DPPhas his say

November 18, 2002

Dear Sir,

I write this letter primarily for the benefit of the general public so as to set the record straight.

This morning ( Monday, 18th November, 2002) at 9.40 a.m. I received a voice mail message from Stephen Breen, one of your reporters, who is attributed with writing the front page article in today's issue of The Royal Gazette entitled "Stabbing victim runs into wall of silence from DDP".

The message was in the form of a question; namely, whether I had a response to today's article. Yes, I have a response. This is it!

Your newspaper had this story over the weekend and, in all probability, since earlier in the week. Your people knew full well that this was going to be a Monday morning headline story but did not contact me or leave voice mail messages for me prior to running it. Mr. Breen and the rest of your reporters know how to reach me outside of regular hours or on weekends when they want to. Indeed they have done so several times in the past by calling me at home or leaving voice messages on my home telephone. This did not happen this weekend.

It is very clear to me that the reason for calling me this morning, after publication is deliberate, and an attempt to give currency to a "story". If I were to be stupid enough to return the call today and respond, then your paper will have another sensational continuation of the "story" tomorrow.

That kind of behaviour is irresponsible for a newspaper that is reporting factually and honestly. More importantly, it is playing games with the criminal justice system. Both your newspaper and politicians would be well advised to learn that playing politics with the criminal justice system, or this Office, is both wrong and dangerous. Whatever agenda one might have for playing with the system, the consequence can be harmful to either or both the victim/complainant and accused persons in terms of how the case proceeds to disposal, if it proceeds at all.

All criminal cases are important, no one case any more important than another, irrespective of who the victim is or where he/she comes from. The same is true of accused persons. There is no justifiable reason to give disproportionate attention to this particular case, as has been done. To do so can be harmful. Let the criminal justice system take its course and public officers carry out their duties without unfair harassment and interference. That is not to say that fair comment or enquiries are not welcome or permitted. On the contrary, they are!

As regards Mr. Scott Jable, I will say that Mr. Jable was spoken to at length on Monday 4th November via telephone by a senior counsel for nearly one hour. He was fully briefed. Without going into detail, he made further calls to this Office on the 7th and 8th November that went unanswered. I discovered a voicemail message that he left for me personally on the 8th November on late Monday evening the 11th November. I called him at 9 a.m. Bermuda time on Tuesday the 12th November and spoke with him for the first time. He was both apologetic and understanding and explained his situation. He even confirmed to me that he was fully briefed on Monday the 4th November.

I briefed him on certain things and promised to revert to him in due course. I believed I clarified one or two misconceptions that he had and which I am satisfied he was wrongly fed by other "advisers" or which he had wrongly assumed. He was satisfied.

I am satisfied that the media reports which were aired over the weekend and in today's Royal Gazette were both stale and mischievious news.

Just as Mr. Coggie Gibbons from the Bermuda Broadcasting station was able to reach me over the weekend for a response and to give a balanced story, so too could your reporter and any politician have done if the desire was to be factual and accurate.

KHAMISI M. TOKUNBO

Director of Public Prosecutions

Editor's Note: This newspaper first heard about this story early on Saturday morning when Shadow Home Affairs Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin attempted to raise it in the House of Assembly. We were not aware of the story earlier in the week as suggested by Mr. Tokunbo. Nonetheless, we were wrong not to have attempted to contact Mr. Tokunbo on Sunday when the story was written and regret the error.

Having said that, the story was justified as the victim in the case is entitled to state if he is satisfied with how he has been dealt with. It is neither this newspaper's role nor its desire to "play politics" with the criminal justice system. This newspaer was entitled to report on concerns raised by the victim and the politician and was not being mischievous in so doing.

Treated with contempt

November 12, 2002

Dear Sir,

In listening to a talk show discussion on the failure of countries like Great Britain to address the oppression of racism and colonialism after the World War Two "fight for the freedom" of Europeans, I realised that the most liberal white person cannot fully identify with, or understand, black people who have suffered from both racism and colonialism and see pure hypocrisy in the claim of the white Western world of "fighting for freedom".

In the same way I recognised, when I read Minister Nelson Bascome's somewhat smug comment on Bermuda and Senior Citizens (R.G. November 9) that you have to be a senior citizen to fully recognise and appreciate the lack of respect - and even contempt - by many in the PLP Government towards senior citizens, despite the Premier's Tea Party, which is no more meaningful (or no less meaningless) now than it was under the UBP. Swan Government. An obvious example is the bypassing of the long time hardworking PLP loyalist Senator Calvin Smith in favour of the much younger (Johnny-come-lately) Ashfield Devent. But that's just the most recent and very public example, and does not begin to address the numerous less public experiences. But then this Premier and this PLP hierarchy has shown as little respect for all of those blacks who sacrificed for change, before they were anywhere around, and made their ascendency possible (even those long time PLP stalwarts) as did a former black Premier who was so contemptuous of the black struggle of the Sixties.

If the attitudes of those in Government towards senior citizens are a model for the rest of the world, the rest of the world has a very long way to go.

EVA N. HODGSON

Hamilton Parish