cay Dock but thinks the measures for stall owners will be for the betterment of the customers.

She said: “With this COVID19, the stuff that we have to put in place for it, I think it would better the dock because a lot of people use to be scared to come to the dock or come by the dock and say the dock too dirty or whatever. I think it would be better now people could come the place will be cleaner, more professional.”

The dock’s regulars returning, such as 29-year-old Philisea, encouraged others to support businesses. “I took this opportunity to come as I was craving some grill conch. So it feels really great to some businesses open and getting back to normal and you know it’s a good sign that some persons are still employed here under the dock and they’re making an honest living,” she said.

ON THE day the Ministry of Health announced one additional case of COVID-19 - bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 104 - the Consultant Physician Staff Association announced it wants people abroad to be tested before they enter The Bahamas as countries around the world are experiencing surges in cases as restrictions are relaxed.

Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler, CPSA president, wrote in a statement: “The Consultant Physician Staff Association supports the phased in approach to the tourism reopening related to the COVID-19 pandemic however, there is grave concern regarding phase 2, starting July 1 as travellers coming to The Bahamas will no longer be required to have a negative COVID-19 PCR test or quarantine.”

The Minnis administration has not publicly confirmed that a COVID-19 negative test will not be required for entry to the country beginning July 1 with Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar saying recently that a decision on this has not yet been made.

Dr Pinder-Butler added: “The CPSA wishes to recommend continued COVID-19 testing prior to travel to the Bahamas. We further support mandated social distancing, wearing of masks, proper respiratory hygiene and routine hand sanitisation as these combined efforts will assist in minimising the potential cases of coronavirus in country. We also recommend strengthening the capacity for contact tracing and surveillance.”

The new case - a 66-year-old male in New Providence with a travel history - is the first reported in over a week.

While the ministry confirmed that the man has been hospitalised, officials did not say whether the case was a recent returnee to the country.

“There have been eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Grand Bahama, 82 confirmed cases in New Providence, one confirmed case in Cat Cay and 13 confirmed cases on the island of Bimini,” a statement read.

According to the latest dashboard, there are 68 recovered cases, 25 active cases and 11 COVID-19 related deaths.

In the last health press conference held by officials, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced that the country had begun transitioning into stage four of the government’s reopening plan.

Starting today, hair salons and barber shops are allowed to resume operations, but under highly restrictive conditions. Restaurants were allowed to re-open on Friday June 12 and cater to the general public once again, but only with outdoor seating. “This includes restaurants at the Arawak Cay Fish Fry, and Potter’s Cay Dock,” Dr Minnis said previously. “All restaurants must follow industry COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. Owners must ensure proper physical distancing.”

ARDASTRA GARDENS SET TO REMAIN CLOSED FAMILIES HELPED BY FEEDING PROGRAMME AS the tourism sector prepares for its July 1 reopening, one popular attraction will remain closed as it attempts to stave off worsening financial conditions triggered when business ground to a halt due to COVID-19.

In the worst crisis of Ardastra Gardens and Wildlife Conservation Centre’s 83-year history, its operators are no different from other business owners the world over who are desperate to figure out the way forward.

“Regrettably, we will not be reopening to the public in the short to mid-term future. Past struggles combined with the most current ones have brought us to a crossroads,” Ardastra’s director, Katherine Solomon announced on Friday.

“Although it appears to be a gloomy picture now, we are optimistic in the longer term,” said Mrs Solomon. “We have chosen to proceed in a slow and cautious way, adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach both locally and globally. We will continue to assess the situation, evaluate and to think creatively as to how we may move forward in a financially viable way.”

Ardastra closed its doors to the public on March 20.

However, a skeletal staff of animal-care specialists remained onboard to look after its 200 plus residents, representing 50 species.

“Our animal care team will continue to provide the same excellent care to the animals. We are still rescuing injured and orphaned animals and rehabbing

them for release. We are still working on our breeding programmes and we are still working on our training programmes,” said Mrs Solomon. “Our family of animals will always be our priority. Still, that work requires funding. For those Ardastra members supporting its efforts, the centre promised to reward them at a future date.

“Thanks to donors and members, we are able to continue doing this very valuable and worthwhile work for the community.

One hundred percent of any financial aid we receive goes to food and medical care. We deeply appreciate the support and encouragement and hope that it may continue through these unprecedented times,” said the director.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AS many as 7,000 families on Grand Bahama struggling with unemployment during COVID-19 have benefited from a local feeding programme that receives a weekly donation from a private charity.

Reach Out Youth Organization founder Dudley Seide, operator of Reach Out Community Centre, says he is “grateful” to the Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation (GBDRF) for their assistance in helping them feed thousands of families.

People line up around 5am daily at the centre on Banyon Lane, Freeport, for a weekly grocery package, valued at more than $200.

With an additional donation from GBDRF, Mr Seide and his team were able to feed more than 1,200 families. And now local businesses are also joining in to offer assistance. “When GBDRF solidified their weekly commitment, for which we are so grateful, it was easier for us to gain other assistance,” said Seide, who said this week they received more than $50,000 in donations from other businesses, including Sawyers, PharmaChem, Bahamas Wholesale Agency, and FOCOL. ROYO reaches families in need via WhatsApp and adds to the database based on information from other families. It provides food to 15 to 60 families per day.

“There’s no hoarding going on here,” said Mr

Seide. “Those who need help message their name, and the numbers and ages of people in their household, and we help the best we can.”

The GBDRF is the charitable arm of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA).

“COVID-19 has impacted all residents, including those who are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Dorian, and GBDRF has partnered with Reach Out Youth Organization (ROYO) to help feed thousands of struggling families,” according to a statement.

GBPA president Ian Rolle supports ROYO, a non-profit organisation. He commended Mr Seide for the efforts to feed struggling families.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 5

TIMING OF COMMENTS ‘AN INSULT’, SAYS ABACO RESIDENT

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net AN ABACO resident yesterday lambasted the timing of former Health Minister Dr Duane’s Sands comments which criticised how the government handled Hurricane Dorian victims that went missing after the storm.

Deborah Williams, a resident of Dundas Town, Abaco, said she did not agree with the timing of Dr Sands’ comments because she believed his response came a little too late.

“For me as an Abaconian, why now?” she told

The Tribune. “When you had the time to speak out you didn’t speak out. But now that you are no longer the minister, now you want to say what you got to say?

It isn’t sitting well with us Abaconians.”

While presenting in the House of Assembly last week, Dr Sands said the government has not explained how hundreds of names were removed from lists of people missing following Hurricane Dorian.

At the time, he also called for coroner’s inquests into the matter to bring closure to affected families.

“We started with a list of

several thousand persons missing,” he said during the budget debate. “That list was managed by the Ministry of Social Services. We ended with a missing persons list controlled by the RBPF that included less names than the number of unidentified persons buried. To this date, we do not know what happened to thousands or hundreds of names to be excluded from that initial list. There may be reasonable, justifiable reasons for pruning the list.

But those reasons and processes have not been shared and explained to the public.

Because of that process, we

from page one Police and government officials did not explain the discrepancies when contacted yesterday.

In the national assembly budget debate last week Dr Sands said the administration had squandered its credibility over the issue of the Dorian missing. In particular, he said officials have never explained how hundreds of names of people reported missing were culled from the official list of missing people and he urged the government to clarify matters on the number of people who died.

In his statement yesterday, Mr Dames said his ministry is “shocked and profoundly disappointed”

by Dr Sands’ comments.

“His recent remarks in the House are particularly surprising given that as the minister of health he played a leading role in the government’s Hurricane Dorian’s response and restoration,” he said.

“He was afforded every opportunity to voice his concerns about the process and offer solutions to improve it. In an interview with the Miami Herald on Sunday 8th September 2019, Dr Sands called information suggesting a cover-up ‘false’ and ‘unfortunate.’ In light of the aforesaid, the ministry finds the former minister’s most recent comments disingenuous. His comments malign the good name and reputation of the hard working men and women in uniform, who continue to this day to make sacrifices to help those families affected

by Dorian.”

“His recent comments are misleading and whether intentionally or unintentionally, impinge the good standing efforts of our nation in the eyes of the international community and to reopen up old wounds of people whose lives have been shattered as a result of this tragedy.”

Mr Dames said given the magnitude of the tragedy,

SEVENTY-FIVE people were repatriated to Haiti on Friday, the first repatriation of illegal immigrants since March when countries began implementing border closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Bahamasair flight to Portau-Prince included 67 men and eight women, according to the Department of Immigration.

The department said in a statement that the process was “seamless” and was overseen by Clarence Russell, director of immigration, and Dwight Beneby, assistant director of immigration with responsibility for operations.

The statement added: “This repatriation was postponed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The department will continue its commitment to carrying out the mandates of our agency to combat illegal migration by establishing effective border control management in compliance with the statute laws of our country.”

On Friday, Mr Russell told The Tribune repatriation exercises involving Chinese and Cuban nationals are next on the agenda.

operationalise systems to do better.”

Mrs Williams said while Abaconions “won’t stop until they get the truth,” many of them are still not pleased with Dr Sands’ comments.

When asked how she felt about his speech, she added: “From what I’ve heard a lot of people are really upset about his comments. It’s something he should’ve known, (but) he waited until all of this happened. So now they really want to know, where are the bodies? What did they do with the bodies if he knew so much?

“Most of the families feel like it’s an insult to them right now. They were trying to put this behind them and all of a sudden he spoke up, so now people are asking ‘Where is my family?’ It ain’t settling good with a lot of people.”

She added: “For some of them they want to know, but for me right now, we done been through enough and I don’t know what his agenda is why he chose to wait until now to say it what he did, but some people say leave it alone because it’s too painful and some people want to know where their family body is.”

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames, left, and former Health Minister Duane Sands

‘Shocked’ Dames blasts Sands’ criticism the government mobilized public and private sectors and sought assistance from the international community. He noted that by law the Royal Bahamas Police Force is responsible for the investigation of all people reported missing in the country and said the police partnered with other government agencies, non-governmental agencies and international experts to undertake “the very arduous task of compiling a list of missing individuals.”

75 REPATRIATED TO HAITI - THE FIRST SINCE BORDER CLOSURE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

have raised many questions and squandered credibility. “...People want to know why we have no DNA matches for those persons recently buried,” he said.

“The public deserves to know how many samples were taken, how many times have those samples been tested, and by whom?

Why is there no publicly accessible listing or database of missing persons?

What are the names of the people lost, the mothers, fathers and children? If we are to get closure as a country we must accept the loss, outline the process used, admit our missteps and

In mid-March, Bahamasair officials said Haitian government officials announced that people would not be allowed in the country due to the pandemic.

Earlier this month, unrest at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre had to be quelled after Haitians demanded to be returned to Haiti. A group of Haitians had started a hunger strike, demonstrating “belligerent behaviour”, according to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. That group included 67 men and 18 women, representing 56 percent of the population at the facility.

The RBDF said although marines de-escalated the situation, a fight later broke out between two Haitians. Some detainees then escaped their dormitories and destroyed several fences and minor infrastructure.

“The situation was contained, the detainees separated and several of them are expected to be charged with destruction of government property as well as to be placed at Her Majesty’s correctional facility,” the RBDF said. “Immigration and police officials are also actively engaged in their respective roles to address the situation.”

“From the onset,” he said, “it was a known fact that some people in search of missing relatives were making reports to agencies/ organisations other than the police including the Department of Social Services, the Red Cross and NEMA. The police immediately went to work to compile a centralized list which totalled 1,092 people from Grand Bahama and Abaco. Of the total, 24 were from Grand Bahama and 1,058 were from Abaco.”

“After the police took

receipt of the initial list and began their reconciliation work, they discovered that the list consisted not only of missing persons but also persons in need of housing assistance, persons reporting other crimes, persons who were displaced, and duplication of names. The number of persons falling within these categories totalled 813. The police missing persons list currently stands at 279. As the reconciliation process continues these numbers are expected to fluctuate.”

Mr Dames said fluctuations of missing person lists after such disasters are common, noting that the National Geographic reported last year that 14 years after Hurricane Katrina, officials were still trying to determine the number of missing persons. “Hurricane deaths are often difficult to fully quantify and numbers vary,” he said.

Mr Dames said police use flyers in English and Creole to encourage people to report sightings of missing

people and that PSAs are published online and in local media while the relevant communities are canvassed.

“At no time was any attempt made by the police or anyone else to delete any names off the list without first performing due diligence. If the former Minister or anyone else has information to prove otherwise the Ministry request that it be made public for all to see,” he said.

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 6, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Triple shooting by police must be fully investigated THREE men were shot dead by police this weekend.

That’s the simplest of facts about the shooting on Saturday. There are of course two sides to the rest of the story – but the shooting comes at a time of heightened tensions around the world about officer-involved killings.

In this column last week, we wrote about those tensions – and the question has been raised in more than one place why people care so much about officers who overstep the mark in the United States, but care so little about officers who do so here at home.

We do not know the full details yet of this latest incident. Police describe the incident as an ambush, saying that gunshots came from the car as an officer approached it. One relative of one of the men killed insisted that no shots came from the car. Someone is right, someone is wrong.

There are some curious inconsistencies in the story told by police, however.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said that the gunfire began as an officer approached the car and tried to speak to the driver through the tinted windows.

He said that officer tried to make his escape and at that point “the other officers that were there then engaged the participants of the vehicle who continued shooting at the officers”.

He then said only one of the three officers fired bullets, not the other two.

In what way then did the other two engage the occupants of the car.

Take a look at the photographs of the car published today. There are a significant number of bullet holes in the car.

One gun was found in the vehicle, and police say one police officer fired. Did all of those bullet holes come from just two guns? None of the police was injured, thankfully. All three men in the vehicle were killed, two of which presumably were unarmed.

Last week, a Supreme Court justice warned that discharging weapons should be a last resort – referring to a case of an officer who shot a man in his back.

That case took 13 years to reach that outcome.

Commissioner Rolle said this incident was nothing like that – saying this was an ambush, and saying that if people want to engage the police “they need to be prepared to meet their maker”.

He did not say whether the officers are being taken off duty while the investigation takes place – including the single officer who just killed three people who if he had no alternative then at the very least he needs counselling and not to be thrown back out on the streets. Commissioner Rolle also did not detail how any review of the incident might be conducted. Is that it?

As we said earlier, there are two sides to the story. Where police have opened fire, and others have questioned whether there were shots fired on police in the first place, a thorough investigation is not just warranted, but demanded.

This also serves as another example of why we should have body cameras on officers by now. If everything was as outlined by Commissioner Rolle, video evidence would quickly and simply resolve the matter.

We would also say that it shows the need for a standard protocol when incidents such as this happen – taking officers off the front line while an investigation takes place and publishing all the evidence so that people can have confidence that there was nothing else that could have been done, the only solution was to use deadly force.

This should not end here. There should be a full investigation. But this also shows the need for the reforms people have been calling for. Isn’t it about time they were delivered?

Hundreds missing after Dorian HUNDREDS of people are still missing after Hurricane Dorian. Hundreds.

And yet, in revealing that information, National Security Minister Marvin Dames chooses to target Dr Duane Sands for criticism.

We don’t recall him speaking up to counter then Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson in January when he said 54 missing persons reports had been filed.

We don’t remember him correcting Assistant Commissioner Solomon Cash when he said that 33 missing persons reports had been filed.

Police still didn’t have an explanation yesterday for those apparent discrepancies when contacted yesterday by The Tribune.

Instead, Mr Dames criticised Dr Sands for asking why the lists of names had gone from thousands to hundreds, and said the lists also had people who weren’t missing but just needed housing, PLANS to reopen the tourism industry provoked some strong reaction on tribune242.com. Here’s what paulhummerman had to say: “When the waters are stormy and potentially fatal you start in the shallow end. Surely it makes sense to start cautiously, initially requiring negative tests for entry to the country. If after a couple of months everything is still fine, then relax requirements, first only for residents who can self quarantine, then, as numbers in the US fall drastically, open the spigot to masked tourists. There are currently 24 active cases in the

or people reporting crimes or who were displaced, or duplication. He said 813 people fell into those categories. That took them out of a list that had 1,092 names on it. That comes to 279 still missing.

He added that numbers are expected to fluctuate “as the reconciliation process continues”, although we are now many months past Dorian and hope has long been spent.

Hurricane Dorian was no one’s fault.

Blame might be directed at preparations and response, but this monster storm that sat over Abaco and Grand Bahama was not the fault of the government.

So why not be completely transparent over establishing exactly how badly wounded our nation was by the storm?

People want to have answers. People want to grieve. People want to feel they are being taken seriously as they search for their missing relatives.

That is not too much to ask.

Bahamas. Since around 0.4 % of Americans currently have active infections, it would only take just over a thousand tourists to double the number of infections.”

Porcupine responded with: “Exponential growth does not work that way, Paul. It will only take one tourist, who contacts how many, and then those contact how many. Starting off slowly doesn’t matter so long as we are not testing,

and have gotten very lax in our recommended social distancing and mask wearing.” lovingbahamas added: “The current rule for private pilots and boats to enter requiring a covid test is insane. Furthermore, they just announced this on Thursday with 4 days until the 15th. It is conceivable that you would be entering the Bahamas with a stale 15 day old test which only wastes tests. The only reason that they are requiring this is political since they are requiring people travelling on commercial aircraft to have a Covid test.”

Looks like Columbus has overstayed his tourist visa EDITOR, The Tribune THE latest in a long line of protests for equality in the United States has pricked the consciences of some here who are again questioning the symbols of veneration that dot our landscape.

None stands out more than the sculpture of the Italian sailor who in 1492 got lost on a Spanish government funded expedition to find the East Indies and ended up on a tiny island here that the inhabitants called Guanahani.

Three hundred and thirty-eight years later, in 1830, a statue to Christopher Columbus was erected at the base of steps leading up Mount Fitzwilliam to Government House.

The House was then 107 years old and the British occupant, Sir James Carmichael Smyth, newly arrived at the time, was responsible for its installation. The statute was reportedly designed in London by an American and is more reflective of the stereotypical bias of that time. It is hard to imagine that a 15th century Italian would present himself dressed as one of the Spanish conquistadors who came in the 16th century.

It is an example, perhaps, of the inadequate teaching in our public and private schools that some see nothing wrong with having this man venerated as a national symbol.

There is a monument erected to Columbus on the beach in San Salvador where he first set foot in this hemisphere. It is only right that the spot is marked with a cross, ostensibly to offer up prayers for the death and destruction that followed Columbus on his first trip over and the three others that followed.

Because of its overall significance to world history, we should petition the United Nations to have Guanahani declared a

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net UNESCO World Heritage site with a more appropriate, elaborate and tourism friendly monument and museum erected.

Historians agree that Columbus was no hero. He got lost on his way to Asia where he was hoping to find gold, steal it and take it to Europe.

We can logically debate whether discover best describes what happened in 1492. Neil Armstrong didn’t discover the Moon when he landed there in 1969 and astronomers last year merely confirmed the existence of a new planet six times larger than Earth and named it GJ 357.

To discover something is to confirm the hypothesis that it already existed.

Columbus knew other lands existed beyond the European coast or he would not have set out on a fool’s errand. His significance to history is of no greater importance to us than it is to mankind, connecting a new world with the old one.

History cannot deny our place in that story.

We are now shaping the modern Bahamas. This new modernity is just 60 years old and while we have done a lot to correct injustices of the past, we still have a long way to go.

Properly removing the statute of Columbus from Government House front entrance and perhaps having him look out at the sea from another venue is more than appropriate for these times.

We can debate whether a replacement statute is needed for that spot and if so, who that person (or persons) ought to be.

They should be deserving of such high honour and they should be Bahamian.

The name Milo Butler,

Government House’s first Bahamian occupant, should be on everyone’s shortlist.

While we are at it, we should uproot the statute of Queen Victoria in Parliament Square. How about we commission a statute depicting a circle of black, brown, white and Asian children playing in the sun, at the entrance to Parliament so that politicians are constantly reminded of the next generation for whom they are fighting?

Victoria gets undue credit for freeing the slaves in the British colonies which is dubious at best because the Slavery Abolition Act in the UK was passed in 1833 and the Emancipation Act in 1834, three years before she became Queen.

If we still want to honour British people who were instrumental in the abolitionist movement then let’s lift up William Wilberforce, a profoundly Christian man who opposed slavery on faith grounds. Or Sir Thomas Buxton who campaigned against slavery and never took his foot off the pedal, calling slavery “repugnant to the principles of the Christian religion”.

And we should be prepared to go deeper than the figures history has taught us to like. The same historians made a hero out of Blackbeard, an English pirate who terrorized merchant ships in our waters.

Not a peep is made of Henry Caesar, known as Black Caesar, a Robin Hood type pirate said to have been a Bahamian who operated between here, Cuba and Florida. The Floridians named a Cay after him.

It’s time we rename a Cay for Black Caesar. Given the similarities in its recent history, how about Norman’s Cay? THE GRADUATE Nassau, June 14, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 7

CALL TO HELP VICTIMS OF SUSPECTED ARSON ATTACK

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A RELATIVE is calling for donations to help the victims of a suspected arson attack. Gail Hanna, cousin of 57-year-old quadriplegic Michael Wells, took to Facebook to ask for funds after the incident last week.

Last Tuesday, Mr Wells and his father - who suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease - were in their

house when someone allegedly entered and threw a substance on the roof in an attempt to light the house on fire.

Ms Hanna, who calls Mr Wells her uncle, said she was shocked when she heard the news. “It was disturbing to try to consider the gravity of what he was saying had happened. The article came online the next day, and I saw the photo of the burnt ceiling,” she said.

“My uncle would have been burned alive in his home, unable to assist him or to call for assistance.

To me, it takes a truly disturbed person to commit this act, regardless of what the intention is. I am grateful that there was no loss of life, and I have an opportunity to try to turn this into a positive and help my uncle.”

Although her uncle is waiting on an official

estimate of the damage, Ms Hanna said it was roughly calculated to cost about $2,000 - including material and labour. She did not have an exact amount of how much was raised so far as Mr Wells’ account is managed by his caretaker and his parents.

She thanked those who have donated or expressed their intent to donate. She also thanked those who expressed interest in buying

Ash raid: Goods seized are to be preserved

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE Comptroller of Customs and the Office of Attorney General have agreed to preserve the goods that were seized from Jonathan Ash after he was charged for violating the emergency orders earlier this year.

In April, the contractor was fined $7,000 for selling alcohol in breach of the national curfew and emergency orders put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, the attorneys representing Ash, the Comptroller of Customs and the Office of the Attorney General appeared before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bowe Darville, after Ash took legal action against the former over the preservation of his seized goods.

Before the hearing could play out, both parties chose to “take a certain position”. This occurred after they agreed that the goods

seized from Ash would be preserved “until the issue was spoken to” at a later date.

Tony Scriven, the lawyer representing Ash, told The Tribune that his client still stood on the claim that his goods were illegally seized.

Ash was not present during the hearing.

This newspaper also attempted to reach out to David Higgins, one of the lawyers representing the Comptroller of Customs and the Office of the Attorney General, but he declined to comment.

Ash, pictured, was arrested several weeks ago after a video went viral on social media showing a man in a liquor store selling alcohol, despite orders being issued to prevent such stores from doing so, as part of the country’s COVID-19 response. In the footage, store staff in the video could be seen wearing masks while taking orders for beer and rum.

A marked police car was also seen parked near the premises.

Mr Wells’ books. He has a book series called The Unicorn and was in the 2008 Bahamian film, “I Am Not a Dummy”, that showed his life and work.

Ms Hanna added: “There are many people in our families who deal with the struggle of having a disability, whether it be physically or otherwise, on a regular basis. The added pressure of this quarantine period can wear on them in

even more ways than you can imagine. I would also encourage people to keep the mental health of those in our community in mind, as we keep our own. The fact is that someone who is doing well mentally would not think to do something like this, no matter the intent. Make sure to check in on your people.”

For information on how to make a donation, email ebowleg@tribunemedia.net.

24-YEAR-OLD CHARGED WITH ARMED ROBBERY

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

ANTONIO Murray outside court last week Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

A 24-YEAR-OLD man was charged with armed robbery in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Antonio Murray appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after he was accused of stealing a $100 Alcatel cell phone and a wallet containing $1,525 in cash from Jerome Young on June 5. He was also charged with dishonestly receiving $200 from Mr Young that same day.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 9 o‘clock on the night in question, a man

in the area of Anderson Street was accosted by six masked men. Police said one of the men was armed with a cutlass while another was armed with what appeared to be a handgun. The man was robbed of a sum of cash and other personal items.

During the hearing, Murray was not required to enter a plea and the case was adjourned to October 14 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Bail was denied and the defendant was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

MAN ADMITS ASSAULT WITH CUTLASS

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 30-YEAR-OLD man was charged with causing harm in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Michael Thompson appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after he was accused of injuring Wilfred Farrington in the face with a cutlass on June 3.

Prosecutor Samantha Miah said Mr Farrington told officers he was walking through a shortcut in the vicinity of Wilson Track on the night in question, when he was approached by the accused who took a cutlass and chopped him in the face. Sgt Miah said the men began to struggle and Mr Farrington’s girlfriend ran to a nearby residence to get help. Acting

on this information, officers arrested Thompson. During an interview with police at a nearby station, he admitted to assaulting Mr Farrington with a cutlass, but claimed that the complainant tried to attack him with a knife. According to the prosecution, Mr Farrington sustained a 10cm laceration to the left side of his face during the argument.

During the hearing, Thompson was represented by attorney Ian Cargill. He told the magistrate that his client was a self-employed father of two who had the sole responsibility of caring for his children and “sickly mother.” He also said that Thompson was extremely remorseful for his actions.

Mr Farrington was also present at Thompson’s arraignment. When given

an opportunity to speak, he told the magistrate that due to his injury, his vision was “fuzzy.” He also said that he needed surgery for a fractured bone in his face.

“I seek justice, jail time and compensation,” he told the magistrate on Friday. “I could’ve died and I take this seriously. I have two kids and I am the breadwinner (of my house). I also have rent to pay and I don’t know what I’ll tell my landlord next week, because I don’t have the money.”

As a result, Magistrate FergusonPratt adjourned the case to give Mr Farrington an opportunity to provide the court proof of his salary and his rental contract before she imposed a penalty on the accused.

Thompson will return to court on June 15 to be sentenced.

HAITIAN PAIR ACCUSED OF PUTTING CHILD IN HARM’S WAY

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A HAITIAN man and woman were charged in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday with assaulting another woman and putting her child in harm’s way.

Jeffery Lubin, 24, and Rosana Noel, 52, appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis after they were accused of assaulting Francesa Sanon and exposing her twomonth-old baby to grievous harm on June 7. The pair pleaded guilty to the charges and the case was adjourned to June 24 for sentencing.

Prosecutor Lakesia Moss said that the male

defendant was Ms Sanon’s boyfriend, while the female defendant was her mother.

She said Ms Sanon went to her mother, Rosana Noel, with her baby on June 7, because she and Lubin had got into an argument the day before. Lubin also went to the house and the pair ended up sleeping there, because it was late and the weekend lockdown had come into effect. While there, Lubin told Rosana Noel that he believed Ms Sanon was cheating on him. Inspector Moss said Noel took Lubin’s side, so Ms Sanon decided to leave the house with her baby. While walking out, Lubin grabbed her hand and started

dragging her back inside.

At the time, Ms Sanon was still holding on to her child with one hand while screaming for help. Noel then went out of the house and attacked Ms Sanon by punching and hitting her from the back. As a result, Ms Sanon fell on top of her baby. The complainant’s two-year-old child was also pushed and fell during the argument. Noel then grabbed the baby from Ms Sanon, before slapping her and going back inside the house with the two children. Inspector Moss said bystanders recorded the incident and the police were called. At some point, Noel gave the baby back to Ms Sanon. The baby

GUNMEN ROB TWO WOMEN IN CAR POLICE are looking for two suspects who robbed two women on Friday.

According to a police report, two women were sitting in a silver Nissan Cube in front of a home off Soldier Road when two gunmen accosted them shortly before 8pm. The thieves stole the women’s car and personal property.

• IN Grand Bahama, a man and a woman were arrested after they were found with marijuana.

Police said officers of the Northeastern Division along with officers from the Fire branch executed a search warrant at a home on East Indianman Road in on Friday. The occupants of the home were arrested after police found a “significant amount” of marijuana, police said.

• AN illegal firearm has been found by police officers. The officers were led to Dowdeswell Street, near the Eastern Parade grounds, shortly before 6pm on Thursday, where they conducted a search.

Officers retrieved a black and grey Beretta pistol.

• A MAN was arrested

by police who seized a quantity of dangerous drugs on Thursday. Officers from the mobile unit in the area of East Bay Street, acting on information, conducted a search of a man shortly before 4pm. A plastic bag containing a quantity of suspected marijuana was found. He was arrested.

was bleeding and had a cloth around his face. An ambulance was called and the infant was hospitalised. Inspector Moss said the baby required surgery and had an infection in his eye. PC 3865 Saunders, the investigating officer for the case, also said the child was still listed as “fairly stable”, and had a face injury that was in the process of healing. Officer Saunders said that the baby had also suffered bruising to one of his lungs.

During the hearing, Lubin was represented by

attorney Ian Cargill, while Noel was represented by attorney Keith Bell. Mr Cargill told the magistrate that his client was remorseful for his actions and did not intend to hurt the child.

Mr Bell also noted that Noel was the grandmother of the child and stated that that fact was “more than sufficient punishment,” since she had to live with the incident for the rest of her life.

Ms Sanon was present at the arraignment. After reviewing the video of the argument, Magistrate

Rolle-Davis gave her the opportunity to give a victim advocacy statement to share what she believed would be an appropriate punishment for the defendants. Ms Sanon appeared visibly distraught during the hearing and could not give a response. As a result, Magistrate Rolle-Davis adjourned the matter to June 24 to give Ms Sanon some time to think. He said the court would also use the time to retrieve an updated medical report to see whether the baby’s injuries were life threatening.

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

By FREDERICK R M SMITH, QC TRAGICALLY, police and Immigration abuse, oppression and brutality in The Bahamas remain systemic, ubiquitous, unreformed, unrelenting, unaccountable and unapologetic. PLP and FNM governments alike do nothing about it!

I am proud that Human Rights Bahamas and my firm, Callenders, shepherd the claims of hundreds of victims through the courts seeking justice. Historically, the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association and my firm have decried abuse and sought justice for decades.

Yet, the abuse continues unabated! I commend other lawyers who continue to pursue justice in an “InJustice System” which is heavily stacked against victims. The government invariably defends, delays and obstructs; and with no legal aid, no jury trials and no contingency fees, it is a herculean task to succeed.

In April 2019, the Tribune Insight published my article entitled, “The Ugly Truth About Police Brutality”. Everything I said then, holds true today.

In a Judgment last week

by Judge Indra Charles, the Supreme Court found the police liable for damages for injuries to Jermaine Rahming who was repeatedly shot from behind.

The judge ruled that “To pull a trigger… must be a measure of last resort”.

Damages will be assessed in September.

Last Saturday, three men in a vehicle were shot to death by police on Cowpen Road in Nassau. The facts surrounding these killings are unclear. I call on the Commissioner for full transparency.

The videos of police brutality going viral in the wake of George Floyd’s death are typical of what has been going on for decades in The Bahamas, with little outcry. Bahamians have added their voices to the Black Lives Matter protests in the US and worldwide – a commendable show of solidarity with victims of the twin scourges of law enforcement brutality and ethnic discrimination. Less admirable, and baffling, is the contrast between this show of righteous indignation over atrocities perpetrated abroad, and the veil of stubborn silence and fatuous denial which continues to be drawn across our own dark culture of official violence.

The routine practice of

It’s only a matter of time before we pay the price for our shameful silence ON Saturday, three men in a vehicle were shot to death by police on Cowpen Road in Nassau.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

police beating, terrorising and torturing suspects is so well established that its features have become staples of our national lexicon.

Most Bahamians, regardless of whether they’ve ever faced arrest, can recount with an air of authority the most frequently-used methods, name a few notorious uniformed abusers and even describe in detail a certain dank cell in the bowels of most police stations where these horrors take place.

Meanwhile, and increasingly so over the past few years, police officers have adopted a policy of “shoot first and ask questions later” with few to no consequences, despite the many witnesses willing to cry official murder. According to their own statistics, there were 245 complaints about police conduct in 2018– a shocking number in such a small country. Officials produce no equivalent

stats regarding complaints against Immigration officers, because sadly, their victims are not deemed valuable enough to warrant official protection or even concern.

We are all well acquainted with these ugly truths, but the vast majority of Bahamians act as if they are blissfully unaware. Most pretend to believe anyone injured while in official custody must have fallen suddenly ill, that he or she had those bruises prior to arrest, that it is just a coincidence when dozens of accused persons sign confessions while in a cell, only to plead innocence later in court.

We act as if we believe the police can be trusted, that an Immigration officer would never take advantage of a helpless woman or child, that the government would never allow such injustices, that our society isn’t really like the U.S. Not us – we would never arbitrarily abuse and victimise the marginalised and helpless. It is truly terrible to consider, during even my 43 years at the Bar, how many thousands of young people have been driven to a life of crime and violence in response to their abuse and traumatisation at the hands of the authorities.

It is even more horrifying to contemplate how the rest of us aided and abetted in this process over the years.

Consider also the damage we have done to the rule of law, to respect for the fundamental rights enshrined in the Bahamas Constitution – these cornerstones of our democracy and prerequisites for the kind of civilised and progressive society which so many Bahamians aspire to, but which continues to elude us.

Why is it that Bahamians consider police brutality in the United States to be a shocking crime against humanity, but deem the very same behaviour here, unworthy of taking a stand against? Obviously, cases like that of George Floyd

highlight the serious problem of racial discrimination on the part of white officers against African Americans and other minorities in the U.S. But the real issue is not so much the identity of the perpetrators, as it is that of the victims – individuals already disadvantaged by class and institutional discrimination who have little to no recourse to justice.

This is precisely the situation in The Bahamas, where victims of official abuse are almost always poor, black, working class people who cannot afford lawyers to protect their rights. It amounts to the victimisation of an entire segment of our population, precisely because of who they are.

The fact that there is not a clear skin-colour divide between the oppressors and the oppressed should not be allowed to disguise the fact this is discrimination, pure and simple. If you think that race doesn’t play a part in it, ask the RBPF what percentage of those who file complaints against them are white. Or rich. But then, we can already guess the answer.

This discriminatory aspect is even more pronounced when you consider the decades-long campaign of wholesale terror perpetrated against Haitians and Bahamians of Haitian descent in this country. People are regularly detained without proper cause, subjected to fear and intimidation, have their homes and property violated, are beaten, sexually abused, stigmatised and discriminated against precisely because of their ethnic identity. The vast majority of the victims of these despicable acts by the Immigration Department did nothing wrong. They are not illegal immigrants.

Their only crime was “not having papers”, having a Haitian sounding name, or looking “too Haitian”.

We must ask ourselves, how long can police and Immigration officers continue to act like thugs and outlaws before sparking a

large-scale violent backlash? If Bahamians think they have it bad now in terms of serious crime, they should pause and consider what widespread and violent civil unrest on our streets would look like.

This is not fantasy or alarmist rhetoric – just look at what is happening today worldwide.

It should not be necessary to warn Bahamians who are paying close attention to global events: It is only a matter of time before we reap what we sow. And maybe that’s for the best – perhaps civil unrest, rioting and looting is exactly what we deserve as penance for our shameful silence and cowardly acceptance of regular official atrocities.

Perhaps that is the only way we will learn to face up to our demons and confront the sordid reality of our entrenched culture of victimisation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Those among us who can admit - first and foremost to themselves – that they are ashamed of the way in which we have condoned and facilitated official violence and brutality for decades, because it was socially and politically expedient to do so, can join together as a force dedicated to speaking truth to power and advocating for meaningful change.

We could start by acknowledging we have a serious problem and that most of us have been complicit in its perpetuation.

When asked about police brutality last year, former Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson said officers who abuse their power are a reflection of failed parenting. Officers are recruited from the Bahamian populous, and the public must realise that “you only gone get what you give us”, he said. The first step, then, is simply to look in the mirror and ask some hard questions about what we find there.

Step Two must involve a commitment to something that has been sorely

lacking in our public education system – a syllabus that ensures every young Bahamian understands their rights and freedoms under the Constitution. The next step is to place pressure on the government to ensure official violence carries real punishment for the officers in every case, and that those who expose it are respected, heeded and protected.

Sadly, FNM administrations have a reputation for harsh policing tactics and an almost military approach to law enforcement. The present incarnation is no exception, with brutality claims and police-involved killings skyrocketing in recent years. If there is to be a necessary change in attitudes, history does not suggest the current government will be its source.

It is up to the Minnis Administration to prove me wrong. All that is needed is a little courage and the political will to intervene and make the eradication of police and Immigration brutality an urgent priority for its remaining two years in office. In addition, public prosecutors and judges must stop turning a deaf ear to the hundreds of accused persons, from diverse backgrounds, neighbourhoods and islands, who come before the courts telling tales of brutality and violence that are uncannily similar in even the smallest details. These claims must be taken seriously and investigated, rather than ignored or dismissed as falsehoods.

Finally, PM Minnis and Ministers Dames and Johnson must urgently create, by law, an independent Police and Immigration Complaint Commission and provide training in civil rights, sensitivity and psychological evaluation of officers.

My FNM government, please don’t forget to finally make good in this term, on the regular pre-election broken promises by past FNM and PLP administrations of a Human Rights Ombudsman!

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

By MALCOLM STRACHAN IT IS no secret that success in the hotel business is a simple numbers game – the quantity of heads in beds. Hence, we should all hopefully be able to understand what Baha Mar’s delayed opening until October means in the grand scheme of things. Sure, most of us are sick of this new normal. No one is a fan of the lockdowns and the unencumbered authority held by the prime minister during the state of emergency. And certainly, no one wants to be laid off or have their business shuttered. All of this is totally understandable.

Our economic problems explain why we are so eager for border controls to be lifted and for tourists to return but the danger is this could only make matters worse.

With a general theme in the US surrounding the falling away of maintaining physical distancing measures – particularly in states such as Florida where the vast majority of our visitors hail from – we are playing a high stakes game of Russian roulette. As former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands says, it is definitely a gamble amid increasing COVID-19 cases in Florida.

What is troubling is how little discussion around this is being had by the government. Or if there is discussion, the Bahamian people aren’t being let in on those conversations.

Everyone is so hellbent on reopening that little consideration is being given to what we are welcoming and who we’re putting at risk.

Surprisingly, and as difficult a decision it certainly must have been, Baha Mar President Graeme Davis announced the resort will not be opening for the next three months. Stating the resort’s commitment to continue paying employees over the period, we can appreciate that a six-month haemorrhaging in any industry is difficult. Particularly when your business model is so heavily reliant on uncontrollable variables such as the health of your customers – and perhaps even more important, your staff.

This, if nothing else, should help those who are only pushing for the country to return to what it was before to see that it is just not a realistic proposition right now and possibly for the near future. COVID19 has turned the old world on its head and Bahamians, due to our lack of diversification of revenue streams, will suffer if America doesn’t get its house in order.

Just as foreshadowed in this space weeks ago when Americans would have been celebrating Memorial Day weekend, a resurgence has taken place in COVID19 cases.

Individuals’ desires to live “normally”

INSIGHT

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 PAGE 9

Opening the borders is a high risk game we could live to regret

BAHA Mar President Graeme Davis announced the resort will not be opening for the next three months and ignore social distancing guidelines, along with the mass protests, are currently creating the perfect storm for Floridians.

Numbers taken from a study by the Miami Herald revealed 64 of the 67 counties in the state saw roughly a 42 percent increase in cases of COVID-19 heading into the second phase of its reopening earlier this month. On a more alarming note, Thursday and Friday marked the state’s highest single-day tallies – 1,698 and 1,902 respectively. In more sober-minded parts of the country, the fear is real.

Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute Dr Ashish Jha believes coronavirus-related deaths could reach 200,000 by September. This was indicated under the premise that the current number in the U.S. would remain consistent within the current range of 800 to 1,000 lives being lost per day.

What does all of this mean for us? Nothing good, that’s for certain.

Our options are limited, as we know we are not going to be able to revamp the country’s economic model overnight. Nor will we benefit by kicking successive governments and citizens in the pants for decades of short-sightedness and an inability to modernise.

Now, modernisation is so far from our reach when the vast majority of the country’s GDP is made on the back of tourism. Baha Mar, our second largest tourism draw only behind Atlantis, may have only been the first domino to fall. We should not be surprised if we hear a similar response coming from Atlantis in the coming weeks as we all wait and watch. Unable to do anything else, we are truly at the mercy of what’s happening in America. And any ideas or dreams that the country’s reopening will lift us out of this quicksand in the short-term are nonsensical.

Thankfully, Bahamians

will be able to enjoy some of the freedoms we were used to and local businesses will be able to

reopen. However, the decision made by governments past and present to focus so heavily on tourism will

come back to bite us. Make no mistake, the hoteliers aren’t calling the shots as nothing can be certain when dealing with such a monster. Even the decision to delay reopening until October is not guaranteed as the decision makers in our main source market the U.S. - aren’t concerned with who travels to The Bahamas and who doesn’t.

They certainly have bigger fish to fry with 2020 being an election year and President Trump already showing an eagerness to hit the campaign trail to rally his supporters.

That, along with the protests and Americans just wanting to live life again, all indicate tough times for Bahamians. This is what needs to be understood.

Our government would be better off setting these realistic expectations for the Bahamian people.

We may have successfully evaded COVID-19 domestically up until this point, but at a cost most are not willing to continue paying. And as the conversation of expanding our testing capacity has diminished, it would seem the Bahamian people need to demand that both testing and screening at the border become the highest priority come July 1. Else, the prices we would have paid in lost income, dashed business plans, opportunities to bury loved ones and many other things we once considered normal, would have all been in vain.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Yet another knee on the neck of the Caribbean THE failure of the world’s richest nations to respond adequately to the abrupt and rapid decline in the economies of developing countries, including the Caribbean, is resulting in huge increases in unemployment and poverty and could, ultimately, erode democracy and the rule of law.

As a new World Bank report issued on June 8 rightly states: “A major natural disaster on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic would be economically devastating for some countries in the Caribbean region”.

Yet, the G20 countries have engaged in public relations exercises that point to their “pledges” to inject up to $8 trillion into the global economy. But there is no evidence of this money being delivered, or that it is accessible by every country that needs it.

The G20 has also failed to be responsive to the issue of suspending debt payments and rescheduling them on realistic terms that would allow countries to use scarce funds to help keep their economies afloat, and prevent a large number of their people from collapsing into abject poverty. Instead, several G20 countries in the creditors’ organisation, called ‘The Paris Club’ are insisting on debt payments by countries whose revenues have dropped so precipitously that they can barely meet basic domestic obligations. What is worse is that the Paris Club is refusing to authorise the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide funding to these debtor countries under emergency facilities.

When the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies around the world became patently obvious, the heads of the

World Bank and the IMF called for official creditors to suspend debt repayments by the world’s very poor countries and those eligible for support from the International Development Association. But despite appeals to recognise that some Caribbean countries, regarded as ‘middle and high-income’, also needed urgent attention, the main policy makers of the two institutions did not budge on changing their criteria.

Since then, it has become clear that COVID-19 will deliver a debt blow to these countries from which there will be no short or mediumterm recovery. They simply cannot pay the debts now.

Against this backdrop, the Washington-based journal, ‘Latin American Dialogue’, published on June 10, asked me to respond to the question of how prepared are Caribbean countries for this year’s hurricane season in the context of the COVID19 pandemic? I provided this answer.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated Caribbean economies many of which lost at least 20 percent of their GDP in the first quarter of 2020 and are forecast to experience a further 10 percent decline by the end of August.

Unemployment has reached unprecedented high levels and government revenues have drastically declined while expenditures have increased extraordinarily to contain the coronavirus and treat its victims, including through purchase of medical supplies and construction of facilities for infectious diseases.

Debt levels have also risen, and many governments are unable to service repayments which, even before the pandemic, were absorbing as much as 48 cents of every dollar. Consequently, government spending on hurricane preparations has been diverted to mount programmes to feed the poor and to support the unemployed.

Payments for insurance of properties against hurricanes have lapsed through unemployment and business closures, rendering communities unable to rebuild easily in the wake of destruction by storms.

Many Caribbean countries are denied access to concessional financing from the International Financial Institutions on

the sole criterion that they are classified as middle and high-income countries, even though they share many of the structural limitations of less developed countries. The Paris Club is also opposing suspension or rescheduling of debt payments on the same basis.

Therefore, there is little more that Caribbean countries can do to prepare for dangerous storms this year. Regrettably, the G20, which could help, have remained wedded to policies that fail to recognise the dire circumstances of Caribbean countries, abandoning them to a fearsome hurricane season that could damage them even more severely”.

The picture could not be any clearer. COVID-19 is devastating Caribbean countries, categorised as ‘high-income’ as much as it is hurting low- and middle-income ones, adding to their debt burdens and threatening a far-reaching sovereign debt crisis.

COVID-19 has worsened the problem: countries are facing high health-care costs; collapsing revenues; no capacity to service debts, and a struggle to keep their economies afloat.

There is an urgent need for a stop to sovereign debt payments to official and private creditors, to give Caribbean countries a chance to cope with yet another shock to which they did not contribute, but that now puts another knee at their necks.

If the G20 allocated a mere 0.5 percent, or $40 billion, of its pledged global injection of $8 trillion to Caribbean countries to pay off Paris Club debt and for new soft loans, the region will have a fighting chance.

This problem will not go away by ignoring it, and Caribbean governments and private sectors must ensure it is not ignored by rich governments and the international bodies they control. The Caribbean is not owed a living, but it is owed the right to live.

The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own. Responses and previous Commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

COVID-19 is devastating economies

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 11

JAPAN, NZ MARCH TO MOURN FLOYD TOKYO Associated Press

PROTESTERS block University Avenue on near the Atlanta Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police on Friday

Police officer sacked after fatal shooting of black man ATLANTA Associated Press ATLANTA police yesterday said the department fired one officer and placed another on administrative duty for the fatal shooting of a black man who resisted arrest after failing a field sobriety test — a death that rekindled fiery protests in the city and also caused the police chief to resign.

Body camera footage released yesterday by Atlanta police showed 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks appearing good-humored and largely cooperative with the two white officers after being found sleeping alone in a car blocking a Wendy’s drive-thru lane.

“I know you’re just doing your job,” Brooks tells one of the officers about 40 minutes into the encounter when he agrees to a breath test. After he takes the test, an officer tries to handcuff Brooks and he attempts to flee — resulting in a struggle that ended with his death late on Friday.

VICTIM: Rayshard Brooks The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Brooks wrestled a Taser from one of the officers and ran.

The GBI released security camera footage from the restaurant that showed a running Brooks turn and point an object in his hand toward an officer a few steps behind him.

The video shows the officer draw his gun and fire as Brooks continues to run, then falls to the ground in the parking lot.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Saturday: “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.”

Officer Garrett Rolfe was terminated while officer Devin Brosnan has been placed on administrative duty, an Atlanta police spokesman, Sgt. John Chafee, said in a brief statement. Rolfe had worked for the department since October 2013, and Brosnan was hired in September 2018.

Police Chief Erika Shields, who joined the department as a beat officer in 1995, resigned on Saturday after nearly four years as chief.

In a statement, Shields called for Atlanta to “move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Meanwhile, a demonstration that began peacefully on Saturday morning outside the restaurant where Brooks was shot grew more turbulent after dark. Demonstrators marched onto nearby Interstate 75 and blocked traffic while the Wendy’s at the shooting

scene was set ablaze and gutted by flames. Atlanta police said that 36 people had been arrested in connection with the protests, but gave no further details.

Brooks’ death at the hands of police inflamed raw emotions in Atlanta and across the US following the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Some public officials questioned whether the shooting of Brooks was as clearly an abuse as Floyd’s death after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.

“The question is when the suspect turned to fire the Taser, what should the officer have done?”

US Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, said. Scott is the Senate’s only black Republican, and among GOP senators working on a package of policing changes.

Scott said the police shooting of Brooks “is certainly a far less clear one than the ones that we saw with George Floyd and several other ones around the country.”

HOLDING handmade signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” hundreds of people marched peacefully in Tokyo yesterday, highlighting the outrage over the death of George Floyd even in a country often perceived as homogeneous and untouched by racial issues.

Mitsuaki Shidara, standing in the crowd at Yoyogi Park, where the march began, said Japan has plenty of discrimination problems, but they’re overlooked.

“We are all human first, but we are divided by nationality, gender, religion, skin colour,” he said, wearing a pendant with the Japanese character for “love,” which he said was his favorite word.

“What’s happening in the US shows racism is going on, even after 400 years,” said Shidara, who works for a food maker.

Mio Kosaka, another participant, said she had been a victim of discrimination at times while growing up in Beijing and Tokyo, because her parents were Japanese and Chinese.

“I think it is so wrong to discriminate based on appearance, and I wanted to relay the message that the American people have allies in Japan,” said Kosaka, who is studying design at a U.S. college.

Protests have continued across the U.S. but also in Europe, including Belgium, Germany and Britain, as well as Australia, where people have been confronting racism and demanding change.

In New Zealand, thousands protested in Auckland and Wellington.

The Auckland protest ended at the US Consulate, where people took a knee and observed a minute’s silence for Floyd. “When George Floyd took his last breath, it allowed the rest of us to breathe,” social activist Julia Whaipooti said.

EUROPE REOPENS MANY BORDERS BUT NOT TO AMERICANS, ASIANS BERLIN Associated Press

EUROPE is taking a big step toward a new normality as many countries open borders to fellow Europeans after three months of coronavirus lockdowns — but even though Europeans love their summer vacations, it’s not clear how many are ready to travel again.

Tourists from the US, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East will just have to wait for now.

Europe is expected to start opening up to some visitors from elsewhere next month,

but details remain unclear.

The European Union home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, told member nations last week that they “should open up as soon as possible” and suggested Monday was a good date.

Many countries are doing just that, allowing travel from the EU, Britain and the rest of Europe’s usually passport-free Schengen travel area, which includes non-EU countries like Switzerland.

Europe’s reopening won’t be a repeat of the chaotic free-for-all in March when panicked, uncoordinated border closures caused

traffic jams that stretched for miles. Still, it’s a complicated, shifting patchwork of different rules. And although tourist regions are desperately counting on them, a lot of Europeans may decide to stay close to home this summer.

That’s something tourismdependent Mediterranean

countries such as Greece are keen to avoid. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged “a lot will depend on whether we can project Greece as a safe destination.”

Greece has emphasized its handling of its outbreak, which saw only 183 deaths.

Overall, Europe has seen

more than 182,000 viruslinked deaths this year, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that also shows Europe has had 2.04 million of the world’s 7.8 million infections.

Hard-hit Spain, which on yesterday moved forward its opening to European travellers by 10 days to

June 21, is allowing thousands of Germans to fly to its Balearic Islands for a trial run starting Monday — waiving its 14-day quarantine for the group.

Italy opened its borders on June 3 and towns on the German-Polish border celebrated early on Saturday as Poland opened the gates.

PAGE 12, Monday, June 15, 2020

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Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 13

Marcelo takes a knee as Madrid top Eibar at its training centre

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) — Playing a home game but not at its famed Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Real Madrid resumed its Spanish league campaign with a 3-1 win over Eibar yesterday to keep pace with leader Barcelona. The game saw Marcelo take a knee during a goal celebration in apparent support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Brazilian veteran defender put his left knee down and raised his right fist into the air after scoring the third goal for Madrid.

Marcelo’s gesture made him one of the few players in the Spanish league to make public their support for the movement which has protested police brutality after George Floyd’s death in the United States.

Valencia’s players last week had also taken a knee before a training session to show their support.

Toni Kroos and Sergio Ramos also scored as Madrid won the game at the club’s training centre while major renovation work takes place at the 80,000-capacity Bernabéu, about 10 kilometres (6 miles) away.

Eden Hazard, who had been expected to miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury sustained before the coronavirus pandemic, thrived on his return and set up two of the goals in the game.

There were no fans at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, which is used mostly by Madrid’s “B” team.

“This is completely different to what we experienced before, you have to adapt,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, who completed 200 matches in charge. Zidane has the

REAL Madrid’s head coach Zinedine Zidane, centre, directs his players as they stop to drink during the Spanish La Liga soccer match against Eibar at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) second-most league victories as Madrid coach with 90, behind the 257 of Miguel Muñoz.

Madrid players walked a few hundred metres (yards) from the team’s housing facilities to the stadium for the match that marked the club’s return after a pause of more than three months because of the pandemic.

A large banner in the stands spanned from one goal line to the other with the image of a black ribbon and the message “in our hearts,” honouring the nearly 28,000 who have died with COVID-19 in Spain. The league officially resumed on Thursday with third-place Sevilla defeating city rival Real Betis 2-0.

The victory kept Madrid two points behind

Barcelona, which returned on Saturday with a 4-0 rout at Mallorca. Eibar and Mallorca are both fighting relegation.

Madrid dominated from the start and Kroos opened the scoring with a shot into the top corner in the fourth minute. Ramos added to the lead from close range in the 30th after a pass

by Hazard, who started the buildup for Marcelo’s strike from inside the area in the 37th.

Eibar, sitting two points outside the relegation zone, got its only goal from Pedro Bigas in the 60th.

Ramos had scored the first goal at the Alfredo Di Stéfano when it was inaugurated with an exhibition match in 2006.

“The truth is we are all thrilled to be back on the

field again,” Ramos said.

“We couldn’t wait for the league to start again, to compete again, and the best way to do that is with a win.”

Madrid is expected to play all of its remaining home matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano because the Bernabéu will continue to undergo renovation work during the summer.

The club is likely to remain at the stadium for the rest of the season even if fans are allowed back before then, which the league has said is a possibility.

ATLÉTICO HELD Atlético Madrid’s struggles continued as its season resumed after being held 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao for

its third straight league draw.

The setback kept Diego Simeone’s team in sixth place, outside the Champions League spots.

The goals at the empty San Mamés Stadium came a couple of minutes apart late in the first half, with Athletic’s Iker Muniain scoring in the 37th and Atlético equalising with Diego Costa in the 39th for his first goal since last October.

During the celebration, Costa held the jersey of Atlético women’s team player Virginia Torrecilla, who is recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumour.

It was the 13th league draw for Atlético, which has only two wins in its last nine league matches.

“We earned a draw at a tough place but we need to start winning three points if we want to stay in contention to qualify for the Champions League,” Atlético midfielder Jorge “Koke” Resurrección said. “It will be difficult if we don’t start winning matches.”

Atlético’s last match before the break had been an away victory against Liverpool that eliminated the titleholders in the Champions League round of 16. But Atlético had drawn its last two league matches — against Sevilla and Espanyol — to drop in the standings and remain far from the leaders. It trails Barcelona by 15 points with 10 rounds left.

Atlético has the same 46 points as fifth-place Getafe and is a point behind fourth-place Real Sociedad, which drew 1-1 with Osasuna at home on Sunday.

Athletic, which had won two in a row before the break, stayed in 10th place.

FRESH SWISS INVESTIGATION TARGETS EX-FIFA PRESIDENT SEPP BLATTER

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is the target of a criminal investigation in Switzerland for suspected mismanagement of a $1 million payment from soccer funds.

Blatter has been notified

by Swiss federal prosecutors he is an “accused person” over a loan FIFA gave in 2010 to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.

The 84-year-old Blatter has denied any wrongdoing during decades of financial scandals linked to soccer’s world governing body, though he was banned from the presidency and risks being brought to trial in his home country.

The payment now publicly revealed came from a FIFA account on April 13, 2010, and was interest-free, unsecured and later waived as a kind of gift, the document detailed.

It is the latest allegation in Swiss and American federal investigations tying FIFA to irregular payments benefiting Jack Warner, its former vice president from Trinidad who is fighting extradition to the United States. Warner long controlled a key bloc in FIFA elections until he left soccer after being implicated in bribing voters to oppose Blatter in 2011. He was also an elected lawmaker in the Caribbean nation and became a government minister after a general election held in May 2010.

Two former senior FIFA officials - Jérôme Valcke as secretary general, and Markus Kattner as finance director - are also named as accused persons.

The Swiss federal prosecution office said in a statement Saturday that criminal proceedings against Blatter were extended last month to include Valcke

and Kattner. The office said both men, who were fired

by FIFA in 2016, have the presumption of innocence.

The investigation document is dated May 13, 2020 - several weeks after the office said it was closing one of two criminal proceedings opened against Blatter five years earlier.

The allegation to be dropped was that Blatter mismanaged a World Cup broadcast deal for the Caribbean that let Warner personally profit by millions of dollars. That prosecution decision revealed in April suggested Blatter could be cleared by Swiss justice after years under suspicion and while serving a sixyear ban by FIFA’s ethics committee. It expires in October 2021.

The Swiss prosecution document does not directly connect the timing of FIFA’s $1 million payment with the general election in Trinidad and Tobago.

Warner did try to link FIFA officials to his domestic political career in a June 2015 television appearance in his home country. That came within days of Blatter announcing plans to resign his 17-year FIFA presidency in fallout from the American and Swiss federal investigations.

Warner had been an opposition lawmaker since 2007. After a transition of power in the May 2010 election, Warner became minister for works and transport. He was voted out of his parliamentary seat in 2015 several months after being indicted by the US Department of Justice.

The corruption charges against Warner included getting a $10 million bribe from 2010 World Cup host South Africa routed through FIFA. A fresh indictment published in April alleged Warner was paid $5 million by Russian interests as bribes to support the country’s winning bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Warner dismissed the allegations in

comments reported by Trinidadian media.

The Swiss investigation is being overseen, according to the document seen by the AP, by prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand, who previously closed the file on FIFA’s Caribbean TV deal.

Hildbrand joined the federal team handling soccer investigations last year amid turmoil in the prosecution office. The lead prosecutor of white-collar financial crime left in 2018 despite being cleared of a formal complaint about his conduct in FIFA cases.

In a FIFA bribery scandal that came to a Swiss criminal court in 2008, Hildbrand prosecuted executives of the ISL marketing agency which sold World Cup broadcast rights and routinely paid kickbacks.

A Swiss criminal proceeding has also been open against Blatter since September 2015 related to FIFA payments to former UEFA president Michel Platini. That allegation led to FIFA’s ethics committee banning both men from soccer. The latest criminal case against Blatter’s former right-hand man Valcke follows charges filed against him in February. He allegedly took bribes totaling 1.25 million euros ($1.4 million) linked to awarding World Cup broadcast rights in Italy and Greece.

Separate allegations connect Valcke to Nasser al-Khelaifi, the Qatari president of French champion Paris Saint-Germain who also runs Doha-based broadcaster beIN Sports Group.

Al-Khelaifi has been charged with inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement over the former FIFA administrator allegedly getting use of a luxury villa on an Italian island in 2014 and 2015.

Both men deny wrongdoing and their trial, along with a third man, is scheduled to open September 14 in Switzerland’s federal criminal court.

LEVERKUSEN MOVES 4TH

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — Leverkusen boosted its Champions League hopes while extending Schalke’s lengthy winless run in the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw yesterday.

A VAR penalty call looked to have put Schalke on course for its first victory at the 13th attempt, but Juan Miranda’s late own-goal was enough for Leverkusen to move fourth — the final spot for Champions League qualification.

Leverkusen is a point ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach, which lost 2-1 to league leader Bayern Munich on Saturday, with three rounds left to play.

Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba was penalised for handball early in the second half when Johnjoe Kenny’s cross struck his arm under contact from the incoming Miranda, whose knee moved Tapsoba’s arm. Referee Daniel Siebert gave the penalty after consulting video replays.

Daniel Caligiuri converted the spot kick to give Schalke a 51st-minute lead.

But Caligiuri’s weak challenge allowed Wendell through to set up Leverkusen’s equaliser in the 81st.

Miranda tried to stop Paulinho from scoring but ended up poking the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky made a great save to deny Michael Gregoritsch in the last play of the game.

Earlier, Florian Niederlechner’s first-minute goal was enough for Augsburg to win in Mainz 1-0 and ease its relegation worries.

The visitors moved four points clear of Mainz and seven points above the relegation zone.

The games were played without fans and amid strict hygiene measures to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.

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PAGE 14, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

A safe return for golf as Berger wins Colonial in a playoff

MACKEY JR RETURNS HOME

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

Airways flight chartered by the Cayman Islands government connected from London to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. The Bahamian government then coordinated with the Turks and Caicos government to run a connecting Bahamasair flight to Nassau.

Bookings for the special humanitarian flight were made available through the Bahamian High Commission in London.

“COVID-19 has meant that families have found themselves kept apart due to border closures, travel restrictions, and lack of commercial air traffic routes,” according to a press release from the British High Commission. ‘With an ocean between them, those Bahamian nationals and residents in the United Kingdom and Europe have had a particularly tough waiting period to be united with their loved ones.”

Mackey made his pro debut last October with 20 points and nine rebounds against La Antigua. He posted four double doubles on the season highlighted by 31 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in a November matchup against Chatanda.

A season of milestones for Mackey also included his debut as a member of the Bahamas senior men’s national team in the latest window of FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Daniel Berger was playing some of the best golf that no one noticed.

Three months away because of the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t slow his momentum, and he made it pay off yesterday with a victory at Colonial.

The PGA Tour made a healthy return to golf at the Charles Schwab Challenge with a somewhat sickly finish. Berger saved par from behind the 17th green on the first playoff hole and won when Collin Morikawa missed a 3-foot par putt.

Berger closed with a 4-under 66, his 28th consecutive round at par or better dating to October 11 at the Houston Open.

Even over the final hour, a half-dozen players were still in the mix. All that was missing was the sound and energy of a gallery, with the PGA Tour not allowing spectators for the opening five events in its return.

Berger won for the third time — all victories during this week on the calendar, just not in circumstances like this. It was the first PGA Tour event since March 12 when the spread of the new coronavirus shut down golf and other sports.

From no positive tests to a dynamic finish at historyrich Colonial, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sized up the week by saying, “This has been a phenomenal start to our return.”

Morikawa has been equally steady. Since graduating from Cal a year ago, he has won and made every cut, a streak now at 21 events, the longest streak by a newcomer since Tiger Woods. He took a share of

NACAC from PAGE 16 don’t support racism in any way, shape or form,” said Sands, a former president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations. “If you look at what is happening, sporting bodies are talking about it and NACAC, which represents a cross section of ethnicity and race, creed, religion and colour, we want to raise our concern that we

DANIEL Berger poses with the championship trophy yesterday after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament after a playoff round at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

(AP Photo/David J Phillip) the lead with a 50-foot putt on the 14th hole. It was the short ones that hurt. Morikawa also missed a birdie putt from 6 feet on the 18th hole in a 67.

Berger was the only one who delivered, making a 10-foot birdie on the final hole that put him at 15-under 265. The last time Berger was in a playoff, Jordan Spieth holed a bunker shot to beat him at the Travelers Championship. So he could feel for what Morikawa felt int he loss. “It’s going to hurt for a little while, but he’ll get over it and he’ll be winning again,” Berger said.

Even the optimism of being back to golf didn’t eliminate the sting, and more than Morikawa felt it.

do not support racism. We just don’t want to remain silent on the issue. “We just want to make the statement that we do not support racism in any shape or form.”

The USA went into a “Black Lives Matter’ frenzy following the brutal death of African American George Floyd by a white policeman in Minnesota.

That led to a nation-wide protest, riots and looting leading up to his funeral service last week as people

Xander Schauffele gave new meaning to the phrase “Horrible Horseshoe” at Colonial.

He hit into the water on the 15th from a fairway bunker, hit a poor chip after the penalty shot and then made a 30-footer to escape with a bogey. He followed with a 25-foot birdie to regain a share of the lead. And then his 3-foot par putt on the 17th hole dipped in one side of the hole and spun out of the other.

His 25-foot birdie putt to join the playoff came up just short and he shot 69.

Bryson DeChambeau cringed when his 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th narrowly missed, giving him a 66 and leaving him one shot

banded together for justice. “I think what has been happening through North America, the world and even in the Bahamas, has sensitised people that we need to be more aware that all people are created equal,” Sands said. “We have to make it a point to treat everybody equal, regardless of race, creed or colour. That is the underlying message. People want to be treated equal, especially those that are considered minority.”

out of the playoff. Ditto for Justin Rose, whose 18-foot birdie on the last hole was a turn short. He also had 66.

Jason Kokrak finished well ahead of everyone else. He also missed a birdie on the last hole in his round of 64.

Spieth, trying to end three years without a victory, left with a consolation prize of progress. He missed a 2-foot par putt on the sixth hole — part of three bogeys in a fourhole stretch — but was still in the mix until a tee shot out of bounds on the 14th. Even then, he made a 35-foot putt to save bogey.

He wound up with a 71 and tied for 10th.

Rory McIlroy had seven straight tournaments no worse than fifth, a streak

As NACAC and its parent body, World Athletics, continue to lead the world in the fight against drugs, Sands said they too strive to play a leading role in the eradication of racism in sport, fully cognisant that by doing so, they are participating in a greater war, that of eradicating the scourge of racism from global society.

With the world coming to grips with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has halted activities

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that came to a stunning halt. Starting the final round three shots behind, he was 5 over through seven holes and closed with a 74 to tie for 32nd.

The final round was as wild as expected with eight players taking turns or sharing time in the lead, all without having any idea without fans to give a hint of what was going on.

“If there are fans and everything with the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ I’d probably be a little more (ticked) off,” Schauffele said.

“Maybe that’s a good thing for me right now.

But it was definitely weird.

It was sort of an internal battle, which it always is for me, but more so internal this week just with no fans.”

Monahan conceded his biggest concern going into the week, even with its testing and safety procedure, was positive tests popping up. “That’s something, candidly, that I lost a lot of sleep over in the weeks that preceded coming in,” he said.

All 487 tests at Colonial were negative, and the golf lived up to its part with a star-filled leaderboard and a half-dozen players still in the mix the final hour.

Next up is the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head on the South Carolina coast, and Monahan said the first week won’t be complete until then to see how players handled the interstate travel. Those on the charter were tested for the new coronavirus after the third round. Everyone else would be tested when they arrived at Hilton Head.

“This is about a sustained return,” Monahan said. “But I think as we sit here late in the day Sunday, there’s no question that this has been an exceptional week.”

since March, Sands said NACAC is doing a lot of work behind the scenes to put on a meet that will bring the region together later this year.

“We do have a plan and we are looking at something before the end of the season later on in September to be centred around the remaining Diamond League and the Prefontaine Classic, which is scheduled for October 4.

“We’ve been doing a survey with our area coaches and our area athletes’ representatives and there is a huge support for an event for the athletes because a lot of them have been training and they are anxious to see how they stack up before they go into their Olympic preparatory phase.”

While the 2020 Olympic Games was one of the major casualties on the sporting calendar this year, the International Olympic Committee has agreed to postpone the games in Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to August 9, 2020 to July 23 to August 8, 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Next year is going to be a very busy year for our sport for the juniors and the seniors,” Sands said.

“There is the Junior World Championships, the CARIFTA, the NACAC Under-23 Championships, World Indoors, World Outdoors and the Olympic Games, so it’s going to be a very, very busy season.

“I think the coaches, the athletes and their agents are very anxious to get in a meet to measure their performances so that they can start planning for the big year next year.

“So we are excited about the prospect of putting on the meet. We are just keeping our fingers crossed. We know the time frame that the coaches will meet to get their athletes ready to compete in the meet.”

With a proposed date on the agenda, Sands said they are looking at the possibility of hosting the meet here in the Bahamas at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. If that

FROM PAGE 16

SMITH TO MAKE MOVE TO BIG 10 FROM PAGE 16 I think I’m handling it well now,” he said in February. “I think I’ve gotten significantly faster. I’ve improved my form over the hurdles, especially with the hurdles going up three inches. I think I’ve improved in that division of it.”

Smith joins a Buckeyes men’s programme that finished fifth at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The Buckeyes claimed 10 top-eight finishes and collected four medals.

He becomes the second Bahamian sprinter to transfer to the Buckeyes in as many years following Devine Parker’s transfer from the Kentucky Wildcats. Parker earned All-America honours in her first season at Ohio State.

Locally, Smith was a member of the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine. He was a 2018 CARIFTA bronze medallist and a 2018 World Junior semi-finalist in the 110m hurdles. doesn’t work out, he said they have an alternate plan to go to Grenada.

“We have to see what kind of support we can get from either one, but what we in the Bahamas is truly missing is our opportunity for a number of reasons,” he stated.

“We have the best geographic location and people are expressing their interest to come here and there are a number of airlines who operate in South America and in the Caribbean airline that also comes into the Bahamas at least twice a week and there are airlines in the United States and Canada, who fly here, so we have everybody covered very easily.”

As the president of NACAC with its headquarters now located here at the TAR National Stadium, Sands said it’s his only wish that the Bahamas can cater to the NACAC meet later this year.

“We need the support of everybody here because the Bahamas has always been an attractive venue to host an international track meet, so we hope that we can put this meet on here,” Sands summed up.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 15

PLAYING FOR FREE, SALARY DROP, 2022 LOCKOUT POSSIBLE FOR MLB

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Jeffress, Jordan Montgomery, Kevin Plawecki could be playing for free this season, earning salaries lower than what they already received as advances.

Mookie Betts, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, James Paxton and Marcus Stroman are likely to find fewer bidders, dollars and contract years as the freeagent market lurches into a free fall next offseason.

And all of baseball could be bracing for a spring training lockout and shortened 2022 season after the coronavirus pandemic heightened the likelihood of the sport’s first work stoppage since 1994-95.

“Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Christian Yelich, all these guys are lucky that they signed,” former Miami Marlins president David Samson said yesterday.

“The biggest people you should watch this offseason are Mookie Betts and J.T. Realmuto because J.T. thought that he would surpass Joe Mauer and Buster Posey, and there is likely no chance. And Mookie Betts thought that he would be above Bryce Harper and I would view that as much less likely now.”

The pathogen highlighted each side’s economic interest: players care most about the regular season, when they accrue the entirety of their salaries; owners worry about the postseason, when $787 million in broadcast revenue is due.

Major League Baseball owners are left with the decision of how long a regular season to schedule after players’ union head Tony Clark said Saturday night that “unfortunately it appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile.”

Bruce Meyer, the union’s chief negotiator, sent Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem a letter that “we demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday.”

A March 26 agreement called for players to receive prorated salaries and bound the sides to “complete the fullest 2020 championship season and postseason that is economically feasible,” consistent with a series of provisions: no government restrictions on mass gatherings, no travel restrictions and no health or safety risk “to stage games in front of fans in each of the 30 clubs’ home ballparks.”

It also called for MLB and the union to “discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games

in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened a regular-season of about 50 games, which would lead to players receiving about 31 per cent of their salaries, about $1.23 billion. That is less than the $1.27 billion they were guaranteed in the offer they turned down, a deal worth $1.45 billion if the postseason is completed.

MLB appears likely to announce a decision after Manfred confers with the 30 controlling owners.

Barring a move toward a deal, both sides probably will file grievances. The union would claim MLB failed to schedule the longest season possible and ask for money damages.

The union would say to make an evaluation it needs documents detailing the equity relationships between baseball owners and regional sports networks, and between owners and real estate ventures adjacent to ballparks. MLB would claim the union did not bargain in good faith.

Players say they have no obligation to help clubs reduce expenses caused by playing in empty ballparks. Agent Scott Boras says the MLB stance is akin to saying: “When lighting

strikes you, you tell the runners no race until you fix my track.”

Arbitrator Mark Irvings, who ruled against Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant in the service time manipulation grievance filed by the union, would likely spent months ruling on document demands before the sides even start to present the merits of the case.

Players have received $170 million in salary advances, up to $286,500 each. That means a player with a salary of about $925,000 or less whose contract did not include a lower rate of pay while in the major leagues — Jeffress, Montgomery and Plawecki, among them — already has received more money that he would be owed under the proration formula.

Those players wouldn’t have to return any money; instead, the money would be paid back to MLB by the union from taxes collected from teams for exceeding international signing bonus pool thresholds.

All players will lose chances to accumulate statistics for games lost that are never made up.

While they argue and file briefs, Betts, Realmuto and the rest are unlikely to reach the $300 millionand-more deals given to

CLEVELAND Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis stands on the Major League Baseball logo on April 24, 2013. (AP) Mike Trout, Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole and Machado. The average salary, stagnated around $4.4 million since 2016, is likely to fall sharply this winter.

And if the coronavirus lingers into 2021, another season could be impacted.

Unless the sides reach an agreement, the sides would argue whether MLB has the right to suspend the Uniform Player Contract during a national emergency, as Manfred threatened before the March agreement.

Teams also will probably push for a pandemic provision in the guarantee language of new guaranteed contracts.

Bargaining during a major grievance will be

even more difficult than usual heading into the labour contract’s expiration on December 1, 2021.

Given the experience of 1994 and the union’s threat to strike in 2002, teams would rather have a confrontation during spring training than in summer.

And if Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump in the presidential election and Democrats win control of both houses of Congress, player take-home could go down no matter what.

“If the Democrats win, I think they recognise that tax rates are going to go through the roof,” former Commissioner Fay Vincent said. “$40 million is an awful lot of money, but the tax on that is going to be extraordinary.”

SPORTS SECTION E

PAGE 15

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Top junior female tennis player Sydney Clarke graduates

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

W

ith most students here and abroad not able to have the graduation they expected from high school or college because of the COVID19 pandemic, top junior female player Sydney Clarke is basking in the fact that she accomplished the feat at Windsor School.

Clarke, along with 24 of her classmates, enjoyed the ceremony on Saturday under a big tent on the school’s grounds, surrounded by close family members as they endured the social distancing.

“It’s exciting. I finally graduated from high school, so that is a big accomplishment,” said Clarke, who spent the past three years after transferring from CR Walker Secondary High School.

“It’s only motivation moving forward as I go on to UAB

(University of Alabama Birmingham) so that I can do the same when I get there.”

The 18-year-old shared the special moment with her parents Bernard and Shayvon Clarke and younger sister, Sarai, whom she has inspired to play tennis as well. Also sharing in the occasion was her Windsor coach Richele LeSaldo and BLTA coach Michael Butler.

“I feel very lucky because many people either had to cancel their graduation, or do it virtually or do drive through graduation,” Clarke said. “But I feel very lucky and grateful that we were able to have our family there at the ceremony instead of doing it virtually.”

In a short, but exciting ceremony, Clarke said she was proud to walk in and listen to a few speeches before they were presented with their awards. She earned the top honours for achieving outstanding performance.

SYDNEY Clarke wearing a mask during her graduation ceremony.

Photo: Montez Kerr With the Bahamas Government expected to open the border for international travel on July

1, Clarke is eager to get ready to travel to Birmingham, Alabama to begin her freshman year on an athletic scholarship to play.

“I’m really excited to get to UAB and begin my courses,” said Clarke, who intends to pursue a degree in business. “So I’m just really excited to build a path to graduate and become an alumni of UAB. “Tennis wise, due to COVID-19 with the tournaments on hold, we will just be training, trying to stay in shape. I’m told that the season will be cut short, so when I get there, I just have to be ready to get to work because I won’t have much time.”

And with the close-knit family she has, Clarke said she knows that she will miss being around everybody, including Windsor School and the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association and the National Tennis Centre.

“When I was at Windsor, I was glad that on the weekends,

I could go home to see my parents and play some tennis at the National Tennis Centre,” Clarke said. “So it’s gonna be a challenge getting used to everything in my new environment, but I feel I can handle it.

“I know that I will be even more excited whenever I get a chance to come home and spend some time with everybody. But I’m looking forward to moving on from high school to college.”

Before graduating, Clarke completed her junior year as the top female tennis player in the country last year.

In December, she earned her second spot on the team to represent the Bahamas at the Fed Cup tournament.

But with the Fed Cup on hold because of COVID-19, there’s no telling if Clarke will be able to come home from school to participate, if the event is not held before she heads to Alabama.

MACKEY JR RETURNS HOME

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AFTER months under quarantine in Spain since his rookie season of pro basketball abruptly concluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Willis Mackey Jr is one of many Bahamian residents who have finally returned home.

Mackey documented his journey via his Youtube channel as the benefit of one of a series of repatriation flights arranged by the Government of the Bahamas. “It was an amazing experience, and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone involved in making this a possibility. I’m so happy to be home with my family and my sisters right now,” he said. “When we got home we were confronted by these nurses and had to

sign papers saying that we will be quarantined for 14 days. We also had to sign up for an app that will track our location so if we leave the house it tells the authorities our location. Right now I’m in quarantine for 14 days, but I’m happy to be home just to spend time with my family.”

Mackey was based in Salamanca, Spain, and plays for Aquisima Carbajosa of the Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado, commonly known as Liga EBA. He was named the EBA’s Eurobasket Player of the Year, Import Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and was an All-EBA 1st Team selection. He led the club with 16.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

He travelled from Madrid to London on a British

SEE PAGE 14

‘NACAC don’t support racism in any way, shape or form’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHILE Mike Sands indicated that that there is no room for systemic racism that has resurfaced in the United States, there is an opportunity to help unite the athletes in the region through a track and field meet staged here in the Bahamas.

Speaking over the weekend as the newly elected president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean region, Sands said NACAC finds it absolutely necessary to add its voice to the chorus that continues to grow, declaring

MIKE SANDS its total rejection of any form of racism in society, generally, but more so in the world of sports.

“I just want people to understand that NACAC

SEE PAGE 14

SMITH TO MAKE MOVE TO BIG 10

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SPRINT hurdler Oscar Smith will make the move to the Big 10 when he transfers to a new programme.

Buckeyes Track and Field announced via Twitter that Smith will join the Ohio State programme for the upcoming Fall campaign following a COVID-19 pandemic shortened freshman season with the Kansas State Wildcats.

In his lone season with the Wildcats, Smith ran an indoor season’s best of 7.81 seconds in the 60m hurdles in the prelims at the Razorback invitational in February. The time ranked No.4 all time on the school’s top 10 list. He eventually went on to finish eighth in the final in 7.86.

At the Tyson Invitational he finished third in the 60m hurdles in 8.09.

Smith was also a member of the 4x400m relay team that turned in a season’s best time of 3:27.09 at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational.

According to his feature on the Wildcats’ athletic website, he made his Kansas State debut with a time of 8.02. The following day he ran a time of 7.87 and in his first race of 2020, posted a time of 7.98.

He credited his training and quick adjustment to the NCAA Division I level for his early success.

“It was pretty intense when I first started, but as we inched into indoor season it started to settle down, started to get more specific with my event, and

SEE PAGE 14