Conflict, hostility should be avoided between BVI and UK
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has argued that conflict and hostility with Governor John Rankin is something that should be avoided where possible.
Premier Wheatley‘s remarks came against the backdrop that there were conflicts between elected members of government and the Governor in selecting the members of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC).
“Cooperation between the Governor and the Premier is not just simply a constitutional matter,“ Premier Wheatley said at a recent press conference.
He added: “It’s a matter of the need for the strong collaboration and cooperation between the Governor and the Premier and the Governor’s office and the elected government.”
The Premier argued that the BVI and United Kingdom (UK) have to work together to make their relationship work.
“We don’t see it as being in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands to be in conflict, as the Governor has stated of course, sometimes our interests may not intersect and sometimes our views and our perspectives may not be the same,“ Premier Wheatley said.
This does not mean, Dr Wheatley noted, that engagement should not be continued between the two in a manner that is constructive and collaborative with the aim of seeking to hammer out solutions to some of the problems that are being faced.
“We see this to be a better option than hostility; than a destructive fight between the United Kingdom and the people of the Virgin Islands,“ Premier Wheatley remarked.
According to the Premier, the constitutional review process allows for the people to examine the relationship between the United Kingdom and the people of the Virgin Islands.
“As we set our course for the future, the people of the Virgin Islands have a choice. The choice is in the hands of the people of the Virgin Islands – through referendum and also through making their voices heard in the constitutional talks — what they want the relationship to look like in the future,” Dr Wheatley said.
The Premier added that where there are disagreements, this should be done respectfully and should not forego seeking to find solutions and bridging whatever divides might exist while keeping in mind what is in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands.
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This Premier is really a fake. All of a sudden you know this when you were the one along with your former leader creating the conflict that led to the COI. Every single day you along with others were on the back of Jaspert. You even spoke about the BVI taxpayers paying for the parties at government house. You forget? Now that Andrew is gone and you are the Premier we must avoid the same conflict that you caused that have us in the mess that we are in. You are really counterfeit. So I guess your independent talk done now. You want to hold on to the premiership so badly that you would sell yourself and sell us to do so.
I thought I was the only one who felt that way. This dude has been bashing the UK for YEARS!!!! Y’all remember how many times he had to run in office before he finally got in?????
He a sell out .kissing up
It is a minority of self interest people causing the conflict between this United Kingdom Dependent territory and the UK. Do you hear the US Virgin Islands telling Washington to get out and keep out of their affairs? NO. But these so called educated elitists are out there protesting against the UK to get out of the territory that it owns. Who is causing the conflict?
The struggle is now suddenly over because you are Premier. Andrew is gone and you have a new buddy. The same people you were giving us a history lesson on for the last three years. All of a sudden the UK is a deacon of democracy in the world. You are a national embarrassment Slowande.
There is a difference between causing conflict and standing up for your rights. You don’t know the difference now since you are driving in the back of the black Escalade. Let their faulty report call us corrupt and let us accept it to avoid any conflict. I cannot even find words to describe you anymore.
His brother Benito, the outstanding career diploma, is advising him correctly. We need to lower the temperature and allow cooler heads to prevail.
You all are sick people.
Grow a spine, boy. It’s 2022, are we supposed to just smile & nod to UK decrees?
No back home selling out are you.
My dad used to say that behind every great politician is an adaptable mind.
I am cautiously optimistic that the Hon Dr Wheatly is finding out how truly bad things are in the VI and that his seeming shift of direction stems from the realization of just how much support we need in order to prepare ourselves for the mantle of independence.
I do not believe he has given up on the idea of independence and suspect he is beginning to realize the vast preparation, guidance, protection and money a stable future will entail.
I can’t help but wonder how can we expect to face a future as an Independent State when we don’t respect and enforce our own constitution? Sometimes, we behave as though the document doesn’t exist! I know of a 15 year old CHILD who was imprisoned with the general population for a year without charges and no lawyer would challenge it. Here’s the clause: “(3) Every juvenile prisoner shall be segregated from adult prisoners and shall be entitled to have
any criminal proceedings against him or her pursued with the greatest possible expedition.”
Has anyone actually READ our constitution? We ignore the parameters of belongership and citizenship. We ignore our constitution any time it’s an inconvenience. It is time to recognize that the UK does not want to govern us, they just don’t want to let us go when we don’t yet have the tools to self govern.
A constitution is a covenant between the peoples of a Nation. We can’t apply it only when it suits us, because then it MEANS NOTHING- and where does that leave us as an independent nation? In chaos, ripe for dictatorship, debt and enslaved to the great tidal wave of global capitalism.
If we don’t like our constitution, we can change it. We can redefine future citizenship and the award of rights if that’s what we decide. To ensure a successful future, we must fix not only our constitution, but it’s application and the basic district system that allows it to be undermined so easily.
Oh, and don’t bother bringing up the current corruption in the US & UK. My Mama used to scold, ‘if everybody was jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you do it?’. I certainly wouldn’t say we are untouched; the long, grinchy fingers of global corruption have reached toward us for decades-but we are positioned to not necessarily cast off the shackles (because y’know- FOOD), but we can perhaps control our end of the chain.
Do yourself, your territory and your future (nation?) a favor and read our constitution. Form discussion groups at your church, in your neighborhood, at your school, your bike club or at your work. Think and talk about who we want to be and the changes we need to make.
Less fighting the UK AND each other and more thinking for ourselves is the only way to get the future we want and not a global free-for-all in which all but a select few lose out to corporations, foreign government debt and cartel turf wars like many of our sister islands.
https://bvi.gov.vg/sites/default/files/constitution.pdf
Nice to have a Premier who speaks in complete well thought out sentences. Breath of fresh air.
What a hypocrite. Just a few months ago he was hell bent on creating conflict between the BVI and UK. Now he has flip flopped in completely the opposite direction. Shifts with the wind, not to be trusted.
It’s easy to spew rhetoric from behind the line, when you sit in the seat you feel the real heat! Now in the Premier’s seat Sowande realizes that rhetoric and hot air is just that. He now realizes that it takes real action and gusto to be a leader!
There is a difference between conflict and assertion. He is spineless
Nothing wrong with conflict, that’s negotiation of different Ideas, but hostility should be avoided.
yep , reality has fivnally set in , so he reading he(his) own script now , and we are still wondering who’s script those 3rd generation imposters who was bareface enough to sit in the road to create an impression of bvi love which everybody know was designed to deceive our people ( because they is who created this fiasco in the first place ? DUH
Mr Premier, you should have recognized this long before,and publicly apologize for your despicable behavior towards the UK.
Spineless jelly fish. I can’t wait for elections.
Why don’t you ask the British people what they think. I am a Brit on holiday with my family and have experienced racism against me and my family. I will not spend my hard earned money where I am not wanted. Let the British people vote. You would get independence immediately. How sad this has all become!
You all done mess up your country by voting based on lies from Boris Johnson to leave the EU. No thanks. We don’t need you to vote here. We could make a mess all by ourselves. It will be our mess. Hope you enjoyed your holiday.