Grand Fond citizens in defense of Dr Fontaine

Roosevelt Skerrit has filed suit in his personal capacity against Dr Fontaine for revelations in the passport scandal.

Below is the full statement: ”Dear Prime Minister Skerrit, We the undersigned, citizens of the village of Grand Fond, are very much concerned about your decision to file a law suit against Dr. Thomson Fontaine, a prominent son of the soil and one of the most successful children the village of Grand Fond has ever produced, for asking , what we consider to be legitimate questions.

Dr. Fontaine has distinguished himself with academic excellence from a humble beginning where he attended the Grand Fond Government School and endured the hills of Dorbrack and Denye' carrying bananas and dasheen on his head, then proceeded to the St. Mary's Academy and subsequently pursued a Phd in economics, which propelled him to securing a lucrative position as an economist with the International Monetary Fund, an envy of most world economists.

Unlike other successful Dominican academics who have deserted Dominica , Dr. Fontaine has never abandoned the people of Grand Fond, to the extent that at every given opportunity he has returned to our village, toiled the land, participated in sporting activities with the youth and assisted the villagers in every way possible.

On a national level, Dr. Fontaine has been extremely generous with his expertise to the government and people of Dominica. During Dominica's economic dilemma of the early 2000s, Dr. Fontaine's expertise was at the disposal to the government of Dominica.

In a recent radio discussion on Kairi FM you admitted that Dawood Ibrahim, the terrorist fugitive responsible for the slaughter of innocent people in the Mumbai bombing in India, was the holder of sixteen passports of different nationalities under various names.

You also admitted that Karan Singh, Dawood Ibrahim's attorney, was given Dominican citizenship under the Economic Citizenship Programme. You did not deny the allegations that the children of Dawood Ibrahim may be recipients of Dominican citizenship.

Dr. Fontaine's recent revelations of the conduct of the government of Dominica's Economic Citizenship Programme (ECP) must be applauded, he has courageously informed the Dominican people of the activities of their government which no other media organization has seen fit to do.

Without Dr. Fontaine's revelations Dominicans would have remained ignorant of the fact that convicts and fugitives from the law are holders of Dominican passports and appointed diplomatic representatives of the Commonwealth of Dominica, notorious characters such as Rudolph King and Francesco Corallo.

In that context, we respectfully pose the following questions since we believe that it is in the public’s interests to have a clear and unequivocal response to the issues raised:

• Can you please clarify why are you suing Dr. Fontaine in your private capacity as Roosevelt Skerrit when in that capacity you have no authority to issue or sell passports and the inquiries made were to the Prime Minister of Dominica?

• Your decision to sue is a clear contradiction to the extension of an olive branch in your independence address and your willingness to dialogue in your Christmas message.

• Are you aware that your legal counsel, Anthony Astaphan, stated in his press conference that the same information that Dr. Fontaine is alleged to have disseminated was also done by him albeit the motives were different?

• Can you tell us the number of passports that has been issued by your government under the ECP and are you willing to publish the list of names of persons who have received economic citizenship?

• Please confirm the names and number of the individuals who have been granted diplomatic status by your government.

• What is the current status of ambassador designate to the FAO Mr. Francesco Corallo?

• You have publicly indicated that there are eleven Dominican consulates around the world. Can you please indicate where these consulates are located?

• As minister of Finance and since assuming the office of Prime Minister can you please indicate the total amount of revenue that has gone to the Treasury from the ECP and also from the contribution from those holding diplomatic passports?

• It has been reported in the press that Karan Singh received a passport under the ECP even though he was a fugitive from Indian justice. Can you assure the Dominican public that due diligence was conducted on Karan Singh before he was granted citizenship.

• Did your government attempt to help Priya Singh in locating her son when your assistance was requested by the Indian government?

• How are you so sure that Dawood Ibrahim was not issued a Dominican passport under a different name since you have admitted that he has sixteen different passports from various aliases?

• Can you assure the Dominican people that the children of Dawood Ibrahim are not recipients of Dominican citizenship.

• Is it true that the government of Dominica attempted to appoint a neo- nazi as ambassador to Ireland but was rejected by the Irish government?

• Do you realize that your legal adviser, Anthony Astaphan, is propagating hatred and division in the country?

The preceding are all legitimate questions that a government should be expected to respond to from its citizens. Therefore, why is legal action being taken against Dr. Fontaine?

In 2009 the villagers of Grand Fond broke their long tradition of rejecting the Dominica Labour Party and became part of your 18 seat victory in the last general elections.

We now extend an invitation to you to participate in a community discussion in the village of Grand Fond, at a date convenient to you, where the above and other related issues can be discussed.

Please rest assured that the citizens of Grand Fond will not allow one of our most distinguished sons of our village to be vilified unjustly. We will stand firm with Dr. Fontaine and at the same time we will caution him to avoid publishing incorrect information.

We beg of you Mr. Prime Minister to face the nation in an open discussion.