FREE www.caribbeanlifenews.com BROOKLYN/STATEN ISLAND EDITION Mar. 16–Mar. 22, 2018 MITCHELL SWEEPS POLLS Browne, Staurt next on Caribbean elections altar By Bert Wilkinson didate for a city seat. Perhaps for the first time Mitchell had again repeated in living memory, a governing the 15-0 scorecard in 2013 party shepherded by the same as he took advantage of a leader, has on two consecu- fractured opposition and early tive occasions won all 15 seats general elections triggered by in general elections and again a near break up of the NDC. has a mandate to run the He says his party represents country without an elected the type of stability that Gre- opposition. nada needs after the tumul- The New National Party tuous 1980s when American (NNP) of Prime Minister Keith troops had invaded the island Mitchell of Grenada walked in the wake of the collapse of away with all the constitu- the then socialist adminis- Council Member Jumaane Williams stands with students from Brooklyn College Acad- ency seats on the island of tration and the brutal assas- emy at the National School Walkout. Kevin Fagan just over 100,000 people in sinations of Prime Minister elections held on Tuesday of Maurice Bishop and five other this week. cabinet ministers. Pols show solidarity with school walkout But this is not the first Mitchell, a mathematician or second time that Mitchell, and statistician by training, one of the most senior leaders plans to hold a celebratory By Nelson A. King dents and educators who tragi- tors, families and allies tak- in the 15-nation Caribbean mass rally in St. George’s, the Brooklyn Assembly Member cally lost their lives during the ing a stand, we must also take Community, has achieved capital, this week but he also Rodneyse Bichotte and Coun- heartbreaking school shooting meaningful action. The vic- this feat. said that the time has come cilman Jumaane Williams on in Parkland, Fl., as well as the tims deserve more than a few Back in 1999, Mitchell had for the opposition to accept Wednesday demonstrated soli- families, friends and loved ones minutes of remembrance; they also decimated the political his long outstanding invita- darity with the National School mourning these unconscion- deserve change.” opposition, carting away with tion to join the administra- Walkout against gun violence. able losses. Bichotte said the Assembly all the parliamentary con- tion. “Today, I joined with my “Silence holds a power and has passed “critical common- stituency districts, much to At the start of the week and Assembly colleagues in solidar- gravity that words often fail sense gun measures” in ban- the chagrin of the opposition just before campaigning had ity with the National School to convey,” said the first Hai- ning bump stocks (A.9958), National Democratic Party closed, Mitchell dropped the Walkout,” said Rodneyse, who tian American from New York keeping guns out of the hands (NDC). type of news on Grenadians represents the 42nd Assembly City to be elected to the State of domestic abusers and dan- The NDC was led by former that they had long wanted to District in Brooklyn. “For 17 Assembly. “Yet, while we are gerous individuals with “clear finance minister and attorney hear. He told a rally that the minutes, we solemnly remem- making it clear that we stand red flags” (A.5025, A.8976-B) Nazim Burke who was nar- spice and nutmeg isle, like bered and honored the 17 stu- behind the students, educa- Continued on Page 8 rowly beaten by the NNP can- Continued on Page 8 $ % && ' ! "! #$ % ! ! " " # $# % ! " ! # & ! " ! # '())) $ * $ * & ' ( ) * ' ( !" # + * ! ! , - . 1 2 / 3 ! / ! 3 4 ! 5 #$ " ,/ 0 2 Caribbean Life, Mar. 16–Mar. 22, 2018 BQ Diplomatic spat in Barbados By George Alleyne A diplomatic war of words may be developing between the government of Barbados and government of Cana- da through their representatives, the Minister of Education, Ronald Jones, and the north American country’s High Commissioner, Marie Legault. The Canadian envoy to Barbados Council Member Jumaane Wil- and the Eastern Caribbean has in liams, center, and immigrant rights past months been commenting on activist Ravi Ragbir, right, speak issues that can be seen to touch with reporters after court appear- on Barbadian affairs ranging from ance.. Kevin Fagan homosexuality, country manage- ment, and gender matters. Apparently fed up of with what he Williams saw as interference in the island’s internal affairs an angry Jones snapped without calling a name, over the weekend, “get out! You can’t come pleads not and because you eat muskrats (a North American native rodent) you can come and tell us to eat rats.” guilty to Jones display of anger comes under the shadow of Barbados general elec- tions set to be called anytime between now and June 4, with a woman, Mia obstruction Mottley, leading the main opposition party that appears a likely winner. Against a backdrop of this scenario charges a known government campaigner and political commentator, had in Janu- ary questioned whether Barbados is By Nelson A. King ready for a female leader. Brooklyn Council Member Jumaane And, Legault might have trod on Barbados Minister of Education Ronald Jones. Photo by George Alleyne D. Williams on Tuesday pleaded not sensitive ground when, consistent guilty to charges of obstructing an with her known support for females emergency medical vehicle stemming achieving status equal to men, she der does not have an impact.” rently Belize only counts with 9.4 per from the Jan. 11 protest of the deten- jumped into the fray last week by Further stressing her point she cent women in parliament, and St. tion and imminent deportation of saying, “I was taken aback when in broadened the discussion to the wider Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Trinidadian immigrant rights activist January I saw political analyst Mau- Caribbean, “in terms of women’s par- Vincent and the Grenadines, between Ravi Ragbir. reen Holder asking if Barbados was ticipation in politics, Grenada has 11 and 13 percent”. Williams, the son of Grenadian ready for a female prime minister and led the way with 33 percent women Given Barbados’ politically sen- immigrants, who represents the advocating for a national debate on in parliament and Guyana and Trini- sitive climate at this time, Jones 45th Council District in Brooklyn, it. I think every country is ready for a dad and Tobago at 31 percent. On the interpreted Legault’s statement as an appeared before a judge on Tuesday, male or female prime minister. Gen- opposite side of the spectrum, cur- endorsement for opposition leader, with 16 other protesters who were Mottley. arrested with him for their roles in “Pack your Georgie bundles and the protest. go,” Jones said Sunday without call- Williams’s City Council colleague ing the diplomat by name, but added Ydanis Rodriguez, who was also arrest- a suggestion of external interference ed during the protest, had appeared in in the island’s affairs, “there is a court appearance late February and wicked and deliberate attempt by one pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a or two forces in Barbados who have violation rather than a crime. the honor representing their country The other protesters accepted an on sovereign soil in Barbados.” ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation “To think that you can come into of Dismissal) in the courtroom on my country and because you want to Tuesday, while informing the court of cuddle and cunoodle … you say to the their intention to continue to protest people of Barbados to vote for that actions they find unjust, Williams told person. How dare you? You should be Caribbean Life. asked to leave, or your government He said he pleaded not guilty, stat- should tell you to come home because ing that his actions were “in opposi- ‘you have interfered in the domestic tion to the immoral deportation of political affairs of Barbados,” Jones Ravi Ragbir.” said. The arrest and detention of Rag- The Barbados government min- bir was later ruled unconstitutional ster warned a group of supporters to by US District Judge Kathleen For- whom he was speaking at the time, rest, who compared the US Immi- “let me tell wunna [you] something . gration and Customs Enforcement’s . you can allow these things that are (ICE) actions to “regimes we revile as happening now to continue to happen unjust; regimes where those who have with our eyes open, but we will wake long lived in a country may be taken Canadian High Commissioner, Marie Legault. up tomorrow morning and find that without notice and sent away.” Photo by George Alleyne our country is not our own.” BQ Caribbean Life, Mar. 16–Mar. 22, 2018 3 Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME Antigua Austria has expressed an interest in cooperating with Antigua and Bar- buda to forge closer relations in areas of tourism and diplomatic relations. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Gaston Browne during a visit to Anti- gua by Marianne Feldman, Austrian ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean. Browne, in his response reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s full commit- ment to cooperating with the Austrian gov- ernment. He made a request to the Austrian ambas- sador to consider open- ing an embassy in Antigua. Bahamas The Central Bank of the Baha- mas (CBOB) reported that the tour- ism industry expanded during the first month of 2018, following a 2.1 percent decline in 2017. According to the CBOB Monthly Economic and Financial Development Douglas fights parliamentary removal report, data from Nassau Airport Devel- opment Company (NAD) showed pas- Former St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas is challenging in the High Court a decision by the senger traffic increased by eight per- government to remove him from Parliament on the grounds that he is a citizen of the Commonwealth of cent in January, in comparison to a 0.1 Dominica.