The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Immigration Minister Loftus Roker yesterday said the Christie administration was “not diligent” enough in its handling of two Cuban men imprisoned for nearly three years without ever being brought to court, adding that the matter was “a failure across the board.”

Mr Roker, who served in the Pindling Cabinet, said the blame for the circumstances surrounding the controversy should not fall solely at the feet of Immigration and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.

He said the matter has shed light on the failures of several offices. Mr Roker insisted that the Ministry of National Security, the Office of the Attorney General and many others had critical roles to play.

“(It was) a failure on a number of fronts,” he said.

“The government was not diligent enough. You have to understand this ordeal. Don’t view it in its totality; these men were apprehended and submitted to custody, who followed up? All that time, no one saw an issue with these men sitting behind bars without a trial? Come on. This was a failure across the board because scores of officers knew these men were there and did not say anything.”

“Now we look at Mr Mitchell as if he was the only one at fault here,” Mr Roker said. “Three years. Are you serious? Someone should have stepped up. Someone should have spoken up. Instead everyone just nodded and went along with it.”

“It’s either that or they forgot that they were behind bars – that’s what I think happened in this matter. You know, the habit we all have, putting off important things thinking time will remind us that we have to address it. That’s what happened here, the old Bahamian habit of pushing important things to the side.”

“Once in custody these men were lost in the system. Those in charge said they would get to them shortly and shortly enough, three years had run by and now we are here.”

Mr Roker further lambasted the Christie administration for its failure to admit wrongdoing and refusal to work towards a prompt resolution in the face of criticism.

Mr Roker said those in positions of power seem to be more concerned with defending themselves, more so than correcting an issue he said has given the Bahamas another “blemish” on the international stage.

He added: “Why continue to risk international embarrassment? We have declared them national security risks for whatever reason; why aren’t we working to rid our country of them? If not the United States or some other third country, then we have to call Cuba and get this entire ordeal behind us.”

He continued: “But if the government had done its due diligence from the beginning, one person, any one person involved in this process – we wouldn’t be having this debate.”

Mr Mitchell has come under heavy criticism for his handling of this case.

Cuban nationals Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara Marin were released from prison on the order of the Supreme Court last week, after their lead attorney Fred Smith, QC, argued that they were being unlawfully detained. The men were previously in the Detention Centre before they were transferred to prison.

Last Friday, Mr Mitchell branded them “national security risks.”

However, The Tribune revealed on Monday that he had petitioned Cabinet last November to have the men paroled into Bahamian society and each given an asylum seekers certificate.

Free National Movement Chairman Michael Pintard has urged Mr Mitchell to explain the apparent change in his position.

He has also called on Mr Mitchell to make public all supporting documents regarding this case. Mr Pintard said if Mr Mitchell was in fact searching for another country to accept the two men, he should produce records of diplomatic notes to ensure transparency.

On Tuesday, former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette suggested that Mr Mitchell handled the situation “poorly,” adding this incident, coupled with other immigration matters have the potential to damage the Bahamas’ reputation, painting it as a nation with questionable immigration laws.

Meanwhile, Mr Mitchell has moved to thwart criticism directed at him, but has continued to offer no clear explanation as to why the men were imprisoned for three years without trial.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the government tried unsuccessfully to have the men accepted by other countries, including Cuba, the US, Panama and Sweden.