The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday hit out at Facebook group “Baha Mar Citizen Awake”, accusing it of fuelling “racism” and extreme patriotism towards Baha Mar’s Chinese investors at the behest of the resort’s developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

Mr Mitchell accused the group of being a “front organisation” for Mr Izmirlian. He said the group with the “patently offensive name” is likely responsible for “fuelling this anti-Chinese fervour” as a “cover for the defaults of Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian”.

Mr Mitchell further lambasted Bahamians not attached to Baha Mar for criticising the resort’s Chinese investors, stressing that a country which had to “fight and continue to fight every day for their human dignity to be recognised” should not be engaging in “this kind of dog whistling and borderline race baiting for the fun of it”.

Mr Mitchell’s statement came in reference to rumours that Chinese investors requested the removal of Mr Izmirlian as developer; a 30-year exclusivity with regards to its casino licence, a 30-year Value Added Tax exemption, a 25 per cent increase in concessions currently enjoyed by the resort and the granting of 500 citizenships to Chinese nationals attached to the project in various capacities.

The speculation was revealed by radio talk show host Steve McKinney during a recent segment of his “Hard Copy” talk show on Peace 107.5FM, who claimed to have seen a letter written to Prime Minister Perry Christie by Chinese officials.

Firing back at those allegations, Mr Christie on Monday night described the rumours as an “absolute lie” and denied that citizenship in return for foreign investment had been agreed, adding that was a “non-negotiable position” for his government. However, he did not speak about the other alleged requests.

Nonetheless, the allegations led to a firestorm of public criticism and assertions that the Bahamas is becoming a Chinese colony. Mr Mitchell hit out at the actions of some, which he said included but is not limited to the Bahamian $1 bill being “defaced” by replacing the Queen with a Chinese national figure; the Bahamian national anthem being “desecrated” by being sung in “mock Chinese” and the “inference that Chinese are being endowed with hegemonic powers in the Bahamas.”

“This type of propaganda is not amusing,” Mr Mitchell said yesterday. “It is patently offensive and irresponsible. No nation, but particularly one of majority African ancestry where they have had to fight and continue to fight every day for their human dignity to be recognised, should be engaging in this kind of dog whistling and borderline race baiting for the fun of it. It is unbecoming of us as a country.”

Mr Mitchell added: “What is further concerning though is that a front organisation on Facebook which appears to be aligned with the failed developer and calling themselves by the patently offensive name ‘Baha Mar citizens’ seems to be fuelling this anti-Chinese fervour as a cover for the defaults of the developer.”

Mr Mitchell was referring to ‘Baha Mar Citizen Awake’, which, according to its page description, is a “forum” for voices of former Baha Mar employees to have their voices heard over the shuttered property.

“Our country’s image abroad as a place for investment and in tourism cannot develop the reputation of being racists or jingoists,” Mr Mitchell added. “I therefore sound this word of caution on this and say it has gone far enough and must come to an immediate end.”

Mr Mitchell went on to deny public speculation that the Chinese are allegedly making strides to take over the Bahamas politically or economically. He also called on the public’s “better nature on this score where the country’s international reputation and vital interests are at stake”.

He added: “The Bahamas is a democracy and a free society, so public discourse is par for the course. What is of concern however is when racism and jingoism appear to be seeping into the dialogue and public discourse. We should not wander down that path for that is the wrong path.”

On Wednesday, Mr Christie said negotiations with government officials, the Export Import Bank of China (EXIM) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) over Baha Mar resulted in a “framework agreement” to complete the project “as expeditiously as possible”.

However, he gave no concrete resolution on the issue of payment to unsecured Bahamian creditors, only saying they would be “considered” during the remobilisation process, adding that negotiations were underway to agree to appropriate timelines and a schedule for completion.