The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents leader Lincoln Bain was handcuffed and arrested on Cabbage Beach yesterday after he and other protesters began tearing down a fence the government itself has ordered the developers of the Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences to remove.

The confrontation brought police, protesters, vendors and politicians face-to-face on the Paradise Island beach, where anger over the fence has intensified after a 60-year-old American tourist was swept into rough seas on Sunday while trying to get around the barrier.

Mr Bain and other men pulled at the chain-link fencing and removed posts from the sand, including sections close to the shoreline as waves washed around them.

Police later moved in. Uniformed officers and officers in tactical gear surrounded Mr Bain and he was restrained and placed in handcuffs. A number of officers were at the scene, including those wearing tactical vests and others with visible police equipment and weapons.

Mr Bain raised his cuffed hands above his head during the confrontation before he was escorted away from the beach.

He had earlier told reporters that he intended to take the fence down. He later told The Tribune that police released him without charge. He returned to Cabbage Beach after his release and continued demanding that the barrier be removed.

His arrest came despite Environment Minister Zane Lightbourne reiterating yesterday that the developers had already been instructed to remove the fence. Mr Lightbourne said the Ministry of Works would take steps to remove it if the developers failed to do so, although he could not say when that would happen.

The fence has become the latest flashpoint in a weeks-long dispute over Cabbage Beach, where vendors fear construction connected to the Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences could threaten their livelihoods and where concerns about continued public access have grown. Representatives of Four Seasons did not respond to messages seeking comment yesterday.

Freetown MP Lincoln Deal, whose constituency includes the beach, was also at the scene yesterday and renewed his demand for the fence to come down.

Mr Deal said the same urgency used to erect the barrier should now be used to remove it.

“Bahamians are losing their beaches,” Mr Deal said, “and it's very important that we take this fight seriously because the access to public beaches is becoming very rare.”

He said Cabbage Beach was “one of the only beaches that we have left for Bahamians to enjoy and participate in”.

“And so, for me,” he said, “it's a fight not just for myself; it's for our country.”

The dispute took on greater urgency after Sunday’s rescue, when a 60-year-old American tourist was swept into the sea while attempting to pass the fence.

The woman had been walking along the shoreline when she entered the water to get around the barrier and was pulled into rough seas. Lifeguards, Mr Deal and others helped rescue her.