Letters to the Editor
Constitutional Review Not Necessary
The following letter was carried in ourIssue 57, with some omissions from the original text. The fulltext appears below.
Dear Sir:
Thank you for the allowing usspace in your valuable newspaper to voice a few concerns to ournewly elected Government and our Caymanian people.
Our constitution must be the most important concern at this time.Last year the Governor promised to review the constitution. Wefeel that no other consideration or review is necessary at thistime. We request the Government to legislate the ëDraft Constitutionfor the Cayman Islands July 1992íwhich incorporates thefundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. This needsto be addressed with the same urgency as the laws to facilitatethe OECD Legislation in the latter part of 2000.
If we fail to enact our own constitution with the Bill of Rightsas in the 1992 draft Constitution, will the U.K. enact the HumanRights Act which incorporates those articles of Europe?
Fellow Caymanians, we do not need further examples from the U.K.in enacting Legislation for us like what has just happened withthe order in council that was passed on December 13, 2000 wherebyit repealed the law relating to homosexual acts in our penal code.
We do not want a repetition of this in the form of a Constitutionfrom the U.K. and their European Human Rights Bill forced on us.We want our own Constitution, a Constitution dictated by Caymaniansfor the benefit of Caymanians.
With the next order in council attempt to force us to change ourimmigration laws and allow all persons who have been working herefor five years to be granted residence, the right to vote, andrun in our elections?
We urge our Government to take action on this matter as a priorityin order to avert foreseeable social and political upheaval.
Cardinal DaCosta
J. Robert Bodden
For Concerned Caymanian Citizens