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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 33 - Wednesday, December 11, 2002 |
Letters to the Editor
by: Thomson Fontaine
Many readers reacted strongly to the articles on Dominica's history and Baron's defection in the last issue. Several were of the opinion that the police and
government actions to rid the country of the Dread menace was justified. Others were of the view that the policy was misguided and unnecessarily targeted an entire
subset of the population. Many considered Baron's decision to defect a betrayal of trust and symptomatic of the problems facing Dominica's politics. The following is in our readers own words.
I have yet to read a BALANCED take on the Dread times. What is always
made clear is the "brutality" of the Dread Act and the resulting license to "exterminate" the Dreads. No mention is made of the many atrocious acts on innocent persons who were just going about their business.
Yes, the elderly Canadian couple (Brights) who were cutlassed to death on their farm; John Jirasek who was shot to death while taking a walk along the bayfront; Margaret Laurent's father who just happened to be in his garden at the wrong time; the Scottish doctor in Dominca to assist us whose neck was sliced on National Day; and of course, Ted Honychurch who died fighting before being blown apart by a .303 and then burned.
We now have a confession by one of the perpetrators that Honychurch had been tortured before his death; and an entire island held hostage by fear. Of course, all of these acts somehow pale into insignificance when some
of us purport to write the history of those times.
Those of us who are called to write about events in Dominica need to do so
truthfully and with no agendas. Pray, tell me, just who were the real victims? Was it the Dreads or those killed by them? Joey Vanterpool - USA
I wish to take some time off to make comments on the Dread Act issue. I
think at the time of this enactment, this was the most prudent thing to do on the part of the government because, if we remember clearly, the dreads as they were called were not practicing religion, but they were a group of vicious men who were out to commit atrocities.
We may remember clearly the kidnapping of Ted Honeychurch, the threats to farmers, and the kidnapping of that woman from Portsmouth to name a few of the incidents which took place during that era.
In my opinion, this was one of the most intelligent pieces of legislation, which has ever been recorded in Dominica's history. Innocent lives may have been lost in this predicament but this is the price one pays in times like this. In order to obtain peace there must be war in some situations.
If our governments were as serious as this, particularly with the situation in Grandbay, it would not have come to that point. People are as good as their
government because government has to set the standards. We must therefore forget about human rights in situations like this and take the necessary steps
to maintain law and order. Remy Laurent
Mr Baron's decision, if implemented, would not necessarily mean the end of the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP. The party consists of members other than Mr Baron and Mr Savarin. The unfortunate situation is that they are not elected and so, Baron's action may make way for a new election that Dominica can ill-afford at this time.
When Mr. Baron offered himself as a candidate at the last general election, I thought it a good sign that a level-headed young man was willing to offer his services to his country. I do hope that he has not lost his principles. They seemed noble at the time.
As an Independent Member of Parliament, Mr. Baron would in effect be voting with the Opposition. It may be more of a manly gesture to officially join the United Worker's Party, rather than pretend to be an Independent. Historically, the Independents have always joined the opposing party. Ethel
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