-
Source: Reuters -
Related
Hundreds of protesters called for Bermudian Premier Ewart Brown
to step down and accused him of acting like a dictator in allowing
four Guantanamo prisoners from China to settle on the mid-Atlantic
island.
Some 600 people gathered outside Parliament in the island's capital
Hamilton, waving banners and chanting "Brown must go" as they
marched to the Cabinet office.
Brown emerged from the building and shouted to the booing crowd:
"As some of you might know, I grew up in the protest era. This is
nothing new to me. I have seen them larger and longer," he
said.
Under an agreement with Brown, the United States last week sent to
the British territory four members of China's Muslim Uighur
minority who had been held at the Guantanamo prison camp long after
the US military and courts determined they posed no threat.
The United States said it could not send them to China because they
faced persecution there, but US politicians blocked efforts to
release them in the United States.
The British government complained that it had not been consulted
about the deal and questioned whether Brown had authority to admit
the Uighurs.
In Bermuda, opponents who had earlier accused Brown of autocracy
also condemned him for acting unilaterally.
Tuesday's protest was aimed not so much at the Uighurs as at Brown
for his failure to consult the island's people or governor and his
perceived snub of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, whom the governor
represents.
Bermuda, a banking centre and tourist destination, is Britain's
oldest colony and one of the world's wealthiest places.
Janice Battersbee, who described herself as a lifelong supporter of
Brown's Progressive Labour Party, stepped up to the microphone when
Brown invited the protesters to send a representative to
speak.
"The leadership of this country seems to be on a course heading
toward dictatorship that the majority of Bermudians are no longer
willing to tolerate," Battersbee said.
"This latest action is the final straw. We are fed up, disgusted,
disrespected and angry."
Brown said he had been summoned to meet with the governor, Sir
Richard Gozney, but did not elaborate. When Battersbee finished
speaking, Brown was led away by police and left in an official
car.
About 40 Brown supporters shouted "Brown must stay" but were
drowned out by shouts and claxons.
The two sides sparred verbally but there was no violence in the
orderly capital of Hamilton.
Brown took office in 2006 and was re-elected to a five-year term
when his party won a majority in Parliament in 2007.
Bermuda's immigration minister, David Burch, said the four Uighur
men had received several job offers but that their status remained
in limbo until the British government completes a security
review.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
