Who can tell what the changes were from the report and recommendations for the ‘new’ Constitution by the Fergus Commission from 2003.
For those who really wish to know what happened since the Fergus Commission was installed and see how the so called ‘new’ Constitution was hijacked.
1999 – White Paper
2001 – Commission on Constitution installed
2003 – Commission submitted report – Legislature rejects (Who knows what points were rejected?)
Various committees including Legislature committees to take corrections, rejections, discussions and new points forward
2005 – First talks with FCO (note how the territories are considered as foreign entities)
2006 – Lewis Government – New committees and some public radio discussions begin, but nothing
sustained
2007 – Some people attended UN decolonization talks (Grenada and one other place, Anguilla)
Some talk and very scattered discussions. The public knows little and have lost interest out of ignorance or a lack of knowledge of what is going on.
2009 – Talks with FCO – no discussion with public on issues or matters causing delay. British refuse to tell what they are, send the media to the legislators/government who keep it secret in Legislative Committee. (I have been present at Legislative Council meetings, the only person or one of 2 or 3, and the Committee meetings do not last five minutes before they are adjourned. Maybe because someone is present in the gallery!!!
2010 – May – Talks with FCO (final) To this day no one has set discussed with people the new and acceptable things (what is old, what is new)
2010 – New final draft is on a web site go check it out for information, publicity – No one knows what is new, what is old, what is different.
It is wrong, it is a lie to say or even pretend that there has been discussions with the public for eight years. If the discussions among the Legislature committee are considered discussions with the public (the committee meetings are never held or made public).
The FCO representatives told the media, issues delaying progress on the Constitutional talks should be made public by the government. We have been calling for these issues, but to this day, the media, not PTV, not The Montserrat Reporter have been made privy to what these issues are.
It is possible that the government members especially Meade, Kirnon and Farrell thought that when they were the people because they were elected to serve the people as the discussed the issues in Legislative committees.
Now, the legislators invited the public to listen to them debate the issues on Tuesday, to tell Montserrat what the new things are in the Constitution and of course pass a resolution that Montserrat is willing to stay a full colony with no way forward in the foreseeable future to being able to forge a destiny for themselves.
All we ask for is a little time for finally do what should have been done over the eight years what the Constitution changes are. If there is nothing that offers what the United Nations mandated from the Colonial masters to the colonised, then let Britain do what they did in 1989, while the people seek to improve their status, now that there is a consciousness about where they are.
There are much more discussions on this issue: (see left under links Discussion – Constitution – Montserrat
