IN DEFENCE OF DOMINICA

By Gabriel Christian Esq.

In the past week there has been a systematic attempt to blunt the impact of my criticism of the Skerrit government.  My thesis is that by any yardstick or measurement, Roosevelt Skerrit is a corrupt leader who is flagrantly lining his pockets while in power.  The evidence, I contend, is incontrovertible except for a small group of hired hit men, sycophants and supporters who, animated by self interest or family ties, maintain otherwise.

My critics can be lumped into three broad categories, those blinded by blood, those who are wilfully blind and those blinded by sheer greed.  Let me proceed to respond to those who have attacked me, sometimes personally, and show why their criticism does not diminish my indictment of the Skerrit government as the most corrupt in Dominica’s history.

Blinded By Blood

Petrolina John has written emails expressing her ‘disappointment’ with me.  She has listed the progress made under Skerrit’s government.  But note that she says absolutely nothing in her emails about the overwhelming evidence of financial impropriety by Skerrit.  Nothing about the lie in 2007 that he was just building a $400,000 house.  Nothing about his famous speech in 2007 that he owned no land.  Nothing about the villas at Savanne Paille.  Nothing about David Hsui’s shocking allegations of free gifts.  Nothing about Skerrit unjustly enriching himself while in office.

Her most recent email condemning Judith Pestina and Sabroache reveals the reason for her silence on these critical issues about good governance.  Pet, its all about your support for your brother Charles, isn’t it?  That is all you are concerned about.  Pet, you couldn’t give a damn about Dominica.  As long as Charles is feeding at the trough, that is all that matters.  Pet, tell us whether you have ever supported a party in Dominica which your brother was not affiliated with!  You cannot name one!!  You portray Charles as John the Baptiste!  Pet, nothing you say can clean the image of Charles who has sold out every movement he has been involved in, the Trade Union movement, the Civil Service Association and the Freedom Party.  Pet, you are blinded by blood and therefore have no credibility.

Wilful Blindness

In a recent email, Chris Volney has dismissed the disclosure about Skerrit’s ownership of the Savanne Paille villas as “baseless assertions orchestrated along partisan lines because they have not been presented to the direction of public prosecutions, or the chairman of the IPO for investigation, plain and simple.”

Chris, which planet do you live on?  The allegations you say, are baseless because they have not been presented to the IPO.  Or to the DPP.  Chris, are you kidding me?

The self same DPP stated that it is not his job to prosecute allegations of financial impropriety!  The self same DPP has lost 80% of its serious criminal cases.  The self same DPP has washed its hands, for whatever reason, from any case involving corruption in government.  And yet you have the audacity to say that to be legitimate, the allegations should be given to the DPP! Chris, I was going to say that you have more guts than a calabash but Dr. Sam told me that that is not medically possible.

Chris, you suggest that the evidence should be given to the IPO.  Misieux fou, garcon!! Chris, are you serious?  Are you telling me that we should wait for the IPO to apply their exquisite legal knowledge to the facts of this case?

Chris, you ask why have the police not been informed.  Are you suggesting that the police DO NOT KNOW about these allegations?  Are you suggesting that someone must bring the evidence to the police on a silver platter?  Chris, is that how it works in your safe haven in Canada?  Don’t bother answer since we know the answer.

There has been irrefutable evidence of theft of public monies by a few members of the former DBS board.  A minister even stated publicly that she did not have meetings at times suggested by a board member.  The evidence could not have been more concrete.  Chris, the police did nothing!  And yet you sit by your fireplace uttering words which amount to nothing more than sound and fury signifying nothing.

Chris, you can do better than that!!

Blinded by Greed:

Tony, I have a perverse admiration for both you and Parry.  You are a hired gun, motivated by the most selfish of reasons.  Both you and your family company have profited handsomely from your support of the government.  You have gone where the winds blow.  We remember your comments about Ambrose George when Giraud was arrested.  We remember your comments when Pierro died.  You said that no one held his hand when he reached out to the self same men who now hold the reins of power.  And yet today, you are the biggest supporter of those you accused in 2004 of abandoning Pierro.  Tony! Ou mechasté oui garcon!

Tony, about the villas.  You told Trevor Johnson that the emails were doctored.  The problem Tony, which your scheming cannot erase, is the corroborative evidence tying Skerrit to Supriya and the latter to the house in Vieille Case and the villas in Savanne Paille.  Tony, there are witnesses in Dominica who would testify that the woman spent time in Vieille Case supervising Skerrit’s monument to his vanity and in Savanne Paille supervising the villas!  What coincidence!!  Garcon, Skerrit just have bad luck!

Tony, here is a possible defence.  It was not Supriya people saw in Vieille Case and Savanne Paille.  It was a soucoyan who look just like her!!  Tony, if Supriya were to testify before a Grand Jury, we wouldn’t be talking about this.  I guess we must place all our confidence in the legal luminaries at the IPO.  What a joke!

Ah Parry!  You referred to me as a hypocrite in your recent “Eef I wuz”  column.  I will say this for you.  You have shamelessly ingratiated yourself to a Dominican Prime Minister on two occasions for over the past 30 years.  Parry, in 1978 you had a fledgling paper, The Link.  A young Prime Minister had already begun to raise concerns about his dealings with unsavoury people. The Chronicle was busy exposing these connections of the Prime Minister.  Parry, in order to gain a competitive edge over The Chronicle, you publicly advocated government press censorship ofThe Chronicle because of its opposition to the John’s government.

We all know what happened in 1979, don’t we Parry?  You are following the same path today.  Like Pontius Pilate, you absolved yourself of any responsibility in what happened in 1979. Today, you pursue the same course, motivated, as before, by naked self interest.  You are blinded by greed, my brother, nothing else.  Don’t you think your countrymen deserve better?

I reaffirm my condemnation of the governance of my country.  I refuse to blind myself to what is apparent for all to see.  I may be pilloried and accused of every sin or vice under the sun.  I may be indicted and sentenced by the PM’s political hit men.  I may be shunned, tarred and feathered by friend and foe alike.  But still I stand, proud, unmoved and unbowed.  Dominica’s future is worth much more than counterfeit currency, proceeds of crime or blood money.