Salisbury straight down the middlelisbury six gets new court date

For my part, there was and probably still is a bitter unrest between police/government authorities and residents of Salisbury led by the opposition MP of this west coast community on the island of Dominica.

I am not going to review the entire scenario; instead, my objective in this post is to allow for a continuing forward movement towards healing. So, here is how I see it: The people of Salisbury, like all other citizens who feel sufficiently aggrieved, can – in a democracy – take any action they deem necessary to attract attention from the authorities.

This has and shall forever be a norm in any democracy (until that is changed, or until Dominica is declared as a non-democratic State), and we cannot be surprised nor should we be unduly negative, dismissive and intolerant to those who mount public protest or civil disorder or what have you. We should also not become subservient.

I hasten to add that, while people may have the fundamental rights, as enshrined in the Constitution of Dominica (Chapter 1, section 12, 11 and 12) to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of movement, people also have the right not to express themselves, assemble, nor be part of and/or support any movement, including protest action.

It is, however, the solemn and civic responsibility of society’s authority to reach across and mend whatever divides which may occur or develop among the peoples from time to time; they ought not to exacerbate it in words, acts or deeds.

Society’s authority is used here to mean, government and opposition, the clergy and other such religious/spiritual organizations, the mercantile class, the media, quasi government agencies and other such organizations to include representatives and top officials/executives or leaders of social establishments and/or corporations, public/social clubs and the like.

In fact, it is everyone’s business to seek ways of forging greater harmony among the people, because disharmony is bad for everything – well, most everything (for most). The only ones who preach disharmony are the ones who thieve on the people’s disharmony and how can this be good for a people?

This takes me back to the arguments and recommendations of a gentleman named Willie Lynch, who, in a speech teaching the owners of displaced Africans on the mechanisms of controlling and dealing with their rebellious “Slaves” that they should ‘divide and rule’ them. ( http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/Willie_Lynch_letter_The_Making_of_a_Slave.shtml ).

I can only hope that we are not walking down this path again, unknowingly or otherwise, because if we do, all the gains we would have made as a people would be derailed in this era of modern enlightenment and that would be a slap in the face of the pioneers of the struggle for a stable and decent society.

With that being said, I believe the blocking of the public highway in the Salisbury junction which links the southern and western regions of Dominica may not have been the most prudent course of action, in that, it deprived others of the use of facilities provided to citizens to move freely.

But, I was taught that two wrongs do not make things right and in the same breath let me declare that police retaliation (not management of the situation), especially that raid which they conducted on the community during the dawn of the June 11 morning resulting in the arrest and charge of five citizens for their role in the May 11 street blockage (a whole month earlier) was equally unwise.

I say so because, based on the definition and my understanding of the term ‘wise,’ which is a tactical employment of experience, knowledge, and good judgment, the police found themselves on the wrong side of wisdom, prompting the people to retaliate by taking to the street and blocking it again. Unwise actions and/or retaliations do not appease bad situations; they achieve the contrary very quickly.

Bishop of the Diocese of Roseau, His Most Reverend Gabriel Malzaire, employed what I believe was wise counsel in an exemplary and timely manner when he planted his high office right in the center of the situation.

The Roman Catholic Church, through the Bishop’s action, showed great character and leadership in this Salisbury matter and the Church should be applauded for that. In fact, that is part of the Church’s remit, to reach out to all sides in times of need.

From all accounts, based on media reports, Bishop Malzaire navigated safely in the middle of the issues and I advise all an sundry to ‘Follow De Bishop’, to borrow a phrase from Calypsonian, Tarina Simon. Bravo, Bishop!

Now that we have found ourselves at this unfortunate juncture in the political history of Dominica - yes political because everything about the Salisbury exchanges spell p o l i t i c s, we need to hammer out a non-partisan solution.

Politics refers to the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. Let us not be naïve, the Salisbury people, by their very action in engaging the authorities through street protest over what they and their MP term as “a series of broken promises,” were engaged in a conflict which is a tenet of the term, politics.

Mark you I did not say partisan politics, because I remember as far back as 2013, the Salisbury famers drove, peacefully, peacefully and conspicuously, in protest of terrible farm road access which had not been addressed for almost a decade and a half. I was there. I saw them and their picket signs made zero partisan statements.

But, you never know, I may have missed a sing or two. Read the story here: http://sundominica.com/articles/salisbury-farmers-protest-659/). I subsequently heard the Prime Minister of Dominica making certain statements about the advanced state of disrepair of those farm access roads, confirming the farmers’ charges.

This unfulfilled promise, and others, at least in the view of the farmers, were what prompted the May 11, 2015 protest. Read the story here: http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/protest-action-in-salisbury/ ). This time, the people were claiming political victimization and neglect under the hands of a government which they chose not to vote for.

The situation worsened with all sorts of partisan political rhetoric being played out on the media. The Prime Minister promised to meet with the Salisbury residents at a town-hall style meeting, but that meeting was preempted by the police raid on the village which was mentioned earlier in this article.

So, we have, now, a highly charged partisan political situation in Salisbury, a matter which probably should not have been allowed to escalate to this point. All that was needed was wise, timely and prudent action in response to the farmers’ plight and all that is needed now is wise, timely and prudent action in response to the peoples’ cry.

Now is the time for action, NOT protest action, nor is it a time for military-type retaliation and/or legal prosecution. We are in need of an appeasement which, if it does not come, may have the potential of causing serious discomfort to the authorities and continued hardship and division of the people.

I recommend the following:

1. The Police Chief needs to tone down the rhetoric, because his recent statements on the matter cannot, in any way, lead to an amicable end of this impasse. A good first move would be to recommend, to the public prosecutor, the discontinuance of charges against the ‘Salisbury 5’, following the June 11 arrest (http://www.dominicavibes.dm/news-170586/) because there is little to lose and a lot to be gained in so doing.

2. The Honorable Prime Minister/Government should meet with the Salisbury people, as promised and concrete plans should be drawn up to alleviate the plight of the struggling farmers, and such plans should be adhered to and effected urgently.

3. Compensation should be made for forgiveness, respect, acceptance and forward or onward movement by the agreeing parties; that is where the good Bishop and others with such clout come into the picture.

4. Media organizations, including social networks, must report fairly and responsibly on that ongoing Salisbury matter; no one-sided agenda should be pushed. The independence and freedom of the media, including the sanctity and protection of its sources must be unequivocally understood.

5. The Salisbury people should be willing to work with, and understand the constraints of government in dealing with the problems relating to the poor state of the farm access roads, and the government must understand grievances of the farmers; remember, Bob Marley popularized the proverb which says: “a hungry man is an angry man.”

6. All forms of ‘negative’ action and interactions, verbalizations – on all sides of the political divide – should be discouraged; and it is the responsibility of the leadership of the political parties and the parliament in which they meet to safeguard this trust.

7. There should be a cooling-off and reflection period, not just in Salisbury but in the wider Dominican community.

8. The people of Salisbury (and elsewhere) must understand, obey and respect the authority of the police in keeping and maintaining peace and safety and the police needs to appreciate, understand and respect the rights of the people – knowing that people may sometimes push the envelope in their quest for political representation, in particular. No one side can broker peace. The police and civilians must work hand in hand if honest, sustained and meaningful peace is to be achieved.

9. It would be a wonderful thing to see the Police Sports (Cricket) Club and a Hector “Spaggs” John Representative Team in a ‘Friendly Cricket Match,’ at Salisbury. Just imagine this: Here comes Hector John as he pounces in to bowl to Daniel Carbon - Ossie Lewis, Daryl Titre and Lockhart Sebastien are commentators of course - with the proceeding broadcasted on Q FM and relayed live on D.B.S Radio, Kairi FM and Vibes Radio (Oh, did I mention that Athie Martin and Government Minister, Rayburn Blackmore would be the umpires and Mr. Louis serving as Match Referee?). I believe this would be a massive statement. This event could be followed up with a Domino, Cards and Chess Tournament between Salisbury Farmers and Police at Police Head Quarters or the Salisbury Police Station…and I have more ideas.

10. Let us be Dominicans again, the way we used to be when we worked together, achieved together, celebrated together, mourned together, rejoiced together, and agreed to disagree and doing so respectably; yes that’s the Dominica we should see to be again.

Conclusion

It is my view that tolerance, respect and common sense are the watchwords in this Salisbury affair. In conclusion, I refer to my June face book 11 post where it was stated that an appeal to force was the abandonment of reason, and I asked that a door be kept open for reasonable and peaceful solutions.

I said further, and I reiterate that force should be an absolute last resort and that “the use of force is never a wise means of dealing with people, especially when and/or where there is agitation, and even then, such 'force' must be applied with reason.”

I believe that we should follow Bishop Malzaire’s lead. Let us work towards and pray for an amicable solution to this Salisbury situation and, by extension, for the mending of the political gap which currently exists between the wonderful people of this blessed land called Dominica.

Leaders, I appeal to you to treat the people right and they in turn will take care of you. If you fail the people, you fail yourself.