Gov’t, Opposition spar over new charter as island moves towards republic status
THE BARBADOS government has presented a new Charter of Barbados to Parliament that has led to a war of words between Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley.
Mottley, who presented the charter to legislators on Tuesday, one week before the island becomes a republic, said the document promotes the concept of active citizenship and is a guide for how people should treat each other and the country, but is not a constitution, the preamble to a new or the existing constitution, or a legal document.
“It is a document, however, that reflects how the majority feel, but that is committed to the protection of all, not just the majority, because the role of a government is to confer the benefits of the protection of the rule of law, the precepts of fairness on its people while insisting that order remain to avoid anarchy,” she added.
But Atherley said the document, while not legally binding and outlines citizens’ rights and responsibilities, leaves out “God”, insisting that God cannot be thrown out with the monarch as Barbados prepares its transition to republic status next week.
Atherley said he has serious issues with the section of the charter that refers to all being equal by virtue of “our humanity, in the eyes of the Creator”. He said this phrasing is watered down and departs significantly and tragically from that which appears in the preamble of the 1966 Constitution.
“We acknowledge God in the National Anthem; am I to be led to believe from the language of this charter that we will address that line with the part that says ‘The Lord has been the People’s Guide’? Are we going to remove that too because we are of the view that we are excluding others? Is this what we are not saying? And if we are not saying it there, we need to make sure the language here is correct so that we don’t give people the opinion that we are saying it here.