| PDM rules out revisions | | Print | |
| Thursday, 19 May 2011 11:53 | |||
 The People’s Democratic Movement has rejected the entire revised Constitution, saying it is an attempt by the U.K. to permanently take over and colonize the Turks and Caicos Islands. “It is clear that the (U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office) is attempting to move the country backwards to an era of colonialism,” the PDM said in a May 16 statement that was delivered to the FCO team now holding public consultation meetings. “It is seeking to extend temporary direct rule into permanent authority over the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands through its proposed draft constitution. This is unacceptable, and we utterly reject it.” The nine-page statement gives detailed objections, which include issues that have riled local residents since they were first proposed. Those include giving more power to the governor, changing Belongership requirements, removing the absolute right to trial by jury, altering the election system, and allowing a non-Belonger to be deputy governor. After the 2009 Commission of Inquiry, commissioner Sir Robin Auld recommended that the 2006 Constitution be amended to give the governor and the U.K. more control. But the PDM says the problem was with the people, not the document. “The findings of the commission were shocking, and it did expose numerous failings on the part of individuals in the last government including individuals in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the governor. Ironically, while the commission was an oral hearings, the Turks and Caicos governor was still busy signing off on transactions where there was alleged corruption. The final report does not cite one constitutional failure as a cause for these alarming acts on the part of ministers.” Click HERE to read the PDM's full statement Click HERE to read the 2006 Constitution. Click HERE to read the March 4 draft Constitution under consideration. Click HERE to read the All-Party Commission’s full report on the Constitution.
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