Tribute to Dame Lois

May 29, 2007

Dear Sir,

Bermuda has suffered a great loss today. My dear friend and mentor Dame Lois Browne-Evans has died. I still have great difficulty believing that there will be no more lengthy political or topical discussions about Bermuda either by telephone or in person. Mrs. Browne Evans, as I affectionately addressed her, was always a grass-roots person and not one to be caught up in oligarchic pomp and ceremony. But, as Leader of the Opposition and later as Attorney General, she had the ability to assume the duties required of her tantamount to any gentry. You can rest assured that the Dame with her jovial personality and infectious laughter would generally be able to sway public opinion with her eloquent oratory. Dame Lois was a personage who was magnanimous, stalwart, resolute and most of all a humanitarian.

Dame Lois stood tall with Pauulu Karamefego and others in the struggle for adult suffrage in the early years, thus paving the way for the “new” Bermuda. My father, the late Stanley (Ding Dong) Dowling often spoke of the boycott of the movie theatres in Bermuda during his era. I am certain that Dame Lois was right there in the “mix”. Wherever and whenever there was injustice against the masses in this country you would be sure to find Dame Lois fighting a battle that now for her has become the good Lord’s. I loved Dame Lois most of all because she did not mince her words and she had a way of making her point without insult. At one stage, I began to grow weary of this life in Bermuda. But, after a good chastising from the great Dame, she totally convinced me that I should remain in the land of my birth and participate in the fight for a better Bermuda for all Bermudians. The inimitable Lord Denning was my favourite Master of the Rolls and the attached quote and opening made me think of Dame Lois when I studied them:

“What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both.” Packer v Packer (1953) 2 AER 127

“In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short ....yet now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has ordered that they must not play there anymore... he has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket. This newcomer has built ...a house on the edge of the cricket ground which four years ago was a field where cattle grazed. The animals did not mind the cricket.” Mille v Jackson (1977) Q B 966, 976

Dame Lois was a pioneer for all women entering the legal vineyard in Bermuda. She was the first female Bermudian to be called to the bar. She was the first female Opposition Leader in a British Commonwealth Territory and she was the first elected female Attorney General. But, I remember Dame Lois as a wonderful wife and mother. In all our conversations, there would always be some tidbit about the children, grandchildren and especially her husband, Mr. Evans whom she loved dearly. My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this great Matriarch of Bermuda, Dame Lois Browne Evans.

WAHEEDAH 2ARIFCPS

City of Hamilton

Keep Police independent

June 10, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am very disappointed by our Premier and Public Safety Cabinet Minister’s recent behaviour. What is wrong with an inquiry into the BHC? —Reacting so strongly against it and calling on the Governor to give up power of the Police because some of the information is in the public domain is deliberately detracting attention from a legitimate investigation of the BHC. Everyone knows that to have a corrupt-free democratic country, the Police have to remain independent from Government. Otherwise the police will pick and choose whom and how they investigate and will choose not to investigate government officials. This is how the Third World operates and is not acceptable for Bermuda.

DIANA HESLOP

Devonshire

A gallant soldier

May 28, 2007

This was sent to Lt. Colonel W.K. White, Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, and copied to

The Royal Gazette

.

Dear Sir,

In this day and age when so many negative comments are made concerning our young men, I want to give my personal “Thanks” to an exemplary young man in the Bermuda Regiment. I was a participant in the May 24 marathon. On starting the race, I knew because of work commitment the day before, that my start was not good because I had no energy, mentally or physically. At some point in Somerset, I realised a young man was behind me and when I turned, all he said was “I have your back Madame”. All the other runners had long since gone.

Tony Soharttonome was behind me and beside me until the finish line of the race. If I stopped, he stopped and kept encourageing me, offering me water, candy and words of encouragement. It gave my husband a level of comfort to see he was there and it certainly gave me comfort. He would direct the traffic around me and made sure I stayed on the left side of the road. I actually thought he was told to stay behind the last runner but later found out that this was not the case. If I ran, he ran, when I walked, he walked.

What a guardian angel I felt like I had in that young man. He ran across the finish line with me and my finish was 4:02:16. He could have left me at any point but chose to stay right with me. My husband and I both have since which spoken to him to convey our thanks but I wanted the Regiment to know about one of your soldiers who you can truly be proud of.

DONNA DEAN

Follow Cardiff’s example

May 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

I I may add to the ongoing discussions concerning the fate of this lovely old historic building, which to be honest has been on the cards for a number of years now and to be quite truthful looks out of place in the advent of high riser’s and international business

et al

. Bermuda is far from being alone in this area as the sprawl of human endeavours and expansion. However, what to do in the face of the relentless expansion of concrete and asphalt (and people). Perhaps St. Fagan’s Castle in Cardiff, South Wales may have the answer — for I seem to remember from my upbringing there, that the Welsh Heritage people came up with the novel idea of “well if we cannot preserve it — perhaps we can remove it and build it elsewhere” and so St. Fagans has become a repository for the relocation (forty odd to date) of historical buildings of Welsh provenance.

A quick look into the St. Fagans site is well worth the trouble. So saying it would seem to me if big business can afford to buy the old site and build a high rise — then they can provide funds along with the Government to relocate the Historic Building it is replacing to a more conducive site like Camden.

Southlands would certainly benefit from such a project — Just a thought.

This would show to one and all that big business and Government are actively in a partnership to establish a trust to preserve Bermuda’s unique past and generous enough to participate in preserving it for future generations, whilst providing tourist and Bermudians a fascinating glimpse into Bermuda’s stunning Maritime historical culture. By saying this and not to alienate people like the National Trust I do mean ancient buildings under threat of the hammer and bulldozer.

CHRISTOPHER G. ADDAMS

Somerset

Burch should talk to AG

June 6, 2007

Dear Sir,

Without going into any details regarding the matter that caused the recent rift between the Government and the Governor, I am worried by a subsequent statement and other remarks I heard from (Sen.) Mr. David Burch recently. I understand the nuance referenced by Dr. Brown in his statement that was broadcast on the local TV stations. Dr. Brown clearly was concentrating on the constitutional dichotomy that exists between the police and Government House and raised the issue with this potential problem in mind.

I do not understand what Col. Burch meant by “operational control” and then citing the approval rating of the police with the community. Even if full control of the police were in the hands of the current government, I can find no logical reason to suggest that the events as they unfolded would have been any different.

More importantly, there is long-standing case law that prevents Ministers (government) from directing the police in their daily operations. The government under our system can not direct the police to prosecute or not prosecute any particular individual or group. Furthermore, the responsible Minister is not permitted to ask the police to provide him/her with the case file on any individual or group. I do hope that this government or any other would be refused permission by the then sitting Commissioner of Police to get involved in the daily runnings of the police service. That state of affairs is the norm in China not in this jurisdiction.

Sometimes I wish Colonel Burch would consult with his Attorney General when legal matters are involved rather than taking it upon himself to provide his personal opinion. The police, (now largely Bermudian) must feel very happy to hear the Minister of Public Safety referring to their approval rating as 30 percent. I am sure that will do their confidence a world of good.

LEGAL OBSERVER

Warwick

A slap in the face

June 13, 2007

Dear Sir,

It was very disheartening to read the numbers of death fatalities on the Bermuda roads. My heart went out to the family and friends of Mr. Codrington for such a tragic preventable loss. But ... I was appalled to read that very informative article and then to find the slap in the face to the family. There was no need to mention any past discretions of Mr. Codrington who had obviously paid his debt to society. Even in such a tragic death the need for such disrespect is amazing. You should print a letter of apology to the family. If there was a need to re discuss Mr. Codrington’s past discretion it should have been covered in a separate article. Shame on you!

ANJANNETTE DAYE

USA

Editor’s Note: In the normal course of events, convictions would not necessarily be included in a story about a road death. Given that that conviction Mr. Codrington received was relatively recent and was from a high profile case, we believe it was justified. Naturally, the staff of The Royal Gazette>have the deepest sympathy for the family of Mr. Codrington.

An inspirational heroine

May 30, 2007

Dear Sir,

Bermuda has lost the character of an inspirational heroine. I truly admire Dame Lois Browne Evans for standing up for what she believed in; a woman whom I have the greatest respect for. As Premier Ewart Brown stated during his press release when he announced her passing, Dame Lois was a

‘champion for justice — not just for blacks, but for all people’. Dame Lois has never been a supporter of Dr. Brown whom she felt is too American, however, even though it was her wish for independence for Bermuda within her lifetime, we are left to wonder what her true sentiment was in having a man whom she never supported, lead Bermuda in that direction. The fact that her wish wasn’t granted poses the question — Is it really meant to be?

When Dame Lois Browne Evans first led the Progressive Labour Party from 1968 to 1972, our present leader, Premier Ewart Brown was still in school obtaining his education. According to Deputy Premier Paula Cox, Dame Lois ‘had the soul of Bermuda at her fingertips’. What I admired most about Dame Lois is that, even with all her accomplishments and accolades, she, coming from Parson’s Road, still mingled amongst the common folk; unlike Premier Brown, who chooses to isolate himself, by bypassing his own Civil Servants — HM Customs at L.F. Wade International Airport, and surrounding himself with security personnel and fences. On the other hand, Dame Lois was, indeed, down to earth and believed in supporting the average Bermudians, whilst Premier Brown chooses to entertain the upper class with his glitz and glamour.

According to Stuart Hayward, Dame Lois was “self-less, fearless and truthful; she had a strong sense of justice, of pride, and of self-respect”. That explains why she and Premier Brown, being exact opposites, which normally attract, didn’t get along with one another. I would imagine that she didn’t support the present state of this island either, with the average Bermudian struggling to stay afloat. Perhaps she would have preferred if her party had turned their focus to North Hamilton soon after they secured their victory in 1998, and not during a second term in power, just before an imminent General Election.

Through it all, we should now have a clearer understanding as to why the dispute between the party’s rank and file and Premier Brown, over the selection process for candidates to run in the next General Election, lingers on. I sure hope that Dame Lois’ untimely passing is not used as an opportunity for those whom she didn’t support, to pretend that there’s a united front and push their own agendas.

J. CAINES

Devonshire

Its not that far-fetched

May 30, 2007

Dear Sir,

Hate, And The Hating Haters Who Lie. I see where a blog called PLP Watch has been set up and the Gazette and Christian Dunleavy are still steady pumping out hatred of Dr. Brown. Just today in the Gazette <$>letters, there’s some “conspiracy rant” about looking into Dr. Brown’s political past in the US (kinda like the FBI trying to label MLK a communist.)

I can’t help but be saddened about the amount of energy that PLP haters and specifically Dr. Brown haters spend in trying to destroy. it’s as if nothing has changed. I preface the proceeding by admitting that it’s a bit if stretch in most regards but the hatred feels the same.

Under the Freedom of Information act in the US, many heinous acts that were perpetrated against Black leadership in the 60s has now been made public. What strikes me is the similar hatred and desperation that went into trying to tear down these black leaders and the hate on that some people seem to have for the PLP and Dr. Brown. Below is some info from some of the FBI files that were released: “In late 1964 FBI director J. Edgar Hoover gave a press conference to call Martin Luther King Jr. the most notorious liar in the country. And it appeared all over the country. That was the start of a campaign which continued right up until King’s death. During this time that King was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Hoover had the FBI do everything they could to minimise the prestige of this accomplishment. Hoover couldn’t stop the Swedish and Norwegian governments from giving King the prize, but he did everything that he could to try to stop it from being honoured here in the US.”

There was a major banquet in Dr. King’s honour in Atlanta when he came back from receiving the prize. Hoover got the editor of the Atlanta Constitution personally to go around and try and persuade various people not to attend the banquet. There were also a series of articles around this time trying to show that — that King was being influenced by communists. (apparently fewer and fewer whites are showing up at Dr. Brown’s race dialogue initiative).

The FBI were actually writing the articles anonymously and then trying to get their friends in papers to print the articles under somebody else’s name. And there were a whole series, some of which actually did get printed. One of the most outrageous attempts to get rid of Dr. King was a video tape that purported to be a recording of Dr. King engaging in raucous and possibly sexual activities with various people. Shortly before he went to get the Nobel Prize, the tape was mailed to King with a long letter basically saying, if you don’t kill yourself, we’re going to make this public. The tape turned out to be totally fraudulent. Ten years later, we discover that it was the FBI who wrote that note and made that tape and mailed it to Dr. King. “You decide what’s really going on ...

VANCE CHAPMAN

Toronto, Ontario