Foreign Minister wants to hear NDP leadership on Ramos’ letter
“Up until now, I have not written or uttered a single word on Wellington Ramos or anything he did or said in SVG. But then I saw this email.{{more}}
I would appreciate hearing from Hon. Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Senator Frederick on whether they received this email.
If so, I would appreciate hearing from them on whether they consider the claims in this email accurate and appropriate; and what response they have made to Mr. Ramos.
Further, I would like to know if they discussed, approved or had prior knowledge of these lies and slanders being sent to the US State Department, Amnesty International and the Government of Belize.
Read for yourself:â
The alleged email is copied below:
From: Wellington Ramos [weramos451@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2015 5:59 AM
To: Wellington Ramos; Wellington C. Ramos; JOSEPH GUERRERO; AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RAMOS UGA MEMBERSHIP; NESTOR MENDEZ SECRETARY; Permanent Mission of Belize; STATE DEPARTMENT LATIN AMERICAN DESK; US EMBASSY BARBADOS; VYNETTE A FREDRICK; EUSTACE ARNHIM LEADER NDP ST VINCENT
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SAINT VINCENT & THE GRENADINES
CONFIDENTIAL (TOP SECRET)
Dear Relevant Agencies Responsible for Human Rights Violations,
Recently, I was in the country of Saint Vincent & The Grenadines my motherland as a Garifuna person, whoâs ancestors were forcefully removed by the British from their on March the 14th, 1797 to Roatan, Honduras and now a citizen of the United States of America.
I had the opportunity to speak to many of my people and they said that their human rights are still being violated in this country by this Prime Minister and his government today.
These are some of the human rights violations they pointed out to me;
1- If the Police or Government enforcement commit any unlawful act or act against an individual or group they cannot file an action in the Magistrate Court.
2- There having been cases that were filed against the government by citizens to decide in a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), whether there is sufficient evidence to move the cases forward to the Supreme Court. If the case or cases was brought against the government, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) would recommend that the case be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
3- There was an individual who was in the higher echelon of the Prime Ministerâs Party who indicated that he was dissatisfied with his ULP partyâs policies and was going to speak out against it at a public rally. The night when he was scheduled to speak, a vehicle came from nowhere and killed him. The Police Department claimed that it was an accident. No investigation was conducted against the driver up to this day.
4- It is being reported that a Minister of government is responsible for many crimes that have and are being committed by government authorities against people who are in the opposition party. Unlawful searches and harassment of members of the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is ongoing. It also occurred to me when I left the country on the 7th of July, 2015.
5- The Garifuna people had a Farmerâs Union that brought in many revenues for their farm products. The government took over the union and their collective bargaining rights away from them. They then proceeded to form a Statutory Board to carry out the duties and functions of their union. The result has been devastating to the farmers.
6 – Some of the Garifuna peopleâs ancestral lands were taken away from them and now their is an attempt to resell those same lands back to them.
7- The people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are currently living in fear for their lives if they were to speak or say something against this government. They have so much fear, that they do not even want to be seen with the members of the opposition party for fear of some form of retribution by the party in government.
8- Saint Vincent & The Grenadines today is a Police State and the citizens democratic rights are being violated daily.
I now appeal to your agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations that to me are merited. Then, bring it to the attention of the regional and international organizations such as; Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Undersecretary for Latin America Affairs, Caricom, OECS, Organization of American States (OAS), United Nations (UN.
Elections are due anytime now and nobody is aware of the date of the election but the Prime Minister himself. He has been boasting that he and God are the only two people who knows when the elections are going to be called. He is trying to call it at a time when the political climate is convenient to him so that he can have a chance to be reelected for 4th term which would give him a total of 20yrs in office if he was to win.
A former government official brought it to my attention that the Voter Registration List is stocked with voters who are not eligible to vote. I met a person on the street and he told me that the last election was stolen through the ballot box. In order for these human rights abuses to end, your agencies will have to conduct a thorough investigation into these serious allegations.
I have no doubt that your agencies possess the means to end these human rights abuses and I will be looking forward to see the results of your investigations. I will be submitting this document to all the agencies I know as a Human Rights Activist and a Garifuna person who have always advocated on my peopleâs behalf. Below is and article that I was reading which is a true state of affairs in this country and I applaud the writer to take fear from himself and just state the facts.
I have this strong belief that once this government is served with public notice of these violations and your personnel commence the investigations, they will cease from their activities until after the elections. It will also reassure the citizens that they can exercise their democratic rights openly without any fear of victimization or retributions.
This government seems to be desperate because most of the citizens I spoke to are crying for a change. Yet they are fearful that this government may go at length to use some unlawful activities to remain in power. I am concerned about the well being of all my Garifuna brothers and sisters who are tired of being abused by this PM and his ULP government.
Wellington C. Ramos
Professor of History
Veteran US Army
8th Infantry Division Mechanized Germany
Belizean Justice of The Peace
Assistant Associate President New York State Garifuna Nation
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