‘Independence Day’ matters!

Government’s decision to scrap the renaming of Independence Day mere 48 hours after it was announced is a victory for the people of Barbados and for democracy, says President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood.

Yearwood, who was planning a protest march for Saturday if the decision to replace Independence Day with Barbados National Day was not reversed, told Barbados TODAY he welcomed the U-turn.

“This is a victory for the people of Barbados, victory for democracy. I first want to thank the people of Barbados for coming together on this issue because it was not a Democratic Labour Party or Barbados Labour Party issue. This is an issue about Barbados and about protecting something that is sacred to us – Independence Day. Independence Day should stand, it should remain,” he said.

Yearwood added that he was pleased “the pressure of ordinary Barbadians saying ‘no we do not want this’” had resulted in the Government rescinding its decision.

He said this was a signal that residents had “more power than the people in power”.

On Tuesday, Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams announced that in order to mark celebrations for Independence Day and Barbados’ transition to a republic, which both fall on November 30, the Cabinet had decided the day would be called Barbados National Day from this year.

However, following outrage by political pundits and members of the general public, the decision was reversed on Thursday.

“We came to office as the Government that cares, consults and listens; over the past 48 hours, we have listened to Barbadians and, upon reflection, agree that more public engagement is necessary to come up with the best way to celebrate our transition to a parliamentary republic,” Abrahams, who is also chairperson of the Cabinet sub-committee for the November 30 celebrations, said in a statement.

“Today, the Cabinet of Barbados met, reviewed and has decided that November 30th will continue to be referred to as Independence Day. There will also be a national consultation to come up with the most fitting way to celebrate our transition to a parliamentary republic.”

Abrahams maintained that the Cabinet would not shy away from reversing a decision when such a change is merited.

“This is such an occasion. The celebrations on November 30th must be such that all Barbadians, wherever they are, feel proud to be Bajan,” he said.

Yearwood had started a petition, after the initial announcement, which he told Barbados TODAY garnered just under 7 000 signatures up to Thursday evening.

This, he said, was a reflection of the number of people who were willing to march on Saturday had the Government not had a change of heart.

“The march that was going to happen was not going to be any small thing and I am glad the Government recognised the Barbadian people were flexing their muscles to say ‘no’ and they rightly pulled back from this decision. So, we welcome it,” said the DLP leader.

However, he said there were several other matters about which he wanted Barbadians to speak out and demand change.

“Whether that is integrity legislation, new constitutional rights, constitution reform, education reform, I would really hope this is a good beginning for the kind of active and progressive democracy that we want to build,” he said.

While welcoming the decision to scrap Barbados National Day, some Barbados TODAY readers accused the Government of being “reckless” and seeking to satisfy “selfish ambitions”.

Some of them also took the opportunity to raise other issues about which they believe the Government should consult the population.

“Since you are ‘caring, consulting and listening’, how about hearing our concerns re the State of Emergency, the GIS [Government Industrial School] issues, NIS [National Insurance Scheme], the Auditor General’s Report, and the FTC/BL&P [Fair Trading Commission/Barbados Light & Power] deliberations? Do you care enough to consult with us on those issues?” wrote one commentator.

Yearwood, who is one of the people at the forefront of holding the Mia Mottley administration to account in the ongoing constitutional review, told Barbados TODAY he believed that process still needed some fine-tuning.

He said he did not believe people were being engaged as they should.

“There is a disconnect and I think that if you put the end goal before the reform process, why would people get involved in the reform process? The point is, why are you asking my opinion for something you have already decided?” Yearwood said.

However, urging Barbadians to still get involved, he said the DLP would be encouraging its members “to engage with the constitutional reform commission”.

“As a party, we have to help the process along as best as we can. Even though as a party we warned that the process is wrong, at the end of the day this is about Barbados and we will try to make the best of where we are and have a constitution that we can all be proud of,” he said.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb