The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday accused the government of “governing without transparency” by not keeping Bahamians informed about proceedings in the Cuban detainee abuse trial.

Her comments came a week after The Tribune reported that the trial is unlikely to resume until next year – months after National Security Minister Bernard Nottage said the proceedings would begin “imminently”.

Her comments also followed comments by Ramon Sanchez, president of the Miami-based Cuban exile group Democracy Movement, who said his group will take renewed action against the Bahamas in the wake of the stalled proceedings.

Mrs Butler-Turner said if the government had allowed the Bahamian press “to be observers to this particular trial, then we would be able to come to conclusions based on what is reported.”

“But this is a government of secrecy,” she said, “a government probably in secrecy because they are not prepared to govern. Here we are dealing with crime bills, many of which are being modified and amended because of the United Nations conventions; yet this issue is here, something that has already caught the eye of the international community, and look at what is taking place. This does not go well for us in diplomatic circles.”
“Bahamian people need to know without delay exactly what is going on in this particular case because it can give us a black eye in the diplomatic arena.”
As for Mr Sanchez’s comment that the stalled proceedings is a part of a “cover up” by the government, Mrs Butler-Turner said: “I don’t know whether this is a cover-up. But I do know that this is a government that has been touting its ability to bring justice. This incident is something where they need to put their money where their mouth is.”
“There are far-reaching ramifications from this,” she said. “We’re going to have questions from the human rights commission and others so we as Bahamians deserve to know what is going on. We deserve to let the persons being accused of this have their day in court.”
Wayne Munroe, the lawyer representing the Defence Force officers accused of abusing Cubans at the Detention Centre earlier this year, hinted that the trial may have stalled because the Cubans who were allegedly beaten at the Detention Centre have not been made available for cross-examination.
Mr Sanchez said some of those Cubans were repatriated to Cuba and others are in the United States.
He said though they may lack resources to return to the Bahamas for the trial’s proceedings, they would cooperate with the government if provisions were made to ensure their participation. If not, he said, “an investigator can always take the time to come and interview them. Some of them are available here (in Miami). The ones in Cuba can request that the Cuban government allow them to testify, but we’re always afraid that the Cuban government may pressure them and make them fearful of testifying the truth.”
He said Democracy Movement group members will meet next Saturday to determine what actions will be taken against the Bahamas.