Shame on Barbados: abstains from UN Vote allowing execution for being Gay or Lesbian

Barbados says “no problem worth talking about” as Iran hangs two Gay teenagers.

Barbados has a shameful voting record at the United Nations when it comes to human rights – and that record just got a little worse with our refusal to vote against a bill that says executing people for being gays and lesbians is permissible.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve sided with evil. We actually make a habit of it at the UN in human rights matters. We don’t want to offend any country that might toss a few coins our way.

I have always found it shameful that Barbados – a nation founded with the assistance of chains, whips, rape and cultural genocide – now so easily supports nations involved in slavery and human rights violations. Whether it is our support for Iran’s hanging of children and amputations as punishment, or our “look the other way” while China maintains the world’s largest slave camp system within her borders and uses slave labour in Africa, Barbados long ago lost the moral high ground at the United Nations.

YES – Barbados actually voted at the UN to protect Iran’s use of torture, floggings, amputations as punishment, discrimination and violence against women and executions of children like Ateqeh Rajabi. Rajabi was hanged at 16 years old for the offence of having sex outside of marriage. Barbados supported and still supports Iran’s “right” to execute children.

Now we’ve decided that it’s no problem to us if a country wants to execute gays and lesbians because of their sexual orientation…

Adrian Loveridge comments on Barbados Tourism Ministry website dysfunction

Nation Newspaper mentions “Boscobel Gang” for the first time

Adrian Loveridge - Small hotel owner

Businessman, tourism guru and part-time journalist Adrian Loveridge was hired, fired, banned and walked out on so many times by Government Ministers and the Bajan news media that we lost count. He and his Missus received threats to murder them and burn down their business. Then there were two “mysterious” fires at their business after the threats of arson.

Barbados Police Commissioner Dottin refused to investigate because some of the threats made on the internet came from a computer in the Members of Parliament lounge. BLP Member of Parliament Dr. Duguid confirmed that some of the threats came from the computer at Parliament. (Sidebar: In our opinion, Dr. Duguid showed integrity and good character by his actions in response to the threats against Loveridge and others.)

When the police wouldn’t come to his aid, Loveridge complained to Prime Minister Owen Arthur and then PM David Thompson. Both men ignored his plight and avoided him on the street.

And still Adrian persisted in telling it like it is to governments and news media who couldn’t stand a single word of criticism in the past – publishing his articles on the blogs when the newspapers banned him.

Now The Nation is back to publishing his tourism articles and we haven’t heard of any threats against Mr. and Mrs. Loveridge in a while. Hopefully this signals that government officials are more receptive to advice, information and criticism than they were before. Maybe that’s what happens when the government officials become desperate as they run out of answers and options: they have to start listening to others.

Here is Adrian’s latest article as published in The Nation. You really should read Adrian’s article at The Nation website, but we reprint the entire article here because that newspaper has a habit of changing history.

Johnny Clegg and Savuka sing for Mia Mottley

One (Hu)man, One Vote! – for Barbados

Ousted BLP leader Mia Mottley says she was fighting for “one man, one vote” during her recent campaign for election as Chairman of the Barbados Labour Party.

We support one man, one vote when it comes to choosing the leadership of political parties, even if Mia is rather new to the fight. She will recall that BFP criticized her in the past for not taking her leadership to a test before the general membership.

Mottley said the only two times she has spoken recently was when she was removed from office and at the BLP conference when she announced she was no longer going up for chairman of the party. At that time, she recalled she was fighting for “one man, one vote”. On both occasions, she recalled that she said only time and God will determine the future

… from The Nation article Mia speaks her mind

The BLP and the DLP need open leadership contests where every member gets a vote – but those holding the reins of power don’t want that because then the political elites might lose control to a populist candidate.

Does Mia Mottley really want “One Man, One Vote”? We’ll come back to this subject occasionally and see if she is serious or just blowing smoke.

One ‘man, one vote — step into the future
One ‘man, one vote — in a unitary state
One ‘man, one vote — tell them when you see them
One ‘man, one vote — it’s the only way

Johnny Clegg and Savuka

God, how I miss the times when I first heard Third World Child.

Robert

Further Reading

Mail and Guardian: White Father of African Rock celebrates Anniversary

BFP: Stephen Biko – 29 Years Ago Today

We recommend… author Walter Phillips

Click on the banner to visit the website of Barbados author Walter Phillips

Rio De Janeiro explodes as police battle Brazil’s slum gangs

or… “Why Brazilians would like a Barbados vacation”

You know, this business of Barbados tapping into the huge Brazilian tourism market might be the right move at the right time – even started if a little later than we should have.

Picture yourself as an upper-middle class couple in Rio De Janeiro. Time for a vacation and you’d like to get away from it all to someplace fairly nearby and different from any place you’ve traveled before.

You visit the BTA’s Portuguese language website: VisiteBarbados.com

Barbados? Sounds good to me right about now…