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One has to marvel at the lack of due diligence Caribbean governments and others in authority exercise when making decisions on behalf of the people they serve. There is the perception by the developed world that we are a bunch of banana republics, yet we continue by our decision-making to give truth to the belief.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal was elected the 6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and recently took office on April 1, 2016. She is the first woman to hold the post. She was nominated by Dominica where she was born and emigrated to the UK when she was two years old. Her nomination was a contentious one with Antigua nominating the home based Sir Ronald Sanders. It is interesting to recall that the Barbados government supported the Baroness Scotland nomination.

A recent media report links Baroness Scotland to two unsavoury characters :-

However, Scotlandโ€™s high-flying career has, in recent years, seen her build often lucrative relationships with two of the worldโ€™s ugliest dictatorships, the Daily Mail reported. One is the notorious government of Kazakhstan, whose repressive dictator, 75-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been accused of torturing and even killing political opponents, stifling press freedom, and profiteering from the countryโ€™s vast oil and gas reserves.

The other is the despotic regime of Abdulla Yameen, the dictator of the Maldives, whose associates seized power in a 2012 coup and have since prosecuted more than 1,700 opposition activists while imprisoning the leaders of three opposition parties.ump to your country or territory of interest – Caribbean News – British newspaper links Dominica baroness to ‘vile despots’


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66 responses to “Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Scotland Has Links to the Dark World”


  1. Not a good start for the Commonwealth Secretary General.We heard her call Brasstacks on Thursday and spoke to Tricia Watson at length.Sorry this information was not in the public domain then.The Mail newspaper is linking her past to despots and image consultants.We should hear more as she tries to navigate these stories and her personal remuneration as a citizen of the U.K. minus the perks associated with the usual diplomatic status of the post.
    Of passing interest is that Antigua supported the Guyana born VC Bird speech writer Ron Sanders for the post of CSG and not the daughter of a native born Antiguan.


  2. We should also note that the UK government aggressively supported the Baroness and a major British newspaper may have influenced the vote to appoint her as Secretary General by running stories accusing Ronald Sanders of personal corruption. Those stories come in the wake of recent moves in the US to prosecute other Antigua officials for corrupt acts.

  3. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    All this clearly shows and compounds that these titles and statuses created by Europe and adorned on people are all fraudulent. Would love to hear Sctland’s relationship with the despots and who else from the UK is involved, anytime you hes0ar this, it’s attached to resources to be stolen from some unknowing population.

    The greed and savagery started in the 12th century on the banks of the Thames, seemingly has no end.


  4. @Gabriel

    What did Scotland say when she called the talk show on Friday?


  5. I am always amazed at how we repeatedly cuss our local newspapers then embrace and cite articles from sources such as the Daily Mail. The owners and majority of DM readers are not fond of people who look like you and me.


  6. @enuff

    Are you saying the story does not have merit? Should we dismiss it?


  7. @enuff

    Even if we were to ignore the despot links, what about all the other concerns raised about her appointment?

    > @enuff > > Are you saying the story does not have merit? Should we dismiss it? > > > >


  8. David,

    She called in to Brasstacks and was on for about 30-45 minutes talking shiiite about global warming.


  9. Thanks PS.

    Was she asked any hard questions?

    How will she be using her position to promote SIDS in the commonwealth for example?

    >


  10. Not really, she was allowed to go almost un-interrupted by Ms Watson………..who towards the end then asked her to tell BT of her path to the Secretary General position.

    Can anyone tell the ordinary man what will Barbados get out of the PM going to Paris and then to New York to sign this protocol on climate change?

    Will it help to bring down the deficit?

    Will it help Stinkliar to send me my tax refund?


  11. @Prodigal Son April 24, 2016 at 4:02 PM “Will it help to bring down the deficit?”

    No but it help lower sea level rise”

    @Prodigal Son April 24, 2016 at 4:02 PM “Will it help Stinkliar to send me my tax refund?”

    In order to get a tax refund you must first pay your taxes. Have you paid your taxes you prodigal?


  12. David
    As Prodigal said she was allowed to speak without interruption telling BT of her family history and going to the UK to benefit from a higher education etc and on to the global warming and sids.Most of us were aware of the role of Sanders in reading the Guardian but this DM expose was the first I read of Scotland’s ‘dark’ side.


  13. If you are black the dailymail will find something nasty to say about you. Why are you quoting the Daily Mail as though it is some authoriative source?


  14. So far BU is unable to find a rebuttal from Baroness Scotland to the DM report.


  15. I’m certain the Baroness will fit in very comfortably in her new role. It will be business as usual for all parties.

    @Simple Simon April 24, 2016 at 4:46 PM,

    As a UK citizen you must be well aware that none of our national papers could be described as remotely pro-black. Correct me if I’m wrong but was it not The Daily Mail who broke ranks and campaigned on the behalf of the Lawrence family in the infamous case of their murdered son Stephen Lawrence?

    The Guardian is as flawed as all the other newspapers in their portrayal of black issues. I prefer to read between the lines.


  16. I am not now, and have never been, and never will be a U.K citizen.


  17. I was NOT defending the other British newspapers.


  18. @Gabriel April 24, 2016 at 4:45 PM “going to the UK to benefit from a higher education etc.”

    The Baroness did not go to the U.K to benefit from higher education, although she benefited from higher education while in the U.K

    She did not migrate to the U.K either. She was migrated to the U.K by her parents when she was 2 years old.

    Please note that 2 year olds do not engage in long term strategic planning.


  19. @Simole Simon

    If you are black the dailymail will find something nasty to say about you. Why are you quoting the Daily Mail as though it is some authoriative source?

    What were you doing if not comparing?


  20. @Simple Simon and Enuff

    Then again maybe you are correct.

    The widow of a man who drowned after being pulled out to sea in Barbados said the lack of warning signs led to her husband’s death.
    Eddie Flett, 71, drowned in March last year after being pulled out to sea by a strong rip-tide on Rockley Beach in Christ Church.
    Mr Flett, a grandfather-of-nine, had booked the holiday as a treat for his wife, Linda, 64, in a bid to cheer her up following the death of her father six months earlier.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3556325/Grandfather-nine-drowned-wife-trip-lifetime-Barbados.html#ixzz46maoj5d1

  21. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    The riptides are becoming very dangerous around the island, sugns are needed, I know someone got caught in one on the beach opposite Jordans in Fitts Village last November or December, 2 females, one was washed out and had to be rescued, nearly drowned, the other managed to rest awhile and them swam back in….they need to do something before the tourists decide that safer beaches can be found…elsewhere.


  22. @ Well Well & Consequences April 24, 2016 at 6:11 PM,

    This is nothing new. Have you seen how many people have lost their lives at Accra Beach? Why are we incapable of warning our tourists about certain beaches both verbally and through signs. Piece and Simple Simon should design some graphics for this bankrupt government!

    Have you noticed the lack of security on our beaches? How many people have to die before the authorities respond? The country is unsafe.


  23. Several lifeguards were sent home as part of government retrenchment exercise.


  24. @ David,

    LOL. The country is unsafe!

  25. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Exclaimer. ..I did not realize riptides were such a problem. People love to swim out and would not know there were such strong cross currents, unless there are signs telling them that…that is negligence and until the government gets a huge lawsuit from one of the tourist Fruendel loves to fete at Llaro Court…they will do nothing.

  26. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    BTW… that inquest being held in the UK for the man who drowned, could result in lawsuit.


  27. @ Well Well & Consequences April 24, 2016 at 6:49 PM,

    I will repeat my assertion: ” The country is unsafe”.

    When I was 15, I nearly lost my life on one of your beaches on the east coast.


  28. @Exclaimer

    Sure as a native of Barbados you must have been intimately aware that the Eastern side of the island is not bather friendly?

    Perhaps a toddy and off t bed then?


  29. Simple
    I recall the Baroness making the point that her parents thought it more economical for the entire family to emigrate to the UK rather than trying to fund their childrens’ education from Dominica.She did confirm she was aged 2 at the time.
    Btw she made the point that her dad is or was Antiguan and that he and Viv Richards’ dad were best friends one being the other’s best man and that Viv was named after her Mum.Maybe you have further and better details,so go right ahead and give it your best shot.


  30. @Well Well,
    Have you never seen signs at cattle wash, Bathsheba, Rockley and Dover? Have younger seen a sign at Brandons? Have you never seen Flags at these places with signs indicating what each sign flag means? Have you never seen Life guard stations at Rockley, Browns Beach, Dover, and other Beaches? If you have never seen them check for yourself.
    What’s the matter with you people? Why do you seek to pull down the island every opportunity you get, whether it is warranted or not? Good bad or indifferent, at the end it is still YOUR country. If you had a child with Down’s syndrome, or a cleft palate, couldn’t you love it as much as s perfectly formed one?

    I am especially perturbed; nay angry, at the sign, a photo of which appeared on BU, purported to have been paid for by Hants, pulling down the island. He might well have contributed the cost of that sign; it would not have come cheaply, to the welfare of the country. He could have contributed the money (in Forex) to the welfare of a poor person in the island, he could have established a scholarship, or given to the Maria Holder charity foundation. Why does he want to discourage people from supporting the country of his birth. If you can’t do good for your country, why harm it?Do good. Do good! These are your people, what have they done to harm you? You may disagree with the policies, the purveyors of those policies, the method s of implementation or whatever, but when you post those signs where people from all over the world can have a negative impression of us, it does not “big you up”, but diminishes you in those eyes. It shows how small minded you are. You may have now, but when you go into the grave or the crematorium, you can take none of what you have with you, and the people or their descendants will stiil be here. The island will still survive.

    Pr0d9gal;
    You are an ass. Actually a treasonous ass.

  31. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    The east coast has been unsafe for decades, Accra always iffy to swim, but recently, beaches that were once considered safe are downright dangerous with riptides and serious cross currents.

    Alvin…there are no signs at Fitts village…go check for yourself. Beaches that were once considered safe are now dangerous, more people are drowning and you dont have to go very far to be washed out.

    Why dont you go take a swim there when it’s rough and even when it’s calm, there are whirlpools beneath that you cannot see.

    Normally, the sea is rough from November to Frebruary and then it calms, not this year, now when you do get it calm, you can still be washed out, so the currents have obviously changed.

    It’s just like you to keep your head hidden in the sand while people drown, keep talking rubbish while tourists drown.

    More flags are needed.

  32. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Alvin…stop being hypocrital…the politicians you support are raping the country with their bribetaking and you support them wholeheartedly, what is wrong with you, you may want to give the government ministers the same advise you so freely dish out to those who want to see corruption stopped and politicians actually work for their money by doing good,


  33. Alvin Cummins wrote “,I am especially perturbed; nay angry, at the sign, a photo of which appeared on BU, purported to have been paid for by Hants, pulling down the island. He might well have contributed the cost of that sign; it would not have come cheaply, to the welfare of the country. He could have contributed the money (in Forex) to the welfare of a poor person in the island, he could have established a scholarship, or given to the Maria Holder charity foundation. Why does he want to discourage people from supporting the country of his birth. If you canโ€™t do good for your country, why harm it?Do good. Do good! These are your people, what have they done to harm you? You may disagree with the policies, the purveyors of those policies, the method s of implementation or whatever, but when you post those signs where people from all over the world can have a negative impression of us, it does not โ€œbig you upโ€, but diminishes you in those eyes. It shows how small minded you are. You may have now, but when you go into the grave or the crematorium, you can take none of what you have with you, and the people or their descendants will stiil be here. The island will still survive.”

    @ Pieceuhderockyeahright and David,

    Please reply to Alvin.


  34. @Hants

    Alvin appears to be off his meds. Don’t worry about it. The issue here is that we need more lifeguards to be stationed at our popular beaches. After all we are a tourist destination and although we can expect locals to know the lay of the land visitors are at a disadvantage.

  35. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Alvin Cummins April 25, 2016 at 9:18 AM
    โ€œI am especially perturbed; nay angry, at the sign, a photo of which appeared on BU, purported to have been paid for by Hants, pulling down the island.โ€

    โ€œThese are your people, what have they done to harm you? You may disagree with the policies, the purveyors of those policies, the method s of implementation or whatever, but when you post those signs where people from all over the world can have a negative impression of us, it does not โ€œbig you upโ€ฆโ€

    First of all, why donโ€™t you stop libeling Hants?
    You are always threatening bloggers with lawsuits for telling the truth about you and your DLP make-believe projects (Cahill scam in particular). Why not take a leaf out of you autobiography of morality?

    So you are โ€œpissedโ€ because Barbados today is being portrayed in a bad light?
    Didnโ€™t you and your gang of DLP traitors make similar observations about your beloved country during the OSA reign? You sow what you reap, Alvin.

    One wonders if a picture of garbage piling up on Wellington Street or a half-naked man pissing in an alley in Bridgetown would be considered also to be conveying the wrong impression of Barbados (in your estimation).

    Here is a bit of advice, Alvin.
    Tell your incompetent administration to either clean up Bridgetown or expect to be stripped of the designation as a World heritage site. Not even Maloney millions taken from taxpayers can bribe UNESCO. You have up to 2017 to get your act together.

  36. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    And Alvin should be encouraging the government ministers who take millions of dollars in bribes off taxpayer funded contracts to at least pour the money back into the economy, so that the poor can benefit, instead of hiding their illgotten loot in other countries, he may want to impart the same advice on the bribers who benefit from the same taxpayer funded contrarts…the nerve.

    Don’t worry Alvin….Panama Leaks papers are just around the corner and worldwide investigations are active.


  37. What has the purported dirty business of the Baroness or whatever she is called to do with us? We should be paying attention to our own CLICO scandal and corruption and the high profile identity of the persons involved.


  38. David April 24, 2016 at 7:13 PM #

    Sure as a native of Barbados you must have been intimately aware that the Eastern side of the island is not bather friendly
    ………………………………………………….
    Cattlewash may not be bather friendly, but the residents there love it so. It keeps out the more timid Bajan,or as some of them may put it…No-cattle Wash.


  39. What has the purported dirty business of the Baroness or whatever she is called to do with us? We should be paying attention to our own CLICO scandal and corruption and the high profile identity of the persons involved.

    Sure,we are pleased to spell it out for you. Baroness Scotland is Secretary General of the Commonwealth Nations of which Barbados is a member.

  40. Vincent Haynes Avatar

    Note that Bath beach on the east coast is protected by a reef and is safe for swimming within the reef.

    Just came across another apt discription for politicians.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154038269487380&set=a.10151144937352380.482928.647527379&type=3


  41. “Sure,we are pleased to spell it out for you. Baroness Scotland is Secretary General of the Commonwealth Nations of which Barbados is a member.”

    We all know that but what does her purported links with purported barbaric regimes have to do with us? What connection does Barbados have with these regimes which could affect our standing in the world? charges/allegations of impropriety were levelled against Sir Shridath Ramphal when he held the post of Commonwealth Secretary -General but it was not the subject of discussion.


  42. Bushie has to agree with balance.
    NONE of the previous Secretary Generals have been perfect, and none in future will be. We could easily dig up some dirt on anyone whom we dislike for whatever reason and this is clearly what the Daily Mail has chosen to do. With their resources, thy could probably come up with much worse on the head of the Commonwealth too … but she is white, is NOT from a small black country …and is the beloved Queen of all – so no such research is needed.

    Let the damn woman be judged on her performance in the role……although Bushie has to say that she was so unimpressive on Brass Tacks that the bushman turned back to HOTT… ๐Ÿ™‚


  43. @Bush Tea

    Based on your contributions to BU that is a hot dose of hypocrisy; too besides, the issue is about calling for transparency where ever it raises its ugly head.

  44. Vincent Haynes Avatar

    Balance and Bush Tea……..well said and agreed upon.


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  46. LOL @ David
    Wait boss… a bushman can’t agree with balance now…?
    ….and let us take it easy -calling for ‘transparency’ from an anonymous blog while we are at it…

    Look, can you not recognise a hatchet job when you see one…?

    “However, Scotlandโ€™s high-flying career has, in recent years, seen her build often lucrative relationships with two of the worldโ€™s ugliest dictatorships,”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Give us a break!!!
    Right now the world’s ugliest dictatorships probably include the USA, UK, Israel and Russia. How many innocent people have these despots killed in Iraq, Palestine, Gaza, Ukraine and Afghanistan – just to name a few locations?
    These petit despots from the Maldives and Kazakhstan, who probably just refuses to bow down to the self-appointed albino gods of our world….. are just straw men being set up….

    You are also wrong about Bushie’s history.. The bushman argued for Froon to be given a chance to prove himself;… also for the CJ to get a chance despite a flawed start….
    Both of these proved to be wasted efforts, true!! …..but cud dear man …. hypocrisy?
    ๐Ÿ™‚
    LOL


  47. Ugliest dictatorships is a very subjective term.


  48. Ok Bushie, we have you on record agreeing that you will be selective in your whacking lol.


  49. “With their resources, thy could probably come up with much worse on the head of the Commonwealth too โ€ฆ but she is white, is NOT from a small black country โ€ฆand is the beloved Queen of all โ€“ so no such research is needed”

    Not true Bushie our beloved Queen and family have indeed taken much heat from certain sections of the British media over the years.

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