We are a little awkward in the year 2015 to have to stand up and instead of pledging allegiance to Barbados, to be pledging allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen. And therefore, Errol Barrow decolonized the politics and Owen Arthur decolonized the jurisprudence and Freundel Stuart is going to complete the process. – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, March 22.
ANYONE WHO HEARD or read the reports of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s speech to the St George South branch meeting last March would have walked away with the impression that he had firmly committed his Government to severing all ties to the monarchy.
A scant nine months later it would be understandable if some of those same people now appear to be confused about the Government’s true intent in relation to the much touted republic plan to replace the monarchical system.
The Prime Minister had seemed to be rolling the republican wicket quite determinedly as he warmed to the rationale.
“We cannot pat ourselves on the shoulders at having gone into Independence; having decolonsed our politics, our decision making . . . at having decolonised our jurisprudence by delinking from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and explain to anybody why we continue to have a monarchical system,” he told the party faithful.
Stuart did not say how it could be done, but he went on to insist that while his Government intended taking the step, Barbados would not be severing its relationship with the British Crown or the Commonwealth, of which the Queen is still head.
The question is: will Barbados become a republic with a Barbadian as head of state, or will we create some kind of constitutional monstrosity which sees the country masquerading as a republic but with Elizabeth II remaining as head of state?
On Friday, December 18, a curious news item appeared in the WEEKEND NATION, headlined No Truth To Republic In 2016 Talk, in which the Freundel Stuart administration appeared to be distancing itself from, and dismissing, a widely circulated story internationally which was reprinted by several publications to the effect that Barbados was planning to sever ties with the monarchy as part of the observance of its 50th year of Independence in 2016.
But it got curiouser and curiouser when, apart from the timing of the original AP article (the significance of which eludes me at this time since the 49th anniversary celebrations are long past), the Government’s response was through a senior public officer rather than from Stuart himself or a politician who is a member of the administration.
According to the WEEKEND NATION, the permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office dismissed the article as “totally inaccurate” and nothing more than a “made up” story.
It also left me wondering exactly what was being denied: that Barbados was going to abandon the monarchical system, which obviously means removing Queen Elizabeth as head of state; or that it would happen by Independence Day 2016?
There has been a great deal of speculation that Stuart would look opportunistically at November 30 to have the process completed, and quite frankly, it would not only be good politics but would make a spectacular splash for the next Independence celebrations.
If we are so certain and sure-footed in our march towards republican status, why would we be so reticent about coming out and not only defending our position, but offering a further explanation in the clearest possible terms?
It does not sit well within our system for it to even remotely appear that a civil servant is tasked with responding to what is a purely political matter well outside the purview of the permanent establishment.
Public officers have traditionally steered well away from such hot button political issues and the current crop would be well advised to do the same and not stray from the tried and true path either of their own volition or at someone else’s behest.
The silence of the politicians in the Freundel Stuart administration on this one has brought a slew of questions about the republic process to the fore, more particularly about Government’s true intent.
Could Government at this stage really be getting cold feet and feeling jittery over severing ties with a monarchy so beloved by many Barbadians and preparing to walk back from the republic plan, possibly fearing a backlash from the usually conservative monarchists in our midst?
Or was this story simply the result of a slow news day in the AP newsroom?
Albert Brandford is an independent political correspondent. Email: albertbrandford@nationnews.com