Denny wants Thorne Commission on Local Governance changed

General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration (CMPI) David Denny is calling on Government to change the Thorne Commission on Local Governance to a constitution reform commission.

Denny made the appeal in Independence Square, The City, today where he also suggested that the Queen of England should be removed as Head of State of Barbados.

“There is no way that after celebrating 50 years of our Independence, black men and women who suffered at the hands should be singing praises to Her Majesty. We need a Barbadian as our Head of State and I am saying that is why we need a constitution commission. Let us turn Barbados into a republic that respects the rights of the people of Barbados,” Denny said while delivering remarks to scores who attended today’s Black Lives Matter march.

He explained that his proposed constitution reform is necessary to address pressing issues affecting society, including racism, workers’ exploitation, and police brutality.

The Thorne Commission, a community-based People’s Assembly, has been touted as the first step in putting the power back into the hands of the people.

“We have some serious work to do and we must change our Constitution in Barbados to allow us to do that work. And the reason why I am calling for the changes and the reason why I am saying that the Ralph Thorne Commission should change to the constitution reform commission is because we need new laws in Barbados that will reflect the right of every human being in Barbados.

“We have a police system that must be changed, it must be restructured and it must respect the rights of every human being in Barbados and the reason why that must be done is because the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) is not your force, it is the Queen’s force, loyal to Her Majesty the Queen, and not to the people of Barbados,” he said.

Denny suggested that the RBPF be renamed the Barbados People’s Force dedicated to representing the people of Barbados.

The General Secretary also added his voice to the controversial issue surrounding the removal of the Lord Nelson statue from Heroes Square. He called for the statue to be removed before August 1, which is celebrated as Emancipation Day.

“Remove Lord Nelson, you can put up any of our National Heroes. Comrades, I want to say to you that we need to recognize some people. I want to bring to you that all of us here support the decision of Israel Lovell becoming a National Hero, a man who spent his time and life defending working class people and who was abused by the police system in Barbados.

“I want our sister who fought many battles next to Bussa, Nanny Grigg, to also be a National Hero. Finally, I want to call on the black youths of Barbados to stand side by side with your brother and your sister and to stop the shooting, stop the killing. Your black brother and sister is not your enemy. Lord Nelson is your enemy,” Denny said. (AH)