The Bahamian National Party (BNP) led by Dr Dexter Johnson, is calling on Bahamians to speak out now before their fundamental rights are violated.
Referring to the recent extradition of Samuel “Ninety” Knowles despite a pending habeas corpus hearing, the BNP claimed on Friday that Samuel Knowles has been turned over to aliens and his rights have been trampled upon by the government.
“They are violating the most sacred principle of our democracy, the respect for the rule of law which states that every person is entitled to the full protection of the law and that no person is above the law,” the BNP outlined in a statement. According to the BNP, the Party has an extreme abhorrence for drug trafficking and its consequences, but stated that Knowles was cheated out of his constitutional right to receive due process and the authority of the court was “illegally pirated.”
The BNP claimed that Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell and Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson have removed the court out of its constitutional role completely. The Party believes that the move to extradite Knowles was “illegal and unconstitutional,” and therefore called for the resignation of Prime Minister Perry Christie if he was responsible for approving Knowles’ extradition.
The BNP also believes that the PLP is adopting the characteristics of a totalitarian government by intimidating and subjugating the court.
The Party claimed that it has seen efforts by the PLP to violate free speech and muzzle the press. “We have seen refusals to account for reprehensible foreign policy, we have seen sham consultation, now we are seeing our most important check on administrative abuse, the courts of this land bypassed and ignored.”
The BNP is of the view that no government has the authority to carry out an illegal and unconstitutional act and resignation is the only answer for those who have usurped the authority of the court.
“These Pingdomites feel that the law is only for them and theirs in their discretion,” the statement read. “Mr Knowles had a date in court, but for reasons best known to the PLP leader, Mr Knowles was frog marched out of out here although he has a pending hearing on the issue.”
The BNP said the PLP, with its “socialist leanings” and desire to control everything and everyone, is increasingly acting outside of the law. “They think that any policy they can think up is automatically law and superior to the constitution,” the BNP stated.
By: TAMARA McKENZIE, The Nassau Guardian
