Caribbean Times 65th Issue - Friday 5th August 2016

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2 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g Friday 5th August 2016 Recent judgement will set precedent By Everton Barnes This week’s ruling by the London-based Privy Council in the case where an applicant for citizenship had to wait for some 27-months, will likely set legal precedents similar to the Pratt and Morgan case in Jamaica. That’s the assessment of the lawyer who argued the case before the Privy Council, Dr David Dorsett of Watt Editor’s Note Caribbean Times is printed and published at Woods Estate/Friars Hill Road. The Editor is Justin Peters. Contact: Caribbean Times, P.O. Box W2099, Woods Estate/Friars Hill Road, St. John’s, Antigua. Tel: (268) 562-8688, Fax: (268) 562-8685. Visit us online at our website: www. caribbeantimes.ag We ask you to send: Pertinent news items to news@caribbeantimes.ag. Advertisement inquiries to accounts@caribbeantimes.ag. Letters to the editor to editor@caribbeantimes.ag and Dorsett. According to Dorsett, the case is that of Guyanese national Clive Oliveira who arrived in the country in 1993 and was joined the same year by his wife. As his lawyer explained Oliveira was convicted and acquitted twice on the same charge of sexual assault. During his encounters with the law, his passport was confiscated and he was denied extensions and even a work permit. Over time his wife qualified for, and gained Antigua and Barbuda citizenship. But when Oliveira applied in 2009, he was given an interview date of 2010. Dr Dorsett said many hurdles were placed in the way to delay the granting of citizenship to his client and he took the matter to the court. He lost at the court The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States mourns the passing of Raymond O’Keiffe in Martinique on the 3 rd August 2016, after a short battle with illness. The OECS has lost a colleague, a mentor and a friend to many. Ray’s passion for broadcasting and communication brought news and light from across the region and indeed the world to many over a long period of time. He gave a voice to the voiceless. Indeed, Ray was a beloved and close member of the broader media family and he not only leaves a lasting legacy but his indelible mark in ways far beyond his work at the of first and second instance and they decided to appeal before the Privy Council which heard the case earlier this year and handed down a judgement in favour of Oliveira on Tuesday. The attorney said the Constitution guarantees citizenship to anyone who marries an Antigua and Barbuda citizen. “This is a right conferred by the Constitution. It is not a privilege. Yet government officers are putting road blocks in the way of people and denying them their Constitutional rights. ‘Citizenship delayed is Citizenship denied’,” he declared. Dr Dorsett said both he and his client feel vindicated with the Privy Council ruling because you can’t have a situation where a court looks at a person who is denied his Constitutional right and shrug it off by simply saying ‘that’s how the system works’. “Where ever this is happening it means that the system is not working according to the law, according to the Constitution,” he stated emphatically. He opined that the case will have a similar impact as the Pratt and Morgan case where sets a time limit on how long a person may remain on death row before that sentence is commuted. The Oliveira case, he added, means that when government processes are not completed within reasonable time then there is a breach of the person’s Constitutional rights. “The rights guaranteed to a person under the Constitution must be available to that person in a timely manner,” Dr Dorsett stated. Statement by the Director General of the OECS on the passing of Raymond O’Keiffe OECS Commission. As a devoted husband, father and musician, his musical talent could be heard in many a Sunday Mass. Ray was also a gifted songwriter having written the official OECS Song. We give profound gratitude for Ray’s life comforted in the knowledge that he rests in eternal peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, children and extended family at this time. Dr. Didacus Jules Director General Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Friday 5th August 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 3 Ricardo Drue gives $10,000 to MSJMC By Justin Peters This past July, Ricardo Drue staged ID Land the Youth Fair, a festive event headlined by various local musicians with a focus on children. The proceeds of the gate were to be donated to the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre. Drue who captured the 2016 Soca Monarch Groovy title, made good on his promise when he presented a check for $10,000 made out to the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre, in a small handover ceremony. The charitable gesture is the first benefit from what he expects to be an annual event with the date, July 9th, 2017 already set for next year’s ID Land. Ricardo challenged the sponsors to match the money he raises next year to increase the amount that is donated to the worthy cause. He commended the hard work that corporate citizens such as Digicel, Pine Hill, Joe Mikes, Learning Ladder and Neverland who stepped up to the plate to sponsor the event’s first year have shown. With the resounding success of the event, the sponsors have committed to supporting next year and into the foreseeable future. cont’d from pg 1 professional and as a human being. “Of the young journalists joining the Antigua journalistic fraternity in the heady 1980’s,Raymond showed the most improvements over time, testimony to his eagerness to confer/listen to more experienced colleagues,” King Frank I wrote in the Grammarians Whats App Group blog. Sports Editor at ABS Radio Television, Jack Matthew, described O’Keiffe as ‘full of energy and enthusiasm’ with the confidence that he would excel at whatever he put his mind and heart into. “I felt very encouraged by his enthusiasm. He was always willing to go the extra mile in pursuit of the news,” Matthew recalled. Former classmate, Senator Colin James, himself a journalist, remembered him as a friend and colleague and recalled his days as a sports enthusiasts and his love for music. Over the years, O’Keiffe distinguished himself as a top-notched journalist and broadcaster by producing the daily, OECS Newslink radio programmes heard throughout the sub-region.
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Caribbean Times 65th Issue - Friday 5th August 2016

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