RTC NEWS received a press release from Chair of the Consultative Forum, Lilian Missick as according to the release disruption of a meeting. The release reads:
The disruption of tonight’s meeting on the pathway to citizenship at the Graceway Sports Centre by a small mob of TC Islanders manifested the kind of belligerent ignorance that we simply cannot tolerate.
It was unfair to the Filipinos who duly heeded the Forum’s admonition to register for this meeting and paid out of their pockets to organize it – just as groups of TC Islanders have done without any fuss or controversy. And it was disrespectful to the Forum members who signed on to lead tonight’s discussions – just as other members have done without any fuss or controversy.
That said, let me hasten to set the record straight:
No member of the interim administration and, in particular, no member of the Consultative Forum has ever promoted or even suggested that there should be separate meetings for locals and expats.
In fact I was so disappointed that so few locals were participating in the national questionnaire on the pathway to citizenship that I issued a national plea just weeks ago for more of our people to not only fill out those questionnaires, but also register with the Forum if, like the Filipinos and other groups, they felt the need for more information and guidance in this respect.
So the only reason there were two meetings scheduled for tonight is that a group of locals decided to shun the process that is being facilitated by the Forum. This of course is their right. But they are the ones who decided to separate themselves from the process, which makes any claim that the interim administration is conducting one set of meetings for locals and one set for expats as fatuous as it is mischievous.
It would be one thing if this were the first time a group of TC Islanders has decided to duplicate (or arguably undermine) the efforts of the Forum to inform and engage our people on an issue of national importance. But this is only the latest manifestation of a strain of anti-government, anti-Forum bias that has been doing nothing but sowing discord not just between locals and expats, but also amongst ourselves.
It is often said that a lie can make it around the world before the truth gets out of the door. Far too often this has been the case in our beloved country. The sad thing is that our own people are invariably the ones propagating those lies and we are the only ones being hurt by them.
Alas, there is nothing the governor or I can do to stop people from rumormongering under fake names on the Internet. But the governor can do more to stop this kind of mob-like behaviour, and I urge him to take all necessary steps to do so.
For my part, I can only beg our people to consider the source of their information before acting on it. Because, instead of being proud of what happened tonight, all sensible TC Islanders should feel nothing but shame. I know the vast majority of us do.
That was a release from Chair of the Consultative Forum about a disruption at a meeting held in Providenciales.
Where you at the meeting? Please share with us below what took place.
