March 8, 2019
To: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
cc: Governor’s Office Anguilla, Media Houses
From: Trend Setters 2020
Re: Proposals from UK Parliament select committee concerning OT’s
Good Day,
We the Trend Setters 2020 as a social and political group have severe concerns with ALL of the proposals and as a group we categorically reject all of these proposals which amount to Neo-colonialism. As a group we met with members of Evangelical Association of Anguilla at the Church of God Holiness in Pope Hill Anguilla at 230 pm, on February 27, 2019. Among those present were the President Pastor Philip Gumbs, the Chair of the Anguilla Christian Council, and members of the community. We were heartened and pleased with the turn out, and the responses of at least 3 of the Ministers who expressed similar sentiments.
On 11 July, 1967 Anguilla held a referendum that resulted in 1813 out of 1818 voting in favour of Independence, the Declaration was written by Roger Fisher of Harvard University Law School, and read by Walter Hodge who served as the Finance Minister during our revolution. On February 6, 1969 another referendum was held and the results were 1739 out of 1743 voting in favour of Independence again. The percentages for both of these referenda were 99.72% and 99.77% respectively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Anguilla
On 18 March 1969, The British Government with bad advice from Tony Lee, sent Red Devils as invaders to a peaceful Majority African heritage nation. During this same period racist Rhodesia with a white minority government of only 5% made a unilateral declaration of Independence and nothing was done. The UK parliament via the Operation Sheepskin report stated that the reasons for the invasion of Anguilla was duplicitous, with weak legal (moral) justification.
We concur with the responses of the Turks & Caicos and Bermuda premiers, that these proposals are tone deaf. We wholeheartedly reject all of these proposals and we have already been in contact with the United Nations, UNHRC, and other worldwide media to express our moral outrage and these reckless propositions. The resistance to these measures will be indefinite as we re-declare our sovereignty via the Republic of Anguilla.
Yours Sincerely,
Maxwell Carty, Lanny Hobson ThD MD, Elkin Richardson, Ronda Hodge, Valda Hodge
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
