The Free National Movement (FNM) over the weekend stood by its allegations that Cuban detainees were abused in The Bahamas in May and again called on the government to immediately publicize the findings of its investigation into the incident.
The FNM's latest statement came in response to Prime Minister Perry Christie, who blasted Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis for making "irresponsible and reckless" comments about the alleged abuse of detainees.
Christie said Minnis was "bordering on gross stupidity".
Minnis alleged last week that after five Cuban detainees attempted to escape from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre on May 20, they were "physically abused to a severe degree".
He further alleged that after the beatings, the remaining detainees performed and videotaped a reenactment of the earlier beatings.
In its weekend statement, the FNM called on the government to reveal the steps being taken "to ensure that similar infractions by officers posted at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre do not occur".
"This is especially urgent so as to ensure that the May 2013 incident involving a small number of Immigration and/or Defence Force officers at the detention center is not permitted to besmirch the good character of the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers assigned to the detention center or to damage the reputation of The Bahamas as a responsible member of the international community of nations," the FNM said.
"The FNM believes that the lust for power has so impacted the prime minister that he has come to believe that he and his government are above criticism."
Christie told reporters on Friday that his government has nothing to hide.
He said the government is awaiting the completion of an investigation being conducted by the police and Defence Force, but did not provide a timeframe for the completion of the investigation or whether it would be made public.
The prime minister also suggested that National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage would address the media in more detail on the matter.
The FNM said Christie needs to either start performing his job or "leave the job of running our country to those who are serious about governance".
"It is not enough to say that he knows nothing about every query put to him by a journalist and to iterate some mumbo jumbo about having someone else look into every matter raised with him," the statement said.
"Nothing about the business of our country seems to fall in the prime minister's portfolio.
"What is worse, he sometimes seems confused about who in his government has been made responsible for what.
"He now says that he is awaiting a report on the detention center incident from the minister for national security, but the detention center falls within the portfolio of his minister of foreign affairs."
The FNM also questioned why three months after the alleged incident, the government does not have a report in hand on a government facility where records of officers on duty are easily available.

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