The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE the government’s decision to change the observance date of Majority Rule Day, We March Bahamas organiser Ranard Henfield said regardless of when the holiday is, thousands of Bahamians will assemble and “won’t be ignored.”

Initially, the Cabinet Office said Majority Rule Day – January 10 - would be observed on Monday, January 9.

However, last week it was announced in Parliament that the holiday would be observed on the actual date of the historic event.

Shortly after We March Bahamas organisers staged a massive protest in November, the group announced a similar event set for Majority Rule Day, on January 9.

The change in the public holiday calendar has been perceived by many as an attempt by the government to strike a blow to the success of this second event by We March Bahamas.

“The Bahamian people want to see changes and now more than ever, we are brave and impassioned,” Mr Henfield said in a press statement.

“We will march whenever the holiday is and won’t be ignored. This time, there will be thousands more of us and we will march with the people’s platform on hand and will present the way forward for a united and prosperous country, in which we won’t be treated this way by another administration - ever again.

“There’s a song titled, ‘Something Inside So Strong’, by Labi Siffre. It speaks to what we face. No matter what this administration does, we as the Bahamian people must remember that we are now united and committed to uprooting the status quo and bringing about a better Bahamas for all Bahamians and those who live here,” he added.

In an a Facebook post last week, Mr Henfield said the Christie administration could change the date if officials wanted to, while insisting that the people in power have a lot to learn about the power of the people.

On November 25, during We March Bahamas’ ‘Black Friday’ march, just over a thousand protesters marched from Arawak Cay to Rawson Square. More generous estimates place the figure around 1,500 persons.

The protest attracted significant support from activists and civic organisations, as well as the support of the country’s two umbrella unions.

It came after organisers issued a list of 23 non-partisan demands to Prime Minister Perry Christie and several of his Cabinet ministers on November 9, and again on November 22. Mr Christie responded to organisers by letter on November 24, in which he invited leaders to meet with him at his office. However this offer was rejected.

Earlier this month, in an attempt to increase pressure on the government, organisers also threatened to initiate a national strike if the prime minister did not give a national address or take steps to meet protest demands.

However, Mr Henfield later walked back on that threat.

In a letter to Mr Christie, lead organiser Ranard Henfield reiterated that there was no reason to meet privately with the nation’s leader because all issues listed were well within his permit to immediately effect change “with the stroke of a pen” given his portfolio as prime minister, minister of finance, and minister with responsibility for Crown land.

He said that if Mr Christie met some of the demands in good faith, via a public address by December 8, he was prepared to convene a meeting with the more than 40 affiliated organisations and the media to discuss controversial issues.

The letter read: “The monumental Black Friday event of November 25, 2016, has forever redefined the memory of ‘Black Friday’ in the Bahamas. No longer will its history only be associated with the half price sales around Thanksgiving or slavery. It will now forever be remembered as the day when Bahamians of all creeds, colours, social statuses, political affiliations and religious views came together as one people united in love and raised up chants of our national anthem, our national motto and our national pledge as we demanded better governance and representation.

“Tears flowed as thousands came together in the most racially, socially and politically diverse display of solidarity and national pride seen since Independence. Never again will Bahamians be so easy to divide and conquer as we now appreciate that once united, we are more powerful than the people in power.”

However, National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB) newly elected President Bernard Evans later told The Tribune the union would not participate in any “national strike” initiated by organisers of We March Bahamas.

Mr Evans, who is also the president of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), added that he was willing to sit with Mr Henfield and his team to discuss past and future protests.

Mr Henfield later backtracked from his initial national strike comments and insisted that he does not possess the power to “shut the country down” and that there was no national strike planned.

In a series of posts on Facebook, Mr Henfield said the talk of a national strike was contained in a “private email” to the media and was “taken out of context.”

However, the email Mr Henfield referred to was sent to the media by wemarchbahamas@gmail.com with a subject line that read “national strike looms”.