An over 900-page investigative report was released on April 29, recommending that the constitution of the British Virgin islands (BVI) should be suspended, its legislature dissolved, and that the colony should be placed under the direct rule of the British government. Understandably, the recommendations are raising the ire of many BVI citizens and creating uncertainties about the future for many others. The release of the report, ordered by then-BVI Gov. Augustus Jaspert in 2021, was sped up after the April 28 arrest in Florida of BVI Premier Andrew Fahie in a DEA drug sting.
The investigation was headed by retired British judge Gary Hickinbottom, and the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry Report can be downloaded from the BVI government website. BVI’s current governor, John Rankin, former governor of Bermuda, took office in January 2021, appointed by Queen Elizabeth. If the recommendations in the report are accepted by the United Kingdom’s Tory government, Rankin would hold far more power than the governorship does now. Another key player in this recent upheaval is Tory Amanda Milling, British Minister for the Overseas Territories, who arrived in BVI on May 1 to hold discussions and get feedback.
To put things bluntly, the fate and future of the BVI’s approximately 37,000 citizens, where 76% of the population is Black, now rest in the hands of three white, not-Caribbean Brits, as well as Boris Johnson’s Tory government.
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A quick history review:
The British Virgin Islands is a colony of the United Kingdom, dubbed a “British overseas territory,” consisting of four large islands—Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke—along with over 30 smaller islands, many of which are uninhabited. England took control of the islands in 1672, continuing the slave plantation society established by the Dutch. Though enslavement was abolished in 1834, it wasn’t until 1950 that the islanders were granted the beginnings of self-government. In 1967, the islands were granted a ministerial form of government; in 2002, the British Overseas Territories Act granted them British citizenship. Of the approximately 30,000 residents, about one-third were born in BVI, with many others hailing from the U.S. and other parts of the Caribbean.
The investigations began in late 2020.
BVI News reported on the Commission of Inquiry (COI) at the time.
Governor Augustus Jaspert has said he will be “putting forward legislation” to help local agencies to effectively investigate individuals who possess “unexplained wealth” locally.
Governor Jaspert made the comments during a media briefing on Thursday, December 3. He said there are many residents in the territory who have raised concerns about the high number of drug, gun and cash seizures, which have recently taken place in the BVI. “These make it very clear that the territory is vulnerable to drug trafficking, serious organised crime and all that comes with it. Criminal investigations are underway, so I will not comment on specific investigations, but we cannot ignore the fact that there is a problem here.”
Ironically, at that time, BVI News reported that Premier Fahie, now facing drug trafficking charges (and demanding diplomatic immunity from those charges), “said in response that his government’s legislative agenda contains plans to enact such laws to bolster accountability in the territory.”
The investigation got underway just seven weeks after it was announced, with the swearing in of Judge Hickinbottom.
Also of interest: An announcement of the COI was made in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), encouraging U.S. Virgin islanders to proffer information. The St. Thomas Source offered this headline of recruitment at the time: “Do Any U.S. Virgin Islanders Have Info on BVI Corruption?”
Because of the deep historical and family ties between BVI and the U.S.Virgin Islands, and regular movement of people and money between the territories, ties between the two Virgin Islands are very deep and extensive. As a result, some U.S. Virgin Islanders might knowingly or unknowingly have information of relevance to the inquiry and are being encouraged to let the commission know.
Many families have relatives and ties to both territories. Former Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, for example, is a BVI “belonger” with citizenship rights, who owns property on Tortola, and he is far from alone.
The inquiry hearings are posted to a YouTube channel, which has just 1.78K subscribers.
Since the release of the COI report last week, I’ve been wading my way through it. Let me be clear: There is no question about the fact that the report reveals a history of governmental corruption. In some ways, though, the paternalistic tone of the report is like the pot calling the kettle black, since the current corrupt United Kingdom government is now poised to be the administrator of cleaning up malfeasance in its colony.
This is the key point being debated—and protested—from the summary of recommendations in Hickinbottom’s report:
Recommendation A1: Temporary Partial Suspension of the Constitution
I recommend partial suspension of the Constitution, by the dissolution of the House of Assembly, the cessation of ministerial government and necessary consequential suspension of provisions of the Constitution, for an initial period of two years. During that period, I recommend direct rule by the Governor with such assistance as he considers appropriate, e.g. an Advisory Council to advise him on the formulation of policy and exercise of his functions.That Council should reflect BVI civic society. In the period of the temporary constitutional arrangement, I also recommend and urge the Governor to draw primarily upon the pool of Public Service talent in the BVI to advise and aid him. In that period, the Governor should have all necessary executive powers, including the power to make any public appointments.
I recommend that there should be a return to ministerial government and an elected House of Assembly as soon as practicable; and the Governor should regularly, and at least every six months, take advice from any Advisory Council and/or from whom otherwise he considers appropriate as to the earliest practicable date on which such government can resume. The Governor shall publish a report on that issue at least once every six months.
To get a glimpse into reactions on the island, check out this half-hour episode of 284 News, from one of the island’s networks. From Monday morning, the episode includes a speech by the ruling Virgin Islands Party’s (VIP) newly elected acting premier, Dr. Natalio Wheatley, whose selection for a permanent role will more than likely be negated if the recommendations of the COI report are accepted. Also covered is that day’s early morning protest against the recommendations of the report, and a statement issued by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, rejecting the intention of the British Government’s imposition of direct colonial rule.
Journalist Nadine White has been posting coverage of the protests on Twitter.
I’ve been wading through the comments sections on many news sites as well as of stories posted to Facebook, a social media platform which has many BVI users. Some BV Islanders are opposed to the protests—feeling that both political parties and the people who organized the protests are corrupt, and that those who are speaking out now are simply trying to cover up decades of silence, or participation in the grift. Yet no matter which position is taken, BV Islanders are in an uproar.
As noted in the coverage from 284 News above, protesters demanded a meeting with Overseas Territories Minister Milling on Tuesday; as of this writing, Milling has not met with the protesters.
Other Caribbean states have weighed in, as Patrick Wintour, diplomatic editor at The Guardian, noted on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the seven-strong Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS) issued a firm warning against the move, saying in a statement: “It is ill-advised to impose direct colonial rule and the history of such imposition in the Caribbean has never delivered the desired result.
“The OECS concurs with the elected representatives of the people of the BVI that abolition of parliament with direct rule from London represents a retrograde step in the evolution of the democratic process that is inconsistent with the United Nations proclamation of human rights to be free of colonial rule.
“The historical responsibility for strengthening governance in the BVI must rest on the shoulders of the elected representatives and the people of the BVI themselves. That ultimately will be the guarantee of good governance and full, transparent accountability.”
For some final insights, it is interesting to note that this move has been seen before in 2009 in the Turks and Caicos, another British overseas territory, as reported here by NPR.
Britain announced Friday that it's taken control of this Caribbean territory. The British government has suspended the island's constitution, ousted the prime minister, dissolved parliament and taken away the right to trial by jury for the island's citizens.
On Monday, Ronn Grant from 284 Media interviewed Damian D. Wilson, deputy director of Radio Turks and Caicos. Wilson compares the heavy-handed takeover by the British to “taking a hammer to kill a mosquito.” As for people’s democratic right to choose their own leadership, Wilson states, “you should not take away someone’s right to freely choose who they wish to lead them, even if you don’t like their choice.”
Once again, the U.K. has taken its hammer and dropped it onto another Caribbean colony. Let’s see what the end result will be.
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