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HOME	AUGUST 28th, 2005

The news dominating the headlines the past couple weeks concerned the press conference of the Minister of National Security, Senator Einstein Louison. Many of us focused on the alleged implication of the US government in the issue referred to by the minister.

The reckless statement by the Security Minister caused considerable embarrassment to his government. The US embassy's immediate and public repudiation of the minister's statement has no precedent in the long history of US/Grenada diplomatic relations and it was a form of rebuke reserved for the most egregious breach of conduct by any country.

Some others among us saw the press conference as an attempt to get back at the Opposition group, tarnish their image, and label them as a bunch of hypocrites. It boiled down to a tit-for tat if you accuse Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of accepting bribe (the money in the briefcase), I accuse you of fraud). There is a third element in the whole episode that has aroused little attention.

That is, the minister's deliberate lie to the people of Grenada. There is no doubt that he lied to the Press when he claimed that the Opposition member was accused, nay indicted, for fraud in the United States.

By lying to the Press, Sen. Louison was lying to the nation as a whole. He cannot be excused on the grounds that not being a lawyer he is ignorant of what constitutes fraudulent conduct. If he were not sure, he has an Attorney General (Elvin Nimrod, as well as a Cabinet Legal Adviser (Hugh Wildman) at his disposal by whom he could have run the document before opening his mouth and putting his foot in it.

One of the unpardonable sins of any government and/or any minister of any government, is that of deliberately lying to the people. Whatever the state of the nation - good, bad, or indifferent - the people expect their leaders to "level with them if they must maintain their trust in them.

Governments have been known to shave the truth on occasions but to deliberately lie to the country is most reprehensible conduct. Government ministers enjoy certain legal "privileges" when they make statements in certain places and at certain times, for example, during their contribution to debates in Parliament.

The Opposition, with the lawyers in their group will, most certainly, examine whether or not Sen. Louison was in such a position, or whether or not his claim was libellous. What is surprising, however, is that the minister has been allowed to retain his portfolio and retain his position as a senior member in the administration.

The fact, by itself, suggests that the Prime Minister sees nothing wrong with lying to the nation. What is ignored is the fact that no member of the public will now believe anything the security minister says; his value to the nation is now worthless as he will forever be labelled a deliberate liar. The question now commonly asked is, what standards are we setting for those who follow? Our Prime Minister accepts money from questionable individuals, for dubious reasons, under unconventional circumstances, and in strange places.

Our Minister of National Security deliberately lies to the nation; we embarrass the nation among our friends and neighbours, and we continue to use taxpayers hard earned money to pay for all these follies. One of the Prime Minister's laudable ideas when he took office was that of reconciliation. There was still a lot of mistrust of the followers of the PRG. Reconciliation was the buzz word. To demonstrate his seriousness in that regard, he named a high profile PRG and PRA member to his Cabinet and subsequently made him Minister of National Security.

While many not happy that one of the purveyors of "heavy manners" was so rewarded, they were prepared to begin the task of letting bygones be bygones. Unfortunately there seems to have been a change of attitude and instead of reconciliation there is now denigration, started during the electioneering campaign and continued through the recent press conference.

The NNP has apologised to the US government for Sen. Louison's rather reckless accusation. Strange enough, there has not been, as far as is known, any apology made to the aggrieved person that was the subject of the press conference. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" is still one of the commandments - not a proposal that may or may not be accepted - which has been, for centuries, the bedrock of civilised society. It takes character to acknowledge when one errs, and to apologise for one's error enhances character.

The government's general behaviour, and the minister's in particular, in the instant case, is not worthy of emulation. As often happens these days, we have failed as concerned citizens, to register, in a deafening manner a call for the administration to take some disciplinary action for the acute embarrassment caused.

We have grown so complacent that we swallow any and everything pushed down our throats without a whimper. We fail to see that our National Security minister will be looked upon with skepticism, if not with suspicion, when he attends meetings of the Council of Nations concerned with security matters, particularly at this time. It is painful to concede that we have lost all sense of decency, honesty, and straightforwardness in the body politic, but the evidence suggests that we have.

It is, however, comforting to know, that like everything else, that too shall pass, hopefully sooner than later.