The following was submitted by a concerned Barbadian who prefers to remain anonymous – Barbados Underground

It really is about time that every effort is made to bring some sanity back into the operations of the Nation Newspaper and deflect it from the path it has embarked upon. In its present state the newspaper is no more than a scandal sheet whose main agenda seems to be doing no more than creating sensation, much of which is anti government, and in the process breaking all the rules of propriety.

Some time recently one of the lawyers for Mr Leroy Parris of CLICO upon whom they have been waging a personal vendetta, went on national television to complain about two articles which the newspaper published . The first suggested that his client had gone ” MISSING ” in an effort to avoid being served process by a Marshall of the Supreme Court; the second “SERVED” referred to the first article and suggested that his client had gone overseas and also imputed that this was in his attempt to avoid being brought before the court on a CRIMINAL charge. Mr Parris’ lawyer made it very clear that he was informed that the CHIEF MARSHALL had no record of any failure by any Marshall to serve Mr Parris. In addition, the marshal for the area had confirmed that he had neither tried nor failed to execute service on Mr Parris. He also informed that his client had refuted any claim that he had left the island; in fact he had not left the island for months .

The newspaper went another step further on the road to establishing its status as a rag through its front page story in the Monday 19 March edition. The bold headline jumped out at you ” NOT WRONG ” and the byline continued “PSV head : Drivers not to blame in two accidents”. It went on to inform: “Executive member of APTO’s interim committee, Morris Lee said the association had conducted its own investigations. The circumstances relating to the accidents indicate they were not acts of carelessness. One was the fault of a slick from a nearby oilfield, and the other occurred when a car tried to overtake the ZR and struck it. As such , our investigations have revealed there is no liability in those matters which can be attributed to those drivers ,” Lee said. My immediate reaction to this story was the exclamation of incredulity…”

WHAT!  this is a serious contempt ”; investigations in this country, as far as I am aware are conducted BY THE POLICE; innocence or guilt is proclaimed BY THE COURT. But the matters have already been decided BY THE NATION NEWSPAPER. How can justice in these circumstances be achieved? This is a small jurisdiction where everyone is already affected by prejudice of some form and the Newspaper is amplifying it a thousand fold. Certainly it is about time that the public impose the greatest possible censure on the Nation for its continuous irresponsible conduct.

Is there no public agency to which this matter may be ventilated so that some sanity can be restored to the operations of that medium of information? Will somebody please help us ?