Caribbean democracy • Dominica • Dominica Diaspora • Dominica Government

Dominica Diaspora Leader raises troubling issues in open Letter to Dominica Prime Minister

6 years ago
by Ambassador Curtis A. Ward
2 min read
Written by Ambassador Curtis A. Ward

Dominica Diaspora Leader raises troubling issues in open Letter to Dominica Prime Minister

(05 Oct. 2018) — In an open letter written by Dominica Diaspora leader, Attorney Gabriel Christian, published in Dominica News Online, on October 2, 2018, he raised a number of issues which are quite troubling and which may be viewed as an indictment of the current government and its leadership. While The

Attorney Gabrial Christian

Attorney Gabrial Christian

Ward Post takes no position on these issues which are the views of Mr. Christian, we found it important in the wider discussion of the Caribbean and emerging trends in some of the countries in the region to draw attention to his letter.

For the record, Mr. Christian is a well-known advocate for his native country and has been among the first to respond and lead efforts in response to natural disasters affecting his homeland.  He is known to open up his office and otherwise provide storage and collection facilities and work unceasingly in patriotic fervor to ensure emergency relief gets to Dominica, including in the wake of the recent devastation of the island by hurricane Maria. He spends a great deal of his own financial resources and time sourcing assistance for Dominica to further the country’s political, social, and economic development. His record in regard to his native country is exemplary.

Briefly, among the issues raised by Mr. Christian are: the erosion of democratic

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit

principles, including freedom of speech for fear of retaliation; what appears to be an escalation of violence against political opponents and the failure of the prime minister to condemn political violence and defend free speech, including political speech; the prime minister’s frequent disparaging remarks targeting the Dominica Diaspora; failure to recognize and engage the vast available human resources of the diaspora in nation building; and issues of corruption surrounding

the government’s citizenship for investment program.

For a more detailed exposition of the issues raised in Mr. Christian’s open letter to the Prime Minister of Dominica, please see link below:

http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/open-letter-to-pm-skerrit-for-dominicas-democracy-to-survive-skerrit-must-resign-2/

 

© 2018 Curtis A. Ward/The Ward Post

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About the author

Ambassador Curtis A. Ward

Ambassador Curtis A. Ward is a former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations with Special Responsibility for Security Council Affairs (1999-2002) serving on the UN Security Council for two years. He served three years as Expert Adviser to the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. He is an Attorney-at-Law and International Consultant with extensive knowledge and experience in national and international legal and policy frameworks for effective implementation of United Nations (UN) and other international anti-terrorism mandates; the legal and administrative requirements to effectively implement and enforce anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT); extensive knowledge of the legal and regulatory requirements for effective implementation and enforcement of United Nations multilateral and U.S.-imposed unilateral sanctions; and the imperatives for Rule of Law and governance. He is a geopolitical and international security analyst, and a human rights, democracy, and anticorruption advocate.

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