The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENTAL advocacy group Save The Bays yesterday called on Prime Minister Perry Christie to “rein in” his “clearly unbalanced” Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, after the minister railed against the group for posing a “clear and present danger” to the governing Progressive Liberal Party.

Save The Bays (STB) Chairman Joseph Darville, in a statement, accused Mr Mitchell of spinning “wild tales” about the group’s modus operandi and its petitioning of international human rights organisations to further its cause, adding that should Mr Christie not intervene, it won’t be long before Mr Mitchell “ruins our international reputation completely”.

On Wednesday night, while addressing PLP supporters on the second night of the party’s national convention, Mr Mitchell hit out at lawyer Fred Smith’s human rights associations, particularly STB, claiming that the groups use of “litigation” over various issues against the government prevents government members from doing their jobs.

Mr Mitchell also accused Mr Smith and STB, which he called a “phony environment organisation,” of running to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission “to complain saying their lives are in danger” and then refusing “to co-operate with the police”.

Mr Mitchell also hit out at Mr Smith and STB for suing newspapers “in libel to silence them and then have run to the courts to stop members of Parliament from speaking in the House,” all while lobbying for “openness, transparency and freedom of information”.

“This is a clear and present danger to the PLP,” Mr Mitchell said on Wednesday. “In other words, the question is where does the money come from to pay for all this litigation, which is leading to the inability of your MPs to do their jobs? We must follow the money trail where it goes. This is a matter of this PLP’s survival.”

In response, Mr Darville said while Mr Mitchell is “correct” in stating that STB “is a formidable threat to the PLP,” its opposition to the governing party stems solely from “the Bahamians whose lives and communities have been negatively affected by ill-conceived and destructive development.”

“(Mr Mitchell) can rant, rail and spin wild tales all he wants; the minister and his colleagues know full well that they have brought this on themselves,” Mr Darville said. “The fact is that STB is totally non-partisan. Any future government of The Bahamas found to be acting against the interests of the Bahamian people should expect to face a strong challenge from STB, just as the PLP has.

“As an organisation we have challenged developments in Bimini, Abaco, New Providence and on Balmoral Island,” he said. “Prior to the formation of STB, our members fought the former FNM government over irresponsible developments in Guana Cay and Wilson City, Abaco, plans to implement LNG and a host of other environmental issues.

“...Whether PLP, FNM or DNA, any government that prioritises the interests of foreign entities seeking to destroy our natural resources, thereby disadvantaging generations of Bahamians yet unborn, will become the target of STB’s criticism.”

Mr Darville also took issue with Mr Mitchell’s reference to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC), which he said “is downright frightening in its implications for The Bahamas.”

“The international community is watching what is happening in The Bahamas with extreme concern,” he said. “They are becoming increasingly convinced that the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens have been severely eroded under this government, and Mitchell seems recklessly intent upon adding fuel to that dangerous fire. As usual, his speech and this response will be duly filed with the IAHRC.

“Yet again, we humbly ask the prime minister to rein in his clearly unbalanced minister before he ruins our international reputation completely.”