THE PAN-AFRIKAN LIBERATOR

Agitate until we create a stable society that benefits all our people.

Instigate the nation until we remedy the injustices of society.

Motivate our people to set a meaningful path for the coming generations.

Educate our people to free our minds and develop an Africentric consciousness.

VOL. 1 NO. 9   $2.00    Monthly Newsletter of KiMiT     APRIL 1993

THE VOICE FOR AN INDEPENDENT MONTSERRAT

Published by Chedmond Browne, P.O. Box 197, Plymouth, Montserrat

Over the years representatives of the British Government have always complained that the Turks and Caicos is a strain on Britain and that this country is a financial burden to the British taxpayers.

They seem to regard us as you would regard a beggar on the street, in that, whenever we ask them for a few dollars they start belly aching and acting as if they would prefer us to just go away and leave them alone.

I can quite understand the reluctance of the British to give us money, because, quite frankly, they don't have it to give.

The Britain that once ruled the waves is today having a hard time just staying afloat. They can hardly help themselves much less anyone else. But if this country is a burden to the British taxpayers then why on earth don't they simply get the rid of this burden?

Not even a donkey or a mule would willingly carry a load if it could possibly be avoided. And yet we find the British hanging on to this "burden" with all their might. Grumbling and complaining, yes, but quite unwilling to let this burden go. This is indeed very strange behavior!

I invite your readers to give serious con- sideration to this question because it goes to the very heart of the British Colonial System.

A colonial power is interested in its colonies because the colony usually has something they want. Their goal is to exploit the wealth of the colony, thereby enriching themselves at other peoples expense. At street level this is called stealing but at this level it is called diplomacy.

Quite often we would read about British diplomacy in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. When translated this means that the countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East are rich in natural resources and the British have cooked up a scheme to deprive these nations of their wealth.

And we must remember that `British Diplomacy' must always take into consideration the fact that her European neighbours are also casting a greedy eye towards those same countries and that America too might also express a "Strategic Interest" in them.

Bearing all this in mind it is quite easy to understand why the British so desperately wanted to hang on to their colonies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

But it is not so easy to figure out why they want to hang on to little Turks and Caicos. After all, we have no gold, no oil, no nothing. On the face of it, there is really nothing here for them to steal.

Instead of admitting to any real benefit from us, the claim is made that we are actually a burden to them. And yet they dont want to let go of this burden. Surely this attitude makes absolutely no sense.

Nevertheless, there has got to be an explanation somewhere, so let's put our heads together and see if we can somehow figure out this mystery.

Let's first examine the claim that this country is a financial burden to the British taxpayers and see whether this claim holds up.

It is of course quite true that the few dollars that we receive from Britain ultimately comes from the pockets of the British taxpayers. However, we must realize that this is not a burden that the British taxpayers have declared themselves willing to bear.

The average British taxpayer has never even heard about the Turks and Caicos Islands and no one has ever asked them whether they are willing for their tax dollars to be sent to this country. My guess is that if they were given a clear choice they probably wouldn't give us a single cent.

Therefore, all this talk about the British taxpayers is only a fig leaf intended to hide something else.

If you really want to identify the people responsible for British aid to the Turks and Caicos, if you really want to know who has a direct interest in keeping this country under British rule, you would have to forget all this talk about British taxpayers and start looking elsewhere.

You would find most of them in the Colonial Office, or what is now known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. These people are all Civil Servants and in so many cases they are the sons and grandsons of Civil Servants.

Of all people this group has benefitted most from the colonial system. It is, after all, their system. They put it all together and they have been managing and refining it for the past 300 years.

These people are all, in some way, tied to the Old Schoolboy Network. They all belong to the same you-scratch-my-back-I- scratch-yours club and they need colonies like the Turks and Caicos Islands for a number of reasons.

In Britain these people are like dark shadows, far off into the background. They are of little note and receive very little recognition. And also, like Civil Servants everywhere they don't earn a whole lot of money.

They ride to work on the bus and carry their lunch in their briefcase. In short, they represent just another face in the crowd and are out there scratching with the chickens just like everybody else.

But thank God for the Colonies, because the Colonies provide them with a way out. The Colonies open up a way for them to escape their miserable lot. The lucky ones get a chance to ride the colonial gravy train to glory and honour and to feather their nest for life.

Whenever one of these British civil servants is sent out to one of the colonies he gets a chance to live like a king in the army. They get to live in a big house by the sea with maids, chauffeurs, gardeners, the works!

No wonder all this luxury usually goes straight to their heads because, as we have seen, most of these people are not really accustomed to having very much. Coming out to the colonies also usually means instant promotion.

One day you are confined to a dingy little office pushing around pieces of paper or vainly banging an old rusty typewriter. The next day you could well be the Attorney General, the Chief Secretary or even the Governor of a Colony. One day you are riding to work in a crowded bus and carrying your lunch in a brown paper bag.

Next day your private chauffeur drives you to work and you dine like a prince with four or five maids waiting on you hand foot.

One day you are living in a crowded little apartment in a rundown, noisy neighbourhood. Next day you have a private beach all to yourself. One day you are flat broke, barely making it. Next day money is no object, in fact, all kind of gift horses want to look you in the mouth.

It really looks as if we could well be on to something here. Can you now see why these people want to hang to this so called burden?

After all, who on earth would willingly give up such a lifestyle. Let's be quite honest about this. If you were a governor or some other high and mighty Colonial Official would you be willing to give up your power and privileges to go back home and ride the bus?

No, way!!!

You would try to hang on to those plumes and feathers as long as possible and you would do anything in your power to prevent the Colony from moving towards independence and freedom.

Instead of Turks and Caicos being a burden to Britain, I submit to you that the very opposite is true.

The British are actually a burden to us and a very heavy burden at that.

They are a direct hindrance to our progress and this country will never make any real headway until we get this 300 year old monkey off our backs.

If we really were a burden to the British they would have dumped us ages ago.

It is us who must do the dumping, and the sooner the better.

Yours Faithfully, Stafford Missick

Q. Do you feel that your message is getting through to the people, the whole question of britishers taking over the top positions in Anguilla?

A. I think that message is going through to the people because I have been able to assess the situation and analyze the british role in Anguilla for many years. And whether they will say, people will say, Hubert Hughes doesn't like the british; Hubert Hughes is a radical; Hubert Hughes is irresponsible.

But my predictions are being revealed day by day and more and more people now are embarrassed by these revelations and they want to look good and they are saying, yes, Hubert Hughes has been telling us the truth.

Hubert Hughes is really on the ball because I told them that the british governors and commissioners who came to Anguilla were actually employed by the british government and they were not concerned about the ethics of Anguilla. ,P> They were not concerned about the credit worthiness of Anguilla. If the Anguillan politician wanted to be corrupt, the british government would allow them to destroy themselves and use this against them.

They condoned corruption in every colonial territory.

They knew what was happening in the Turks and Caicos islands but they condoned it so that they can go to the international community and say, see these little black boys cannot be trusted with anything.

That gave them the opportunity which they wanted to take over the colonies.

Now David Carty assumed the position of chairman of some economic unit for Anguilla and as such he was instrumental in getting an economic strategic review team, some british consultants to come here to draft an economic review strategy for Anguilla.

And although the report has been issued to David Carty and he has given copies to the ministers of government, the report is so negative that he has not given any to anybody else.

But little bits and pieces have been leaked out and this too is revealing because I have always said we should not believe because the british governor was consenting to superfluous civil service that this is right.

Because eventually Anguilla will have the responsibility of paying for the civil service and if you have a civil service bigger than you can carry or unnecessary to the needs of Anguilla, then eventually you will have to cut and that cutting exercise will be more painful than the thought the british just can't employ them in order just to give them a job.

Now I understand the review report is telling them they will have to cut the size of the civil service, it is too big. So basically my revelations are all coming true.

When I tried to tell civil servants they are not supposed to enter areas of corruption because this will play into the british hands, nobody listened.

Now they are all paying for it because the british will tell you at one time that Anguilla's ethics or West Indian ethics is different from british ethics.

But whenever they have reason to chop you down, they say you are unethical using the same british ethical standards. So when I tell them the british didn't want to see any economic development in Anguilla until they are ready to benefit from that development, they didn't believe me.

Now the british is interested in private economic development because they are now in a position to capitalize on it. All things, I've been saying for the last 20 years and nobody believed me. But now that they are seeing it for themselves, they are saying, yes, Hubert Hughes was always right.

Q. The focus of your party. What message are you trying to get across to the Anguillan populace?

A. We feel that the Anguilla National Alliance which is the party in power has really adapted a hit-or-miss approach to development of this country.

As a result, Anguilla is in a very terrible situation. We don't know exactly where we are going and we are not using the current recource to achieve focus for development.

The Anguilla Democratic Party, in 1989, when we fought our campaign for the first time, adapted as our campaign theme:

planning, professionalism, and patriotism, a theme we referred to as the three Ps, is an indictment of the present government in light of their lack of planning, their lack of objective decision-making and frankly, their policies only formed the interest of party supporters as far as we are concerned.

The government seems to be bankrupt of ideas and because of their incompetence have allowed a large number of british officials to be brought in the island in key positions thereby causing many of the decisions to be made by non-Anguillans.

In addition, we feel the government has made a mess of education. We feel there is a disaster in the delivery of services and these people have no direction to the development of tourism which is the main industry of the island and also have destroyed the financial services sector.

Other charges that we could place against the government...the most significant charge that we are making is that the government is not qualified or prepared to lead Anguilla into the 20th century and that we have a slate of young, energetic candidates.

Of course, our candidates range from 30 to 45... which would be the oldest, four of whom are university prepared. And we have a great deal of support from seasoned business persons in the community, young people and other professionals who we feel could....

Entering into the 1990's we need people who have certain amount of preparation to deal with the issues which affect the region and Anguilla.

We feel that this kind of team is a team that is ready to come up with the plan of action for Anguilla's development. We think that there's need for a real in depth plan of action for development. To date, the government has not developed any real plan. As a result, our problems have increased exponentially.

As a matter of fact, government has abdicated a lot of its responsibilities to british officials and the governor himself.

The last governor who was here said that many of the decisions that he had been making should have been made by the local government.

He stated this openly. We feel that the government is limited. We feel that they are not producing any significant changes in their slate of candidates for this new election. They have not yet come out and told the people what their plan for action is for 1994.

They have not explained why progress has been slow, why significant areas of development have been left unattended and we are going to focus on bringing innovative, dedicated leadership to take Anguilla through these crucial times.

The November 1992, issue of The Pan- Afrikan Liberator carried as it's main feature, an interview with the governor by Mr. Claude Hogan.

In that interview, the question came up as to the necessity of a new prison in Montserrat now.

Q. Do you think anyone should set priorities for anyone else, especially when one may be out of touch with the people's culture and background?

A. No. I don't think they should set priorities for someone else when they are out of touch with the people's culture and background.

Q. The country plan also makes reference to a penal code and a prison. Why is a new prison important at this stage especially when we have so many other important issues to be dealt with?

A. Well, there was a visit by the judge who advises the british government about prisons in the UK several years ago and he was concerned generally about the condition of the prisons in the dependent territories.

He felt that they were out of date and not in accordance with modern penal policy and the british government allocated funds to all dependent territories to build prisons on the basis of his report and I believe in that particular case they are saying that they are prepared to allocate funds for that particular purpose and not for any other because of their particular concern about that problem.

Q. If the british decided to build a prison, can we disagree under the country plan or, will we be forced to supplement, by percentage, funds advanced by the british and, as a result, forego what our local government knows are more important priorities?

A. Well, in the case of the prison, the british government has certainly said that those funds are only available to build a prison. That is quite true. And I think that we are expected to be in a position to meet the recurrent costs of that new prison.

I believe that normally in the context of the country plan, we will expect essentially to agree about all our various priorities.

If there's some particular concern which the british have...which they have in security or whatever, they may still say as they as they have done in relation to the prison, well, we think that this particular need has to be addressed and we're prepared to provide the money to address this particular need and we aren't necessarily prepared to say well you can choose between this need and some other one.

I think that may still occur. There are certain funds which are earmarked for this kind of purpose which can't readily be used for other purposes.

Q. It sounds like decision-making. Why would the British want to take away decision making from anyone?

A. Well they don't want to take away decision-making from the local governments. They want the local governments to be as thoroughly involved in decision-making as it is possible to be. But they also want to play a part in that decision-making.

And as I say, if they have some particular funds which are only available for some particular purpose, then they have to make that clear, which is what they have done in this particular instance and I think that it is a very sensible purpose if I may say so.

I think it has both a social purpose in the sense that we want to treat those particular individuals in the way that they should be treated by a modern society.

But we also want to make sure that we have a secure penal system and not one in which people can readily escape as has happened recently several times in Montserrat.

The governor was quite explicit. Yes, we must build that prison.

Why? Because the british government says so.

Can we not find a better use for those funds at this point in time?

No.

Why?

Because it's the british government's money, they set our priorities and they say what their money can be spent on.

This is 1993. The strange thing is, that no one has asked the british why a prison?

On this island we have a prison community that goes to work on a regular basis fully armed.

The prisoners perform manual labour which includes the use of cutlasses.

In many instances you will come upon an unarmed prison warder guarding ten to fifteen armed prisoners.

We have one of the most unique prisoner-warder relationships. Prisoners have stood on warders' shoulders to pick fruit from trees.

What then is the pressing priority? What do the british anticipate?

Do they expect our social condition to come apart so rapidly that within a few short years we will need a maximum security jail?

Do they anticipate that their plans for Montserrat will cause such a huge social gap in the fabric of our society that the police will have no choice but to remove locals in order to protect outsiders?

Montserrat, unfortunately, has not yet escaped from the harsh realities of colonialism.

If this plan worked in 1911 for the larger islands then why change it in 1993 for those little dependencies who have no say so in their own affairs.

In the early 1900's the british set their priorities for their colonies. Here are the thoughts of the Prime Minister of Trinidad on the topic.

"Imperialism and the crown colony system subordinated the `civilizing mission' to the maintenance of law and order.

British democracy in the nineteenth century had expanded to the slogans of `We must educate our masters' and `Open a school and close a jail.' British rule in Trinidad, on the other hand, was marked by the denial of education to the masses and the priority of jails and their appurtenances over schools.

Of a total expenditure of just under a million pounds in 1911, Trinidad spent £62,000 on education and £66,000 on the police force.

To the latter must be added another £18,000 on prisons, reformatories and industrial schools, and approximately £4,000 on the military - the local volunteer force. For every ten pounds spent on schools, therefore, fourteen were spent on jails."

For more information, read The Education of a Prime Minister by Eric Williams.

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds".

A quote from one of Bob Marley's conscious lyrics.

As you read the words what runs through your mind?

Do the words have any meaning for you?

Have you spent any of the leisure time that your forefathers and mothers bought for you with their life's blood looking beneath the surface?

It has now been 400 years since the europeans claimed that the Creator gave them the right to enslave us, civilize us and free us.

During the period of physical slavery Afrikans fought against the insidious institution of racial slavery in the western hemisphere.

When the trade in rum for Afrikans to grow sugar was no longer profitable, the european powers proclaimed the Afrikan to be a free human.

The european maintained, however, the right to `civilize' us and teach us their ways.

When we met their standards, they would grant us our inalienable rights of Equality, Brotherhood and Justice.

As a result we became colonies to a `mother country' who in truth and fact is our stepmother.

True, we were no longer physical slaves with masters.

What then was our reward for 400 years of inhumanity at the hand of those who built a military and industrial complex on the false premise of racial supremacy?

Economic and mental slavery.

Could this be true? Did we give up one form of slavery only to be coerced into a more subtle system?

What did we have?

Where could we go?

Where were the programs?

What system was put in place to rectify the massive misinformation passed off in our schools as education?

Where are the psychologists to help us to recover from 300 years of moral, mental and physical dehumanization?

Having had all traces of our own languages, history and nearly all traces of our culture beaten out of us, did we have any choice but to accept the erroneous facts and distorted logic that our masters foisted upon us?

You as a people are nothing.

You created nothing and you have made no meaningful contribution to civilization.

You were put on Earth strictly to be hewers of wood and carriers of water.

Over the years since `emancipation' an insignificant portion of the Afrikan population in the western hemisphere has overcome the economic bounds and stepped with open arms into a society that continues to look down their noses at us.

Mother Afrika has been washed from our minds. Stepmother europe has taken her place.

Mental Slavery???

What is it? Is it a disease? Do I suffer from it?

"No matter where you come from so long as you are a Blackman, you are an Afrikan."

Quote from one of Peter Tosh's conscious lyrics.

When you read the words above what do you feel? When you hear the song how do you feel?

Elation or revulsion?

Analyze your reaction and you will know if you suffer from the malaise known as mental slavery.

The period of physical slavery came to an end, because the european powers could no longer afford to maintain the large military presence necessary to protect their minority landholders against the violent uprisings that took place on every plantation or estate where Afrikans were being held against their will.

Our slave parents did us proud. They maintained, sustained and fought a war for over three hundred years.

Generation after generation they produced the women and men (warriors) necessary to lead the revolution out of bondage.

What will our children have to say about us?

Are we doing them proud?

We continue to lick the boots of our former masters.

We continue to grovel at their feet and look to them for sustenance and guidance.

"How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand around and watch?"

Quote from one of Bob Marley's conscious lyrics.

Have you heard it before?

Does it ring a bell?

Shaka Zulu? Boukman? Dessalines? Touissant? Daddy Sharpe? Joseph Cinque? E.W.Blyden? Paul Bogle? Hossu Bowelle? Martin R. Delaney? JaJa? Prempeh? Asantewa Ya (Queen Mother of Ashanti)? Marcus Garvey? Patrice Lumumba? Kwame Nkrumah? Malcolm x? Martin Luther King? Bob Marley? Haille Selassie I?

Are these names meaningful to you?

These are but a few of the warriors, women and men, that have spoken for the rights of Afrikans.

For their reward, they were banned from publication, exiled, banished, jailed, assassinated.

In most instances the Afrikan lost dynamic leadership and guidance with little resistance from the masses.

Do we really stand around and watch?

Is our vision clouded by the interpretations that we accept without question from our past and present masters as to how to choose our heroes?

Do we really know any of our real heroes?

"Rise up you mighty people do you not know who you are?"

"Afrika for the Afrikans those at home and those abroad."

Quote from the philosophy and opinions of Marcus Garvey.

If we are to have a future, we must become knowledgeable of our past.

Did you know that we have the richest and longest recorded history on the planet?

No! Don't feel bad. Many of us are only now discovering this long and well kept secret.

Do you want to do your children proud?

It is time to step forward as a group and demand that pages of history be taught in their entirety in our educational institutions!

Only through true knowledge of self will the malaise of mental slavery be lifted.

When the mental shackles are finally removed from our minds the scattered children of Afrika will rise as one.

We will reach out for the resources of the Motherland and gather the strength necessary to rise once again as a proud and mighty people.

We will remember the humanity, glory and sufferings of our ancestors,
And honour the struggles of our ancestors.
We will strive to bring new values and new life to our people.
We will be loving, caring and creative.
We will work, study and listen, so we may learn; Learn so we may teach.
We will cultivate self reliance.
We will struggle to resurrect and unify our homeland.
We will raise many children of our nation.
We will have discipline, patience, devotion and courage.
We will live as models to provide new direction for our people.
We will be free and self determining.
We are Afrikan people.
We will win!!!

The Hong Kong legislature gave british diplomats a three week extension to reopen negotiations with China over the political future of the colony.

The chances of any such talks taking place are very slim as the Chinese parliament, the Peoples National Congress have denounced daily the suggestions of governor Chris Patten to change the Hong Kong legislative system.

Patten, currently in London for talks with Major and Hurd expects to be back in Hong Kong in time for the unlikely event.

Asked whether there were any circumstances in which he would leave Hong Kong before 1997, Patten replied: "Well I can't imagine any circumstances. I want and intend to be here for five years."

Professor Itulemeng Mosala, criticized Nelson Mandela for his refusal to use the line "by any means necessary" in Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X.

He said that Mr. Mandela was not as radical as Spike Lee had hoped. By refusing to say, `by any means necessary,' Nelson has contradicted himself because that was the stance that resulted in his lengthy incarceration in the first place."

"It is also a contradiction of the African National Congress (ANC) itself and its traditional anti-colonialist stance and, most importantly, it undermines the people's desire for democracy and freedom".

He said that he was saddened by the ANC leader's willingness to be "accommodating to the white regime's wishes."

Professor Mosala said that he wanted people to know that the freedom movement in South Africa was not represented sincerely at the current negotiations between the ANC and the white South African regime.

"Black people are being left out of these negotiations and this is indicative of Nelson Mandela's willingness to compromise in order to shorten the short term negotiating aims."

"Nelson is living under the illusion that you have to be nice to these white politicians and accommodate their demands and ideas for reform.

However, the points of agreement between the ANC and the government do not constitute the basis of a strong, long term democracy.

In fact the negotiations in themselves are undemocratic because the people are not being allowed to decide what kind of system they want, capitalist, socialist or whatever.

It is not a question of Mandela saying this and DeClerk saying that. It should not be a personal thing between those two. It is a question of addressing injustice and oppression that the Black people have suffered for so long".

ANC students gave Secretary General Cyril Ramaphosa a cool reception when he sought to justify power sharing with the minority government for a period after South Afrika's first election open to the entire population.

Showing publicly the growing division in the ranks of the ANC a student told Ramaphosa that the ANC youth wing in Cape Town was "vehemently opposed to your negotiations."

The student went on to say, "Do you think you still command the support of the people as you have done in the past?"

An all country election is expected to be held within the next 18 months.

Three years after independence, Walvis Bay, the only deep water harbour in Namibia, is still under South African control.

South Africa took control of Walvis Bay in 1910 without any protest from the dutch or the british government.

In 1978 the United Nations security council passed resolution 435 that made Walvis Bay Namibian territory.

Walvis Bay is Namibia's central link to the outside world and the inner regions of the country.

The government and people of Walvis Bay continue to protest not only the South African control of Walvis Bay, but also the continued apartheid system imposed upon the workers in the region by the south african business community.

The Negotiations Forum

The P.A.C. of Azania attended the preparatory meeting on 5-6 March, 1993 to achieve the following:

(1) To ensure that bilateral talks make way for multi-lateral talks.
(2) To ensure that the new forum will have a new name and new structure.
(3) To ensure that the forum is free from the defects of CODESA and that it has: transparency, neutrality, deadlock breaking machinery, democracy as opposed to secret dealings, election for a constituent assembly.

We are proposing that the new forum be facilitating and not a decision making forum. The new forum should also be characterized by democracy.

Decisions should be arrived at in the meetings and not in secret deals outside the meetings.

The principal of neutrality must be accepted and observed as it ensures that the conference is not being manipulated and the regime does not frustrate the liberation movements through it's control of the process.

The international community is best qualified to play that neutral role. To this end we prefer the U.N., OAU, EEC, etc. or an acceptable combination of them play a role in:

the convenorship and the chairpersonship of the new multiparty forum.
the structures and committees which will be formed.
the administration of the meeting.
the Transitional Authority.

The deadlock breaking mechanism will, inter alia, be through mediation of the international community.

As far as we are concerned, the agenda of the new forum should be characterized by its pointedness and it should in essence:

prepare the country for elections for a Constituent Assembly.
introduce the international community for its role in the process.
put structures in place to ensure the swift transition to democracy including a Transitional Authority to control together with participating organizations :
the electronic media, the security forces, the supervision of elections and defined areas of the budget including the aforementioned areas.

We believe that the failure and the death of CODESA vindicated our position and approach. We must not repeat failed approaches.

We believe that it is possible to achieve a democratic Constituent Assembly before the end of this year. In order to realize this deadline we will propose that the new forum must meet daily and on a full-time basis unlike CODESA which met weekly.

"THE AFFAIRS OF AFRIKANS ALL AROUND THE GLOBE, AFFECT ALL AFRIKAN PEOPLE, WHERE EVER THEY MAY BE. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. BE AWARE OF WHAT GOES ON IN THE AFRIKAN WORLD, WHERE EVER YOU MAY BE."

Mwongozi Cudjoe Browne