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Dear Sir,

Once again elements of the PLP are continuing to promulgate their own misguided propaganda rather than sticking to the facts.

I am somewhat bemused and definitely annoyed by the column of Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, which was published in the Bermuda Sun on Friday, February 16, 2007. In this column Mr. Commissiong quotes a statement that I made to the Bermuda Broadcasting Company on Monday, February 12, 2007, that "Black people need to learn how to accept criticism from white people and not label it racism."

I neither deny nor regret making that statement.

I do however take issue with Mr. Commissiong attempting to link my comment with those made by Mr. Tony Brannon.

Fact Number One: I traveled to the U.K. on February 5, 2007, and did not return until February 11, 2007. Consequently I did not have the opportunity to hear or read about Mr. Brannon's controversial remarks.

My interview with the BBC occurred less than 24 hours after my return and all I had learned about Mr. Brannon's remarks derived from hearsay and gossip and I, unlike Mr. Commissiong, would not comment on any statement without knowing the content and context in which it was stated.

Subsequently I was informed that the United Bermuda Party had provided an official response and that Mr. Brannon had apologized. Therefore in my capacity as Chairman of the United Bermuda Party I considered the issue concluded.

Fact Number Two: In an earlier article in the Bermuda Sun, dated January 19, 2007, I raised the same issue that I did with the BBC a month later by asking the following question: "Can a white person legitimately criticize a black person without the fear of being labelled a racist?" I went on to articulate that if the answer is no then democracy in this country would suffer. Note that I used the adverb 'legitimately' as it defined the verb criticize.

This is important, as I would never advocate the acceptance of vulgar or inappropriate criticism from either race. The connotation of my remarks were effectively the same for both interviews with the first coming three weeks before Mr. Brannon's comment. Therefore I ask the ever so wise Mr. Commissiong: How can the context of my statement be linked to Mr. Brannon's when it was offered so far in advance?

Fact Number Three: My BBC statement was made in response to a question posed by journalist Janelle Ford where she asked me what I thought could be done to reduce racial tension moving forward. There was no mention of Mr. Brannon or his controversial remarks.

Let me be absolutely clear to your readers: Mr. Commissiong is not in a position to know what I think. The fact that he based his column, as it related to myself, on an erroneous assumption is both inexcusable and unacceptable.

What is even more egregious is that Mr. Commissiong goes on to state that I "lectured black Bermudians on the need for them to be more tolerant of racist remarks directed towards them."

These words have never been uttered from my mouth and demonstrate another example of dishonest and malicious propaganda by Mr. Commissiong and I regard this gross misrepresentation as defamatory. I would ask Mr. Commissiong for an apology but that would require a modicum of dignity and honour.

All Mr. Commissiong had to do was either call BBC to find out the context of my comment or - heaven forbid - call the maker of the statement. But that would have meant finding out the truth and we all know he is not interested in that.

Of greater importance is the role Mr. Commissiong is fulfilling as a Public Servant. I call him a Public Servant because he is being remunerated by public funds and therefore should be providing a service to the people of Bermuda.

His official title is 'Consultant to the Premier for Race Relations' and I therefore ask the following questions: Has he produced any reports to shed light on this issue and/or has he spearheaded any forums or focus groups seeking to solve this important issue? I invite Mr. Commissiong to justify his salary by producing some results because his employers, the people of Bermuda, want to know.

Shawn G. Crockwell

UBP Party Chairman[[In-content Ad]]

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