EDITOR, The Tribune.
Thank you for allowing me time and space to share a matter of public interest to the Bahamian people, first because it involves a key “organ of national security”, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; and second because of that vaunted responsibility, this organisation has assumed certain obligations that must be upheld. As one of our security instruments, the RBDF is supported by the public payroll, which means that the behaviour of its personnel must and should always be under scrutiny to ensure it meets the highest of standards, whether on land or sea.
On Friday, October 30th, 2015, however, the behaviour of a small group of RBDF personnel in Mathew Town, Inagua, failed abjectly to meet any recognised standards of decorum. Allegedly, an argument started at “Supers”, a local night club, when one RBDF member tried forcibly to interpose between a young man and his girlfriend because the former had refused to allow an interruption of their dance.
A fracas resulted involving up to ten RBDF personnel and a greater number of local young men, during which several combatants were injured and a couple of RBDF personnel had to be escorted out of the club to receive urgent medical attention.
Ignoring for the moment, the genesis or the specifics of the row or the large number of people that eventually became involved, as a security organ of the state, the RBDF has a duty to protect the public (meaning life and property) and not do the opposite and incite violence gratuitously, as was reported in this incident. On behalf of the small close-knit community of Mathew Town, I feel that the RBDF personnel involved did not live up to the guiding principles of the organisation by failing to behave as law-abiding citizens; by failing to protect the public (as “peace officers”); and by committing actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and property damage (all of which are serious crimes in The Bahamas).
This harrowing incident was brought to the attention of the current and acting Heads of the RBDF (Commodore Roderick Bowe and Captain Tellis Bethel), less than two weeks after its occurrence with a simple and humble request to investigate the incident and remind the personnel of their overriding public duties.
Three months later, however, there has been neither an acknowledgement nor a response from either, so we feel compelled to bring this deplorable thuggish behaviour to the attention of the country, in case it is being practised elsewhere. To my shock and amazement, I found out subsequently, that the above incident is not the first of its kind; indeed a few months earlier, several RBDF personnel had ganged up on a single individual in Inagua and severely physically assaulted him, again in a night club!
This scurrilous behaviour cannot be condoned, neither implicitly by RBDF leaders, the Ministry of National Security, the local Police force or RBDF personnel, all of whom are public servants with well-defined public obligations and commitments.
It is our firm view that these sickening incidents of thuggish behaviour contribute to civil unrest and sometimes constitute crimes against our local communities, which require immediate and harsh disciplinary measures against the guilty personnel. Having acted in contravention of their obligations to protect and support local communities in line with their job descriptions, they can no longer be allowed to enjoy the security of a relatively well paid employment at the expense of the public whom they patently do not respect and are so keen to abuse!
By bringing this issue to the public domain, we implicate the Ministry of National Security, who should be moved to act for the following reasons: first, the RBDF was established in 1975 partly to “protect our nation’s vital interests”, none of which can be more important than our people; second, the Bahamian people, generally, and the people of Inagua, specifically, cannot be content to know that their hard earned contributions to the public purse are being used to support wayward and criminal behaviour; and finally, when these incidents do occur, they pose a serious threat to community relations, so it is imperative that the Ministry of National Security identifies the guilty parties and dispenses justice whether or not it results in immediate expulsion from the RBDF.
We cannot afford to be held hostage, not now or in future, by any security force whose first duty must be to protect the good hardworking and normally peace loving people of our country!
SS SEYMOUR, PhD
London, England,
February 20, 2016.
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