The Nassau Guardian
Mitchell roars back at Symonette over ‘anti-American’ comment
Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell on Wednesday lashed out at the “slimy remarks” made by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette that he is anti-American and charged that Symonette wanted to say something else, but did not have the courage to do it.
During his contribution to the budget debate, Mitchell, the foreign affairs and immigration minister, said he could not pass up the opportunity to respond to Symonette, who he said has no basis to “make the slur against me that in standing up for The Bahamas I am anti-American”.
Mitchell was referring to his response to allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is recording and archiving every cell phone conversation in The Bahamas.
Symonette told The Tribune that Mitchell is anti-American.
“I want to assure the former member that I owe no money to Commonwealth Bank, and so the well-known practice associated with some in his family of calling in loans when the borrower’s politics was opposed to the lender does not apply to me,” Mitchell said.
“However, I would wish to treat him to a lesson in moral equivalence. I read in the press that the winners of the Catholic [church] raffle recently were two men who are owners of the numbers houses in The Bahamas, Adrian Fox and Sebas Bastian.”
Fox and Bastian, the CEOs of Island Luck, won a 2014 Kia Rio at the Our Lady’s Catholic Church annual fair and raffle. The men said they will return the car.
Mitchell said both men are the “most successful Bahamian entrepreneurs of their generation”.
“There was a time, and the former deputy prime minister would know of it, when bootlegging into the United States was an activity, which grounded the fortunes of many Bahamians, who then were able to transform their wealth into leadership in politics and in commerce.”
He said in 1965, one of those men, a leader of the government, also won a car.
Mitchell said the man could have afforded to donate the car back to the church, but chose to keep it.
“The interesting point though is when people who use the wealth from one generation once considered ill-gotten gains and now converted into legal cash, then want to lecture others about their moral standing in a country which was built up by the blood, sweat and tears of my own father and countless others,” he said.
“I do not take it lightly or without grave offence.
“It must be clear that I do not, and will not, shirk from saying so at every opportunity. The Bible says take the mote from your own eye before making groundless accusations about others.”
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