Regiment is 'evolving' and 'modernising' - lawyer
The Regiment is “evolving” and “modernising” and is not the abusive environment described by Bermudians Against the Draft, a Government lawyer told Supreme Court.Crown counsel Shakira Dill was answering allegations from the campaign group earlier this week that being forced to serve in the Regiment is a violation of their constitutional rights.In evidence and sworn statements to the court, members of BAD who’ve served in Bermuda’s part-time army said they’d witnessed senior officers cursing at subordinates and making them carry heavy logs as punishment.They also alleged recruits suffer bribery and physical and sexual abuse and have been ordered to urinate into tin cans at night. Government denies its policy of conscripting men into the Regiment violates their rights and that conscripts are abused.Setting out its case today, Ms Dill read from a soldiers’ handbook given to new recruits. In it, Commanding Officer (CO) Brian Gonsalves described Warwick Camp as a place where men experience “exciting and fulfilling training” and get to meet “people from all walks of life”.Ms Dill said Regiment rules set out in the book prohibit violence or ill treatment of subordinates and encourage soldiers to exhibit “the greatest respect, tolerance and compassion for others”.She also cited the encouragement it offers soldiers to attain their GED certificates and the offer of free tuition at the Bermuda College.“I highlight these portions of the soldiers’ handbook to show the court that the Regiment is evolving, it’s taking steps to modernise itself,” said Ms Dill.One BAD member, Jamel Hardtman, claimed during evidence on Monday to have heard then Regiment CO William White use the n-word during a private conversation.He said he e-mailed Lt Col White the following day to complain he was “disturbed” by his “inappropriate” language and produced a copy of his e-mail to the court.However, Ms Dill said yesterday the court should “attach little weight” to what Mr Hardtman said. She did not call Lt Col White as part of Government’s case but noted: “Former Commanding Officer William White has not had the opportunity to address it. It’s a printout of an e-mail, there’s no reply from Mr White, it’s just a one-sided account and the court should be very wary of bold-facedly adopting what’s said in these e-mails and it should be afforded very little weight.”Another BAD member, Marilyn Steede, explained she quit her job as chief clerk to the Regiment over the way she was treated. In a sworn statement, she described the Regiment as “indeed one of the most toxic environments I have ever experienced” and alleged she had been sworn at by senior officers, including the CO.Responding yesterday, Ms Dill cited a sworn statement from Captain Christopher Gauntlett, who joined the Regiment in 2003. While he did not deny bad language is used, Capt Gauntlett said it has “reduced significantly” since he began his service.Ms Dill also suggested Ms Steede quit the Regiment and joined BAD because she was upset she’d been branded difficult to work with.“The court should attach very little weight to the evidence of Ms Steede,” she said.The lawyer pointed out Lt Col Gonsalves said in a sworn statement that bribery is not used. And Sergeant Major Leopold Lee said while recruits may have been instructed to urinate in cans in the past, that is now banned. He denied soldiers are punished by carrying logs.Ms Dill said two BAD members who gave evidence to the hearing, Larry Marshall Jr and Jamel Hardtman, had not served since 2001 and 2003 respectively.“The Regiment has evolved since 2001,” she said. “The reason why it’s important to highlight that these processes are not reflective of the Regiment of today is the Regiment is not asking the applicants to serve in the Regiment of yesteryear, it’s asking them to serve in the Regiment of today.”Lt Col Gonsalves admitted on Monday that a soldier spent 58 days in a military prison after he attempted to rape another soldier at knifepoint during an overseas trip in 2005.Ms Dill said while Government “do not want to appear insensitive” over what happened “it occurred between two soldiers of the same rank, it happened five years ago, and it is obvious that the Regiment did not support, nor did it condone it”.Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller will deliver her judgment at a later date, which is yet to be fixed.Useful website: www.bermudaregiment.bm
The mother of two brothers battling to get conscription outlawed has told of her pride that they've inherited the “fighting spirit” of their late grandfather — legendary politician and lawyer Arnold Francis.
Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD) members Tekle and Seth Ming have refused to serve in the Regiment and are supporting the campaign group's Supreme Court bid to get mandatory military service declared unconstitutional.
Mr Francis, a founding member of the Progressive Labour Party and later a United Bermuda Party politician, died on January 25 aged 88.
His eldest daughter Fikrte Ming (née Jennifer Francis) told The Royal Gazette: “My last conversation with my father over the phone was about his grandsons.”
She said she told her father the two young men, who applied to be excused from military duty on the grounds that they were conscientious objectors, were willing to go on hunger strike for the cause.
“We had a long conversation about that,” she said. “Of course, he was kind of concerned. He doesn't want them to go through any kind of strife.
“I said 'Dad, they have to do what they have to do'. I said 'you have been there with the struggle and stuff'. He said 'I hope everything goes in their favour'.
“Knowing how things go in Bermuda, he probably wasn't too optimistic but I think he knew they had to do what they had to do.”
The Harrington Sound Primary School teacher said her father, the PLP's first parliamentary leader, always stood up for what he believed in. “I think he instilled that in me and I'm instilling that in my sons. That's where they have got this fighting spirit from.”
On January 14, Tekle, 28, an air conditioning installer, had his application to be considered a conscientious objector denied by the Defence Exemption Tribunal, along with Shaki Easton.
No ruling was made on the same application by construction worker Seth, 24, or James Famous, on the grounds that they had never physically shown up at Warwick Camp so the tribunal did not have authority to decide if they could be conscientious objectors.
Government has agreed not to arrest the four conscripts before March 17, when BAD lawyer Eugene Johnston's legal bid to fight his own Regiment call-up is set for mention in the Supreme Court.
Mr Johnston claimed during this week's Supreme Court case that members who claim to be conscientious objectors have not been given fair hearings by the exemption tribunal.
He said several figures involved in the tribunal have ties to the Regiment and its members are appointed by the Governor, who is head of the Regiment. They are also paid by Government.
“The exemption tribunal is not independent and impartial,” claimed Mr Johnston.
Yesterday, Government lawyer Shakira Dill refuted that suggestion. She pointed out that several members have no history of military service.
“Judges themselves are appointed by Government and remunerated by the Government purse,” she said, adding that no one questions whether they are impartial.
