In a show of defiance and solidarity, residents in the British Virgin Islands on Monday protested against the recommendation to put their archipelago – an overseas British territory – under direct control of the United Kingdom, days after the BVI premier was jailed in Miami on charges of money laundering and conspiring to traffic drugs in the U.S.
The anticipated Commission of Inquiry (COI) report, published last week, painted a picture of widespread contracting fraud and presumed government corruption in the BVI over a number of years. The report recommended a partial suspension of the local constitution, dissolving the democratically elected legislature and direct governing of the territory from London for at least two years.
While most BVI residents are appalled by the charges levied against their Premier, Andrew Fahie, hundreds of them rallied on Monday outside the office of Governor John Rankin in Road Town, Tortola, to protest the COI’s recommendation concerning the Constitution – the islands’ governance structure. The protesters chanted slogans and held signs that said, “I was born free” and “No Direct U.K. Rule.”
“Our message to the United Kingdom government and to the world: there will be no direct rule in this land,” said Luce Hodge-Smith, who has previously held positions in government and whose Facebook page says she is retired.
The protest rally coincided with a visit by Amanda Milling, the U.K.’s Minister for Overseas Territories, to discuss the report released by the Commission of Inquiry (COI), and to decide whether the Report’s findings justify imposing direct rule on the islands.
The COI report, which is unrelated to Premier Fahie’s arrest, concluded that his administration had ignored principles of good governance, witnesses had been afraid to come forward, and that the people of the BVI had been badly served in recent years.
Since the release of the report, executive meetings were held among parliamentarians, and with Governor Rankin and U.K. Minister Millings.
The situation in the BVI continues to be fluid.
