Within 24-hours of Our Carmichael founder and "We March Bahamas" organizer Ranard Henfield demanding that Prime Minister Perry Christie address 40 national issues on behalf of the Bahamian people within a week or the organizers would "initiate a national strike", Henfield has claimed he was taken out of context, announced via Facebook that he will take a "back seat" on the 'We March' movement, and posted and removed several contradictory social media posts when juxtaposed to other recent public statements.

Henfield said in a Facebook post yesterday morning that there was no national strike planned for next week, and while he acknowledged that he said he was prepared to initiate a strike in what he called a "private email to the media", he maintained that he was taken out of context. He said the "person [who] shared that private email sent to the media meant no harm".

The email, which contained the threat of a "national strike" was sent by wemarchbahamas@gmail.com to various media houses and signed "Without wax, Ranard".

In the same post, Henfield claimed that the "private group email" was "taken out of context and the person that ran the story didn't reach out to clarify what 'initiate' entailed".

"Again, the letter to the prime minister indicates peaceful civil disobedience," he wrote.

"It says nothing about there being a national strike next Friday."

The statement was later removed from Facebook.

In a letter addressed to the Office of the Prime Minister dated December 1, the organizers outlined 40 demands for the prime minister to "immediately effect".

The organizers called on Christie to make a national address by next Thursday to advise the public on what he has done to advance these issues since the November 25 march and occupation of Downtown Nassau, or "We March intend to initiate further acts of peaceful civil disobedience on Friday, December 9 for the sole purpose of reminding our parliamentarians that the power of the people is greater than the people in power".

In an email sent to the media that had the letter attached, Henfield said the organizes would "initiative a national strike" in one week, should the prime minister not publicly address the nation in the timeframe outlined.

Henfield uploaded another post on Facebook around 2 p.m. Friday, this time saying along the journey to galvanize people for a better country he has made missteps and at times let "my passion and conviction to raise awareness and bring about change, to get the better of me".

"This whole We March movement has become a boulder on my shoulders that I can't carry much longer up this hill, but I'm hoping that as long as I can carry it that the people realize that we have a lot to fix in this country, and we can only do so if we are united on this climb towards a better country for everyone regardless of our qualifications, family names, social status or political affiliations," Henfield said.

"I have made missteps along the way so far, and at times I've let my passion and conviction to raise awareness and bring about change to get the better of me. One of the learning lessons so far is that as a community activist, I have to assume full responsibility for my utterances and be clear when I put anything out to the public. So, moving forward, I'm going to take a back seat and ask the organizations on board to step up while I remove my passion from this fight for a better country."

Appearing on 106.5 Star FM with Jeff Lloyd yesterday afternoon, Henfield insisted that he was not removing himself from the movement or the people's fight for change.

Demands
Several of the demands in the letter to the prime minister have been voiced by organizers over the last several weeks.
Organizers demanded a cease order and moratorium on government negotiations and proposals with any foreign interest over the country's natural resources; for the prime minister, who has responsibility for Crown land, to desist issuing any seabed or Crown land leases for the remainder of his term and a public commitment from the prime minister to assign the responsibility of Crown land grants to an apolitical body.

Organizers also demanded that the date of the general election be announced; that the government disclose Bahamas Power and Light's (BPL) business plan, which the government paid nearly $1 million for; and that the Freedom of Information Act be made available to the public, and a date set for its tabling in Parliament.

On the eve of the march, Christie released an open letter inviting the organizers to meet to engage in discussion aimed at "improving the lives of all citizens" and for them to be presented the National Development Plan, a document that the prime minister said addresses "many, if not all, of" the concerns raised.

Christie's letter was in response to a previous letter from the organizers.

Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian