Bermudians protest four Uighurs and call for Premier Brown to go

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Former PLP strategist calls for the removal of the Premier

http://www.royalgazette.com

"Dr. Brown's biggest contribution to Bermuda's 400 year anniversary is sneaking 4 Uighers into the country."

The man behind the PLP's successful 1998 General Election campaign led calls for the Premier's removal at an anti-Ewart Brown rally this weekend.

Former Progressive Labour Party campaign chairman Larry Burchall, said Dr. Brown had been "dishonest" when he told residents the four Uighurs could only be brought to the Island in secret.

According to Mr. Burchall, other countries that accepted former Guantánamo Bay detainees, had done so in the open.

The men arrived after Dr. Brown struck a deal directly with the US, leaving Britain and Cabinet out of the loop. Governor Sir Richard Gozney and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said afterwards that the Premier had no authority to do so.

Mr. Burchall was a guest speaker at a 'Picnic for Change'. Held on Saturday at Astwood Park, it was organised by The Bermudians, a group whose members led three summer protests in an attempt to oust Dr. Brown from office.

He told the crowd that 34 countries had accepted former detainees since 2002 and had done so openly, with residents and members of government informed of what was going on before their arrival.

"The Premier's part in the whole sorry saga of the Uighurs is the dividing line between 'him and me' or 'him and us'. The Premier smuggles four people into this Country and didn't even tell the Commissioner of Police. It doesn't work. It was dishonest."

He continued: "It's exactly the same as bringing in a plane load of drugs or a plane full of dirty money. Dishonesty is dishonesty. That he had to keep it secret is crap, pure crap because every country before us and after us [that has accepted former detainees] has done it openly."

The former Bermuda Regiment Captain said: "In the army, if you have a problem with the leader, you wake him up and get a new leader.

"The PLP that I have worked with has changed in the past three years. It's changed particularly in the past three or four months.

"He has a fixation on looking after himself. Since taking over as Premier, the man who everyone says gets everything done, hasn't done much. Every time I am told he gets things done, I ask what exactly [is it the person is referring to]. For me, he's moved tourism into lower ground. He's supporting racial initiatives that in 2009 are very 1960s.

"You ask me to stick with a leader who lies and is dishonest? It's in my interest and the interest of everyone else not to have a leader who lies to me. If it's not up to par, remove it. You don't use a bad unit and you don't let a good unit go bad because of its leader. We can change this thing." And I'll keep saying it until he's gone. He's a bad leader despite all his PR [public relations]."