The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins defended himself outside of the House of Assembly yesterday from what he branded a “personal attack” launched against him by Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald.

Dr Rollins was speaking after a heated exchange in the House of Assembly between himself and Mr Fitzgerald who criticised “new generation” thinkers in the party who have spoken out in disagreement with the government’s proposed constitutional amendment bills. Dr Rollins said Mr Fitzgerald should be the last person to question his motives because he has yet to answer a number of questions from the public.

When asked if he was concerned about his future with the Progressive Liberal Party, Dr Rollins quoted former Prime Minister and FNM Leader Hubert Ingraham.

Dr Rollins explained that he was on the same wavelength as Mr Ingraham, who he called “correct and apropos” in his assertion that he would serve the Bahamian people for as long as they would elect him.

“Had you not sought to personalise it, I would have had nothing to say,” Dr Rollins said, responding to criticism from Mr Fitzgerald. “But when you personalise it and you try to create a perception that is inaccurate, that is a breach of my privilege. I am going to respond.  (Fox Hill MP Fred) Mitchell has said on many occasions that he would respond when personally attacked, I am not different in my privileges.  I’m not entitled to any less.

“So I sought to do what I did. I have always supported women having the same rights in this country that men have. I respect immensely the power of women in this country. I’d be a fool if I didn’t and at the end of the day if people want to question my motives that’s their right, but I’m not going to allow somebody else to define for me what my views are. I can do it for myself.

“That’s why I have my own mouth and ability to communicate,” he added. “A healthy democracy requires that persons, when they speak in our honourable House of Assembly, reflect the divergence of views that exist within the public domain. We cannot be expected to be truly representative of the various people that exist in society when you operate in lock step and you ignore what those concerns are. You do a disservice to democracy when you take that approach. I  don’t want my party to fail. I want democracy to succeed.

“The member for Marathon (Fitzgerald) should be the last person to question my personal motives or to question whether there is any speculative reasoning that is counter to the interest of pursuing democracy. He should be the last person to raise that issue and if it is that he wishes to question persons’ motives to speculate as to what those motives are, I would expect that the public is entitled to know information relative to a number of questions that he has so far failed to answer.”  

Last night, as he wrapped up debate on the constitutional amendment bills, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that Dr Rollins had resigned yesterday as party whip because of his position on the bills.

Dr Rollins has taken issue with bills two and four, which aim to give foreign spouses of Bahamian women the same right to apply for citizenship as the foreign wives of Bahamian men and to make it unconstitutional to discriminate on the basis of sex.

Dr Rollins has issues with bill two because he thinks Bahamian citizenship should be protected against exploitation. On bill four, he has concerns that the wording of the legislation could lead to same-sex marriage.