| Bellingham cautions against intimidation, violence | | Print | |
| Thursday, 30 September 2010 11:19 | |||
 Foreign Minister Henry Bellingham warned Turks and Caicos Islands residents to keep their protests against temporary British rule peaceful and legal or risk damaging the country’s reputation as the tourism season is about to start. “I fully uphold the right of all people, whatever their beliefs and background, to have the freedom to express their views,” Bellingham said in a Sept. 30 statement. “However, I cannot condone efforts to misinterpret my (Sept. 20) statement or comments, actions which have sparked localised protests.” “Nor do I condone the use of intimidation, violence or law breaking in support of freedom of expression. Such actions could easily deter future tourists and investors from coming to these beautiful islands. “This would have a disastrous effect on TCI’s fragile economy as the peak tourist season approaches. I am sure that no one with TCI’s best interests at heart would want to see this happen.” On Sept. 9, a small group of protesters caused a meeting on constitutional and election reform to be cut short, with some people burning copies of the first draft of the proposal outside the meeting on Providenciales. Meetings on other islands were held without incident. After Bellingham's announcement that elections would not take place as scheduled in July 2011, a handful of protesters gathered the next day at the Providenciales airport, some holding signs and shouting at His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell and Constitution and Electoral Reform Adviser Kate Sullivan. Then on Sept. 25, a modest rally was held on Providenciales during which some former and current political leaders and others demanded an end to British rule and called for action by citizens. The British suspended the elected government and the country’s Constitution in August 2009 after a Commission of Inquiry found evidence of widespread government corruption and inadequacy. The country had been plunged deep into debt just as the world economy took a nosedive. Under the governor, the interim government has been struggling to right the country’s finances, resorting to loans and grants to pay off debts and stay afloat. A Special Investigation and Prosecution Team and a Civil Recovery Team are seeking to prosecute former members of government and to recover assets and Crown land that was illegally taken or given away. Bellingham said he decided to postpone the normally scheduled elections because more time is needed to accomplish financial and constitutional reforms and to complete the investigation into public corruption. He said the country’s public finances must be on a course to have a balanced budget within in three years, prompting some to believe that is how much longer the British will rule. Bellingham and the governor have repeatedly said that is not the case, and the minister said he will try to provide a more concrete time frame for elections by the end of the year. He urged citizens to take part in the reform process. At its Sept. 23 meeting, the governor’s Advisory Council said “there should be a meeting or meetings here in TCI in late October, involving representatives of the Consultative Forum, the Advisory Council and both TCI political parties, to consider both the report of the All-Party Constitutional Commission and the revised recommendations that Ms. Sullivan will present following her recent consultations.” The council said “these meetings would assist in ensuring that the ‘milestones’ to be set by (Bellingham) before the end of the year include a firm date for elections.” Click HERE to read Bellingham's complete statement.
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