Our democracy was put in jeopardy and disgrace, in 1983, by PAM
By the Thinking Citizen
O judgment! Thou are fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason! Shakespeare – Julius Caesar
It would appear that when William Shakespeare penned those memorable lines he must have been thinking of a certain set of PAM Mickey Mouse apologists and propagandists.
If the PAM apologists and propagandists have lost their reason, then that is their own misfortune, but the Mickey Mouse characters must never believe that because they have lost their reason, the vast majority of the population has lost their reason too.
PAM’s perennial mistake is that its propaganda and its rhetoric are based on the mistaken impression that the largest section of the electorate has lost its reason.
But I am here to tell the Mickey Mouse characters that St. Kitts people are sane, sober and sensible and they have never ever lost their reason. And I can say this too, that those members of the electorate who were at least 18, 19 or 20 years old in 1965 (when PAM was formed) and are still alive today, know the whole history of the party (PAM) and so cannot, easily be fooled or misled by PAM’s dangerous propaganda and disinformation.
PAM’s “hottest” talk nowadays is all about DEMOCRACY. PAM has been playing with the word Democracy like a little 4-year old child who has just found a new and unusual toy. One wonders who it is i+n the year 2007 introduced PAM to the word Democracy.
The biggest joke making the rounds is that PAM is concerned about Democracy in St. Kitts and Nevis. PAMites have forgotten that certain members of their party were involve din the murderous attack on the night of the 10th of June 1967 aimed at toppling, by force of arms, the lawfully elected government of Premier Bradshaw.
PAM has declared that it was never involved in the failed coup attempt. In spite of that however, PAM has never gone on record publicly, denouncing and condemning the Anguillian invaders of June 10th or their actions - Strange action for a party which now claims to be concerned about the existence of democracy in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The leaders of the People’s Action Movement obviously have forgotten that during the 1980s the PAM Government used to refer to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for disciplinary action, all those junior officers in the Civil Service who participated in, or went near to any of the annual Labour Day Marches.
Early on the morning of Labour Day (PAM NOW CALLS IT May Day), PAM would send around its many errand boys with pen and paper to record the names of all the Civil Servants found in or near to the Labour Day March. PAM wanted to bring back “Massa Day”, not uphold democracy.
The Labour Day March was never a political march. It has always been a “workers’ March” and an annual event that predates the appearance of PAM in 1965. If the Labour Day March is politicised it is because PAM made it a political affair after the party got in power in 1980. Between 1965 and 1980 all workers – office workers, factory workers, field workers, self-employed workers and PAM and Labour workers – marched together happily and peacefully on Labour Day.
Junior officers in the Civil Service included such persons as Postmen, orderlies, messengers, maids, cleaners, sweepers, etc. These low-level grades of officers had been marching on Labour Day for over a decade before PAM came on the scene in 1965. Moreover, the personal actions of those junior officers, on or off the job had little or no effect on the PAM Government’s policy, one way or another.
PAM wanted to bring back “Massa Day”, not promote democracy. If it were not for the advocacy of the late Sir Lee L. Moore Q.C., a number of Civil Servants would have lost their jobs. PAM was telling people that if you are a Civil Service Worker, you cannot march as a worker in a public march on Labour Day.
But last year, for Labour Day, PAM turned its banner around and was singing quite a different song. PAM was actually encouraging workers to go out and march – but with the tools and implements of their job or trade. Workers were encouraged to go out and march with sugar-cane bills, machetes, cutlasses, pitch-forks, hoes, etc, etc.
One of the fundamental rights in any modern, liberal democracy is the right to Freedom of Expression. Yet PAM in its heyday set out to trample on the people’s fundamental right to freedom of Expression.
From 1965, PAM maintained a large NOTICE BOARD at the Circus in Basseterre, affixed to a palm tree. Mind you, the Circus is a public place and the palm trees were maintained by government. The ruling Labour Party did nothing to disturb PAM’s Notice Board at the Circus.
However, after our Independence and after PAM radically restructured our Electoral System in 1983, PAM sent a team of Police Officers to arrest an innocent Labour Party Notice Board that was placed in front of the veranda at Masses House on Church Street.
The Police Officers took away the Notice Board and locked it up at the Police Station on Cayon Street. Some time later, the PAM Government did the same thing to the United People’s Party’s (UPP) Notice Board that was placed in front of the Party’s Headquarters on Cayon Street.
Sir Lee L. Moore, Q.C., was arrested and charged with Sedition because he declared publicly that quantities of illicit drugs were entering the country regularly through Golden Rock International Airport. The PAM Government arrested and charged Lee Moore instead of trying to stop the free flow of illicit drugs into the country through our major Airport.
During the period of PAM hegemony (1980-1995) one never saw words such as Transparency, Accountability, Good Governance, Electoral Reform, Voter I.D., etc., etc., in the Democrat.
Now all of a sudden all those words, including the word “Democracy”, have become fashionable in the vocabulary of the Democrat newspaper. When will the leaders of PAM get it into their heads that they (the leaders) are trying to fool people who already know the whole history of PAM commencing with the famous speeches delivered at Pall Mall Square (Independence Square) in 1965?
The electorate has long since noticed that PAM is not in the habit of marching to promote something that is virtuous and worthwhile, PAM is in the habit of marching against the policies and programmes of the Labour Party Government.
Part of the record of PAM’s history of mal-administration and financial mismanagement is inscribed on the pages of the Report by Commissioner Professor Randolph Williams and the Report by Commissioner Sir Louis Blom-Cooper.
PAM was in power for 15 years – from 1980 to 1995. Please count the number of times, if any, on which the Labour Party marched against the PAM Government. Labour is in power since 1995, that is 12 years so far. Please count the number of time since 1995 on which the PAM party has marched against the Labour Party Government.
I would wish to point out that from 1996 the electorate has voted for the Labour Party in the following fashion: 7 seats against 1 for PAM in 1995; 8 seats against 0 for PAM in 2000; and 7 seats against 1 for PAM in 2004. It would seem that PAM’s marches lacked substance and credibility and were designed to provide for PAM members some form of much needed physical exercise.
The PAM party has marched many more times under the present leaders than it marched under the leadership of Dr. Simmonds. Political observes, far and near, have questioned whether the present leaders have transformed the People’s Action Movement into a Marching Band. It would seem that the Mickey Mouse characters simply love to march.
PAM is extremely good at using rhetoric, deception and propaganda as part of its public policy. PAM, however, is not good at all at doing things that would benefit directly the vast majority of the people of this country. By now PAM’s use of deception has become legendary.
Imagine that PAM has the face of brass to tell the sensible educated and experienced people of this country that the “Social Services Levy” introduced by PAM in the 1980s is not an Income Tax. It is not an Income Tax PAM says, because it is not named so. The shocking thing about the Chamber of Industry and Commerce is that certain of its senior officers and officials have been following PAM in "chatting" the same nonsense about the Social Services Levy.
A person can call “vinegar” by the name of “wine”, but that makes no difference to the wine or to the vinegar, names can be deceptive and misleading. It is not the name really, but the nature, function and quality of the liquid that determines its real name.
PAM made the following statement “Democracy In Disgrace” recently in an issue of the Democrat newspaper. As I pondered the statement, I wondered why PAM would want to say such a stupid thing just because the party could not get a chance now as it did in 1983, to manipulate, orchestrate, dictate and mutilate the then existing Electoral System.
Democracy was in deep disgrace in 1983 when in spite of wide, timely, objective and non-partisan advice given by the late Sir Lee L. Moore, Q.C., in the House of Assembly, the PAM Government still went ahead pig-headedly and unilaterally and introduced –
(i) Continuous Voter Registration without Voter I.D.
(ii) (ii) The right for a national living in St. Kitts or Nevis, to register and vote anywhere in St. Kitts or Nevis.
(iii) The right for a national living abroad permanently, to register and vote anywhere in St. Kitts or Nevis.
PAM put our Democracy in jeopardy and disgrace in 1983 by making an ungodly mess of our Electoral System and by stubbornly and obstinately refusing to introduce Voter I.D. as was proposed and recommended by Lee Moore.
PAM made a lot of mischief with our Electoral System and like an unrepentant sinner, PAM is not willing to own up to or confess its transgressions.
I will now give two (2) examples, on the personal level, of how PAM practises Democracy. Sir Probyn Inniss was Governor of St. Kitts-Nevis and Anguilla when the Simmonds Administration gave its Ministers a huge increase in salaries and allowances. The Simmonds Administration offered the Governor a mere pittance.
The Governor very respectfully requested Dr. Simmonds to review the matter. Dr. Simmonds refused. More letters followed, one thing led to another. In the end, the PAM Government petitioned Her Majesty the Queen to revoke the appointment of Sir Probyn as Governor. And that is how Sir Probyn was forced to leave Government House.
Years later, Dr. Simmonds fired one of his Ministers from the position of Deputy Prime Minister. The Minister was fired from his position on All Fools’ Day. At the time of the sacking of the Deputy Prime Minister it was reported that the Minster was told that he was fired. There was no prior discussion, consultation or conversation.
At a meeting of the PAM Party at its headquarters “Up De Hill” subsequently, the treasurer of the party and an Executive Member of the party asked Dr. Simmonds separately why he had fired his Deputy Prime Minister. The Treasurer and the Executive Member have since died without receiving the requested answer.
The PAM Government fired a Governor because he asked for what he thought was just and fair. A Deputy Prime Minister was fired from his position because, allegedly, he told someone that Prime Minister Simmonds “was the greatest obstacle to progress in St. Kitts”. In both cases involving the Governor and the Minister, Prime Minister Simmonds acted just like “Judge Dread”. That is, when Simmonds speaks, no one should talk back.
St. Kitts people have long since recognised that PAM has a policy of preaching one thing and doing another, and of falsely and mischievously accusing the Labour Government of doing the very same thing that PAM has been doing or is doing still.
PAM is not in the habit of marching FOR anything that is for the public good. PAM is in the habit of marching AGAINST the policies and programmes of the Labour Government regardless of how creative, innovative and progressive those measures are.
If a Government measure is seen to have the potential to bring great benefit to the country as well as some significant political mileage to the Labour Government, the PAM party will take to the streets, along with its disciples and hangers-on, and march.
The PAMites are gearing-up themselves to contest the upcoming General Elections which are constitutionally due in the year 2009. Through the use of their crystal ball the PAMites have come up with the prediction that General Elections will be held later this year (2007) or early next year (2008).
Keen and not-so-keen observers have noticed that the PAMites are using every possible means – radio, television, newspaper, political meetings and word of mouth – to convert to their way of thinking, every eligible voter, whether resident in the Federation or living overseas. But we should be wary, we should be watchful, we should be careful of PAM.
We should be guided by the following words of the New Testament “Let no man deceive you with vain words.”
