UN Team Will Stay in Syria
The head of the United Nations monitoring mission in Syria told the Security Council Tuesday his team has been repeatedly targeted by gunfire but is committed to staying in the war-torn country.
Major General Robert Mood of Norway said Tuesday that questions about canceling the mission were premature, noting “We are not going anywhere.”
U.N. diplomats present at the briefing said General Mood told the council his 300-strong unarmed observer team had been targeted by indirect fire on a daily basis and at least 10 times by direct fire. He said at least nine U.N. vehicles had been damaged.
Mood and U.N. peacekeeping chief Harve Ladsous said the U.N. mission in Syria was suspended on Saturday due to escalating violence, but team members did not leave the country. The decision was the clearest sign yet that a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan has collapsed.
In Los Cabos, Mexico, meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia and China have “not signed on” to any plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power but that both countries' leaders recognize the dangers of an all-out civil war.
Mr. Obama said the Syrian leader has lost all legitimacy and that it is impossible to conceive of any solution to the violence that leaves him in power. He acknowledged the lack of any breakthrough with the leaders of Russia or China, despite intensive talks.
Moscow and Beijing are long-time allies of Syria and have shielded Mr. Assad from U.N. sanctions sought by Western and Arab powers who oppose his 11-year autocratic rule.
Earlier Tuesday, Britain said a Russian ship believed to be carrying arms to Syria turned back after a British insurance company cancelled its coverage.
The move effectively halted the vessel, tracked off the northwest coast of Scotland, from continuing to its destination unless another insurer agreed to cover it. An EU arms embargo on Syria prevents insurers from covering the ship.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament Tuesday the vessel appears to have turned back toward Russia.
Meanwhile, Syria says it is ready to act on a U.N. appeal to evacuate civilians from the central city of Homs, which government forces have bombarded since early June to try to crush a 15-month anti-government uprising.
General Mood has appealed to Syrian government and rebel forces to allow women, children and the wounded to flee Homs and other combat zones. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said dozens of wounded people are stuck in Homs and other rebel-dominated areas without medicine or doctors.
The Security Council agreed to send the observer mission to Syria in April to monitor government and rebel compliance with a U.N.-backed cease-fire agreement, but the truce never took hold. The observers' 90-day mandate expires in mid-July.
US Probe Calls for Punishment of Troops in Quran Burning
A U.S. military investigation into the burning of Qurans at Bagram Air Base near the Afghan capital, Kabul, last February has recommended disciplinary action against up to seven troops.
U.S. military officials said Tuesday no final decision has been made yet on the findings of the probe. According to the officials, one member of the Navy and up to six Army troops could face administrative punishments, but no criminal charges.
NATO troops stationed at Bagram attempted to dispose of a load of Qurans by setting them on fire, but were stopped by Afghan employees.
The incident sparked deadly riots across Afghanistan and attacks on NATO troops that killed some 30 people and led to the deaths of four Americans and plunged relations between coalition troops and their Afghan allies to an all-time low.
U.S. President Barak Obama apologized for the incident.
A preliminary joint investigation by senior U.S. and Afghan military officials in March concluded that while mistakes were made in the burning of copies of Islam's Holy books, there was no intent to desecrate them.
Egypt’s Mubarak on Life Support as Protests Swell
Egyptian security sources say ousted President Hosni Mubarak is unconscious and on a respirator after he was rushed from prison to a military hospital following a stroke.
Earlier reports by the state news agency MENA said Mubarak's doctors had declared the former leader “clinically dead” when he arrived at Maadi Hospital in southern Cairo after being transferred from nearby Torah Prison. It said doctors were unable to revive Mubarak after he went into cardiac arrest.
Military officials acknowledged early Wednesday that Mubarak had suffered a stroke, but said he is currently “using artificial respiration” and that “it is still early to say he is clinically dead.”
The ousted leader had ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was overthrown last February by a revolution during the “Arab Spring'' protests that roiled the region. The 84-year-old had been sentenced to life in prison earlier this month for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the popular uprising.
The confusion over Mubarak's state of health came as tens of thousands of Egyptians from across the political spectrum packed central Cairo to protest a declaration by Egypt's ruling generals extending their grip on power.
As protest numbers swelled Tuesday, Egypt's election commission said it was evaluating hundreds of complaints of irregularities in the runoff presidential election between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq.
Both candidates claimed victory, but a public count of the ballots, confirmed by the official media, showed Mr. Morsi winning with 52 percent of the vote to Mr. Shafiq's 48 percent. Aides of the establishment-backed Shafiq disputed the claim.
Turnout was just over 50 percent of the roughly 50 million eligible voters. Election officials are expected to announce the official results on Thursday, but the losing candidate is likely to reject the outcome as fraudulent.
International campaign observers, including the U.S.-based Carter Center, said Tuesday they were denied sufficient access and accused the military leadership of hampering the transition to democracy.
The Carter Center said it had been unable to monitor the vote properly and that a “return of elements of martial law” meant it was “now unclear whether a truly democratic transition remains under way in Egypt.”
The poll was Egypt's first freely contested presidential election.
The powerful Brotherhood movement has vowed to challenge the military's recent moves restoring martial law, dismissing the Islamist-dominated parliament and curbing the powers of the incoming president.
A unilaterally declared interim constitution grants the generals and the courts final say over much domestic and foreign policy and the constitutional drafting process. It rules that no election can be held until a military-appointed panel writes a permanent constitution whose articles the generals can veto.
Despite the moves, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces vowed earlier this week to honor its promise to hand over power to Egypt's newly elected president by the end of the month.
The U.S. State Department has said the Obama administration will hold the SCAF to its promises for an “inclusive constitutional drafting process, the timely seating of a democratically elected parliament, and the swift, permanent transfer of power to a civilian government.”
The U.S. has provided billions in military aid to Egypt over three decades of close relations.
GT STINGERS 2 to SALTANS 0-GTBA FINALS
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The GTBA best of 5 series continued at the Palm Grove court on Friday and Saturday night between the Salt Cay Saltans and GT Stingers. The GT stingers defeated the Saltans on Friday and Saturday to lead 2-0 in the series. Join RTC's Sports Watch for live action
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| June 15, 2012 Game 1 | June 16, 2012 Game 2 | |||||||
| Saltons | 54 | Saltons | 65 | |||||
| Stingers | 59 | Stingers | 72 | |||||
| Deanza Wilson(SC) 17pts, 3rebs,4stls, 2asts | Nadreno Simmons (SC) 15pts, 8rebs , 2 stls, 1asts | |||||||
| Delton Daniels (SC) 15pts, 3stls, 4asts, 4rebs | Deanza Wilson (SC) 10pts, 6rebs, 4stls, 4asts | |||||||
| Delton Daniels (SC) 21pts, 2stls, 3asts, 5rebs, 1blk | ||||||||
| Sharad Garland (St) 16pts, 2stls, 5rebs, 1asts | Sharad Garland (St) 23pts, 3stls, 9rebs, 4asts | |||||||
| Stanley Taylor (St) 5pts, 23rebs, 3stls | Stanley Taylor (St) 19pts, 31rebs, 2stls, 3asts, 2blks | |||||||
| Elvis Smith (St) 20pts, 14rebs, 1blks, 4 asts | Torell Garland (St) 13pts, 2rebs, 4stls, 8 asts | |||||||
| Standings: | Stingers 2 - 0 | |||||||
CHURCHES SOFTBALL
This is it!! The Churches soft ball finals goes down at the National stadium tonight and RTC will have the finals live at 8pm.
Bethany Baptist Church and Jericho Baptist will go at it for the Championship and the Prophecy Church and the Methodist church will go at it for 3rd and 4th place at 6:15pm.
Meanwhile, on Saturday the Ladies Panthers beat Sobthey's Flamingo's 10 to 9 while the Soakers lost to the defending champions Silver Deep Sharks. The sharks ate them alive with 15-9.
In Sundays Games: Provo golf Private lost to Kishco's 16 to 2 and HAB Predators were crushed a whopping defeat to the Silver Deep Cruises 33-8.
Join the Sports Watch team live tonight from the National Stadium for softball here on radio turks and caicos.
Saint George Fashion House designs TCI Brass Band Uniform
Members of the Turks and Caicos Brass Band will soon parade in new uniform designed and made locally by the country’s own fashion label; Saint George Fashion House (SGFH) by Kazz Forbes.
Elery James, administrative executive and public relations officer tells, “Having the country’s number one Brass Band uniform designed by the country’s number one designer speaks volume of our modernization and approach to representing the Turks & Caicos Island both locally and internationally.
The Turks & Caicos Brass Band will continue to incorporate the country’s flag colors in all of our uniforms, but this time in a sleek, classic and youthful look as appose to the traditional band uniform. Again, we are eternally grateful and look forward with great anticipation and excitement to parading these uniforms with National Pride.”
The Turks and Caicos Brass Band was birth under the leadership of Hoplyn Parker on his return to the Turks and Caicos Islands from Grand Bahama, Bahamas. Being a member of the Grand Bahama Brass Band, he thought it best to have a band in the Church of God of Prophecy in Providenciales. Parker took the matter up with the pastor of the church, then: Pastor James C. Williams, who readily agreed.
In April 1075 with five students, Hoplyn Parker originated music classes. As the students advanced in music, they established themselves as the Provo Brass Band. In May 1976, the Provo Brass Band made their debut at a Sunday evening church service. To the amazement of all; their music was well accepted.
“It is indeed a privilege to be at work with members of the Turks and Caicos Brass Band, on an exciting assignment. The merchandise is well thought-out. Myself along with members of the Turks and Caicos Brass Band are equally excited and enthusiastic to see the finale results.” said Kazz Forbes, principal designer and proprietor of Saint George Fashion House.
EDITORIAL: SALE OF JOE GRANT CAY
The Interim Administration continues to try to have its cake and eat it as well as to operate in a very non-transparent way. When you take into consideration the premise on which they took over the country from the duly elected local representatives, the actions so far have not been to show you how best to get the job done, but how best to carry on the process by which cronyism is the hallmark of the day and picking winners of your own choosing is the best was in which to do business.
The British Government, FOC, DFID, SIPT and the Civil Recovery team declared that the original sale of land by the TCI government to Platinum was a corrupt transaction and as such should be recovered and redound to the benefit of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Steps were taken through the Court system to have the land returned to the Crown and the court agreed that the land should be returned. No sooner than this exercise was completed (Platinum seem not to take an interest in appealing the court’s decision), there seems to be a concerted effort being made to now ensure that the Turks and Caicos Islands’ people do not benefit effective from the return of that land.
The first part of the deception and deceit started with the decision to sell the land to satisfy a mortgage that had been placed on the property by Temple as a result of Platinum borrowing some $2M and using the property as collateral. My understanding of the legal system is that if a leaf of the fig tree is tainted, then the whole tree is tainted. As it relates to this particular transaction, if it was corrupt for Platinum to obtain the land in the first instance, then any subsequent transaction had to be corrupt also.
So why was there a rush on behalf of the Interim Administration to satisfy Temple Mortgage? There can be one inference to be drawn and that is that someone in the Administration or very close to the Administration had something to be gained by the sale of the land by the government to satisfy the debt to Temple!
According to all previous pronouncements by the Interim Administration, all of the land that had been reacquired as a result of some fraudulent activity would be kept in the land bank for future generations to benefit from. So what is the real rush to dispose of this land at this time? Something smells fishy here.
Now in the proper scheme of things, if the Interim Administration had a real reason to dispose of the land for the benefit of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the first thing it should have done was to specifically say so. Following on from that, it should have issued a Request for Proposals. If as they like to claim they are operating in an open and transparent manner, and they want to get the best value for money, that is what would have happen. But they have decided to pick winners from “their side of the ledger”. What is that called? Is it Insider trading? Or is it nepotism? I thought those were the common faults and flaws identified by Sir Robin Auld as being part of the systemic weakness and corruption in the previous political administration that had to be rooted out. But like Courtney Missick likes to say, corruption has only changed its colour, from black to white!
Now let us look at the local firm that got to market and sell the 200 acres of land on Joe Grant Cay. It is Sotherby’s and its local affiliate is Connolly-Zahm! Is it just coincidental that one of the principals of Connolly-Zahm if Mrs. Josephine Connolly, the wife of Advisory Council member Joseph (Joe) Connolly? As Ernie Clarke likes to say “I have the documents”. I will definitely like to see the documents showing that there is no nexus at all!
The old Finance and Audit Ordinance and Financial Instructions, followed by the now brand new Public Finance Management Ordinance, all speak to a transparent process with respect to the procurement of services by government. As I have indicated before, ther should have been a tendering process set up and the firm with the best proposal selected to carry out the work. The worst case scenario would have been to short-list say six of the local real estate firm that have international connections and ask them to submit proposals, I could live with that. I would have thought that that would have given me some piece of mind that I would have been getting value for money.
What I still cannot fathom is how the governor fixed his mouth to call the initial land transaction of Joe Grant cay corrupt and it had to be returned to the people, but no sooner was that done, he is out there secretly trying to sell that asset. Something untoward must be afoot here. I just cannot for the life of me understand the amount of double standard that is being used by this Interim Administration, save to say that a concerted effort is being made dispose of everything of value that belong to us, in a manner that they feel and say that it is in our best interest so to do.
I have never seen so many thing done in my best interest, that am totally opposed to as is happening with these bumbling idiots at the helm. As time progresses, everyone is seeing that the Emperor has on no clothes and is operating in a clueless manner.
How the Interim Administration hopes to be able to get away with such blatant disregards for the rules that they say they came here specifically to enforce and demonstrate the ethics of doing things in the proper manner? However, what they have and are demonstrating to us is that what we were doing was child’s play and they are certainly showing us how bad business should operate. That does not give us faith and comfort in these operators. That is why on the streets there is now total skepticism as to the real reason the intervention took place.
We must by now be in a position to determine for ourselves that what is currently being done to us is neither right nor fair! The reset button has now been pushed by the setting of the date for elections. We should all go out and get registered so that we can send a clear and unambiguous message to the Interim Administration that business as usual will not be the order of the day. Joe Grant Cay has not been sold as yet and it is not too late to restart the process on a proper footing. There cannot be a rush as there is a surplus budget proposed, so the money from the sale is not critical to our financial position except that the Interim Administration is hell bent of getting from under the loan guarantee as quickly as possible and to hell with whatever adverse consequence to the Turks and Caicos Islands people!
--R.Robinson
The views expressed are those of the contributor and not of the management and staff of RTC FM.
STATEMENT OF GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES BY HENRY BELLINGHAM
During his news conference earlier this week, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Henry Bellingham MP, stated that he would publish a set of Governance Principles for the Interim Administration to work to between now and the elections on 9 November 2012.
Indeed, it is stated in the new Constitution that all future incoming administrations must also agree their own statements of Governance Principles with the House of Assembly and the UK Foreign Secretary within 28 days of taking office.
“Minister Bellingham thought it extremely important that the people of the TCI know that the Interim Administration is working to the highest standards of Corporate Governance,” said His Excellency Governor Ric Todd. “Further, he felt that it would be useful to allow the people to see the sorts of behaviours and ways of doing business that they should expect of their future Governments too.”
The statement in full:
Statement of Governance Principles for the Interim Administration
In the exercise of their functions, all organs of government in the Turks and Caicos Islands have a duty to give effect to the following principles.
1. All Government action shall be taken in a manner designed to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of every person in the Islands, as set out in the Constitution.
2. The government of the Islands should involve the participation of the people. The Government shall serve and take account of the interests of all the people in the Islands. In particular, any process of consultation shall be accessible and meaningful.
3. All ordinances, regulations, policies and actions must be fair, proportionate, and capable of being implemented impartially. In particular, decision-making required by law shall be objective, and the granting of discretionary powers shall be limited to those that are necessary for good government.
4. The Government shall ensure that its decisions and acts and those of public officials are lawful, rational, proportionate and procedurally fair.
5. The Government shall maintain a broad and long-term perspective on the sustainable development of the Islands, and shall encourage lawful business and economic activity.
6. The Government shall take steps to protect the environment in accordance with the Constitution, and shall promote the protection thereof.
7. The Government shall ensure that the TCI Public Service implements policy in accordance with the rule of law and internationally accepted standards. The Government shall respect the integrity and impartiality of the Public Service and the Public Service shall be protected from partisan interference.
8. All public appointments shall be based on merit, and all public officials shall be treated fairly. The Government shall ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct for Persons in Public Life.
9. All government bodies shall, in order to build confidence in their operations and effectiveness, be accountable and transparent to the public and accessible to the media.
10. Government processes, institutions and information shall be directly accessible and transparent to those concerned with them as provided by law, and enough information provided to understand and monitor them. The Government shall keep and use information in line with applicable law. Decision-makers shall provide written reasons for decisions and advise applicants of their procedural rights.
11. The Government shall act in an accountable manner, especially in relation to those who will be affected by its decisions and actions. The Government shall cooperate with and support the work of constitutional institutions protecting good governance and other oversight, regulatory and investigatory institutions, while respecting and preserving their independence.
12. The Government shall act in good faith and a fair manner that is non-discriminatory, for the benefit of all people in the Islands irrespective of race, national or social origin, political or other opinion, colour, religion, language, creed, association with a national minority, property, sex, sexual orientation, birth or other status. Services shall be made available on an equal basis, free of preference based on family ties, political allegiance, friendship or personal gain.
13. The Government shall at all times respect the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the impartial administration of justice.
14. The Government shall ensure compliance with international obligations applicable to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
15. The Government shall administer Crown Land and other Government assets in a lawful, transparent and equitable manner.
16. The Government shall manage public finances according to established principles of value for money, affordability, propriety and regularity and in the interests of securing the sustained long term prosperity of the people of the Islands. In doing so, the Government shall also observe the principles set out in any framework document on public financial management made in accordance with the Constitution.
17. The Government shall ensure that financial decisions are made within the context of a medium-term plan which aims to achieve and sustain an annual budget surplus. The Government shall take action to mitigate fiscal risks, and ensure that liabilities, including debts, are sustainable and fully taken into account when setting and implementing budgets.
18. The Government shall ensure that a budget is approved which secures the effective operation of Government and which is in accordance with all relevant laws and standards.
GRAND TURK WATER PLANT BACK UP AND RUNNING
The main Grand Turk reverse osmosis plant was repaired overnight and is now working normally following testing today, Thu, 14 Jun 2012.
Producing 140 gallons of water per minute, some 250,000 gallons per day, this plant is currently filling a 100,000 gallon storage tank which is requires a minimum level to ensure adequate water pressure and to operate efficiently.
Water supplies will again be available from the South Issue Point from tomorrow morning, with sufficient pressure and supply to be reconnected to the mains early next week.
Parts have arrived for a second reverse osmosis plant capable of producing an additional 75,000 gallons per day and this should also be repaired and out back on line early next week.
Finally, parts will arrive for the third plant capable of producing 150,000 gallons per day on 18 June. This machinery will be repaired and put back on line as soon as possible.
“I would like to apologise for the continued disruption to residents’ water supplies,” said Patrick Boyle, Chief Executive, TCI Government. “The Government has set aside $1.3m to replace this out of date machinery later in 2012, following years of neglect and a distinct lack of investment. That these three ancient machines have broken down at the same time is extremely unfortunate.
“Water engineer Zaheer Mohamed and his colleagues deserve our special thanks for working around the clock to identify problems, solve them and keeping this obsolete machinery going.”
The Water Undertaking would like to request that people continue to try and conserve water in order to help supplies return to normal as soon as possible by:
1. Checking for water leaks in their plumbing system.
2. Only using washing machines for full loads.
3. Using dishwasher if possible as they use less water than hand washing.
4. Not running the tap while wet shaving; rinsing the razor in the sink.
5. Using salt water flush if accessible.
6. When brushing not to leave the water running, you would waste about 3 gallons in 90 seconds.
7. If you put one litre bottle of water in your toilette tank it saves 2 pints of water per flush.
8. Not washing vehicles.
9. Turning off the shower while soaping your skin.
CHAIR OF FORUM RESPONDS TO BELLINGHAM
Thank you Minister Bellingham.
Let me take this opportunity to welcome you on behalf of the entire population of the TCI back to our beautiful shores.
Minister Bellingham, I defer to your assessment of our progress in meeting the Milestones and for fulfilling the timetable you set out. We on the Consultative Forum have done all we could to assist you in meeting these Milestones. In this regard, I cite the very collaborative efforts that produced the Constitution Order 2011, the Crown Land ordinance, the Pathway to Citizenship Bill, the Public Finance Management Ordinance, The National Audit Ordinance, and the very controversial CFO Ordinance – all critical to the Milestones set.
I would like to commend you Minister for the leadership you showed in setting these Milestones to be met not just for elections but, more importantly, to return sound management of our public finances and good governance to our country.
His Excellency Ric Todd and his team have only been here for a short while but they deserve credit and thanks for the seamless way they took the baton from Governor Wetherell and his team to bring us to this happy day.
It would be remiss of me though if I do not state that while we have succeeded in meeting the Milestones sufficiently to allow for a return to elected government, I do not believe we can claim the same level of success in meeting your stated objective of developing a relationship between our two countries that is defined by mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual cooperation. This concerns me greatly, and my plaintive pleas in this regard throughout this interim period are a matter of public record.
I was indeed heartened Minister when you demonstrated your commitment to your objective by inviting members of these two bodies to join Governor Todd as delegates at a conference in London last year, which was aimed at redefining the UK’s relationship with its Overseas Territories. Unfortunately, however, that objective seems to have been sacrificed on the altar of fiscal austerity.
I do not believe that we (Turks and Caicos Islanders) have been sufficiently engaged as mentors and partners to become empowered to govern ourselves and follow your blueprint to ensure good governance; I do not believe that you have done enough to nurture your stated objective, and this is clearly reflected in the disconnect at so many levels between the UK and the TCI, and the visceral distrust our people have developed for the British.
That is not to say however that we do not welcome a return to elected government. What looms is the kind of relationship that will exist between our two countries post election. It seems clear to me that far too little consideration on both sides has been given to this.
I understand and I believe all of us in here know that Britain will retain even greater control over the TCI – this is codified in our Constitution. Based on the Budget, we will meet our financial obligations and we will pay back the loan.
Therefore, given that we will be connected at the hip for some time to come, it behooves us to do all we can to inspire and retain the confidence of Turks and Caicos Islanders to ensure that a relationship based on mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual cooperation can be developed. Thank you again!