Anonymous men wearing KKK style masks target Save The Bays chairman Fred Smith, QC, and others with aggressive, intimidating messages during the January 1, 2015 Junkanoo parade on Bay Street.
Save The Bays (STB) was saddened to learn that Prime Minister Perry Christie has become the target of threatening words, messages or actions, to such a degree that he felt obliged to increase his security detail.
We join with all right thinking Bahamians in lending our full support and encouragement to the nation’s leader as he faces this most distressing ordeal; an ordeal which no doubt caused him to fear for his own safety, as well as that of his family. We also denounce in the strongest possible terms anyone who would resort to such underhanded and cowardly tactics.
Having said that, STB must point out that Prime Minister Christie is not the only individual in The Bahamas facing threats and intimidation from of those who disagree with or oppose him. Indeed, our sympathy with his current plight is heightened by the fact that over the past several months, STB members, Fred Smith QC, Louis Bacon, Dianne Phillips, Joseph Darville, and Reverend CB Moss, of The Coalition To Save Clifton have been targeted and put in fear by a series of increasingly hostile and aggressive public demonstrations.
Like the prime minister, we know firsthand what it is like to live under a cloud of fear and uncertainty, to dread hearing that a loved one has been attacked or harmed because of their connection to us. We too know what it feels like to be targeted for doing work we believe to be vital to future generations of Bahamians.
Unlike the prime minister, however, we do not have the luxury of being able to call upon the police to ensure our safety. In fact, STB has been complaining of the brazen intimidation tactics used against our members since July of last year, however no one in law enforcement has stepped forward to offer any assistance.
The first malicious attack came in the form of a “Pro- Peter Nygard” march through Downtown Nassau in July 2014, which targeted myself, international philanthropist and STB supporter Louis Bacon and esteemed church leader Rev. Dr. CB Moss, referring to us as “frauds” and “liars” among other things.
A July 2014 march in which respected church leader Rev. CB Moss and others were targeted.
Then, on December 5, 2014, a group of masked men dressed in Ku Klux Klan (KKK) costume and carrying banners bearing a variety of threatening messages, attempted to hijack an event in support of the passage of a Freedom of Information Act, organized by STB.
On that day, targets included STB director Joseph Darville, a universally respected veteran educator, who served as principal of a Catholic High School in Grand Bahama for 20 years. Newly appointed director Diane Phillips was also singled out and made to feel threatened.
This spectacle was repeated during New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade, where the shameless donning of white hoods and brandishing of burning crosses – the symbols of violence and oppression – were allowed to tarnish the country’s national cultural centerpiece. Both the Junkanoo Commission of New Providence and Culture Minister Daniel Johnson promised to investigate, but seem not to have followed through. Meanwhile, our members continue to live in fear.
The intent of these reprehensible displays was clearly to demonize and strike fear into the hearts of those advocating for greater individual rights, government transparency and respect for the rule of law. We urge the prime minister in the strongest of terms, not to let such heinous behavior go uninvestigated and unpunished.
Above all, we urge him to intervene immediately to ensure that our members enjoy the same level of safety, security and peace of mind that he, his colleagues in Parliament, and indeed any other member of this society deserves to enjoy.
• Fred Smith, QC, chairman of Save The Bays
Founded just over a year ago, Save The Bays began as a grassroots effort to protect ecologically significant areas of The Bahamas from unregulated development. It has quickly grown into a broad-based coalition calling for comprehensive environmental protections, oil spill legislation and greater transparency in government. With more than 17,200 followers on Facebook, STB is the fastest growing, most popular non-profit, non-government organization in Bahamas history on social media. The group’s petition calling on the government to enact an Environmental Protection Act, a Freedom of Information Act, stop unregulated development and end to oil pollution is climbing in numbers, with around 6,500 signatures so far. To get involved, sign the petition or learn more, visit www.savethebays.bs.
