Statement by the Honourable Gaston Browne Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda – 7th October 2020:
I am aware of a message circulating on social media and the speculation about its publication.
Responsibility for any publication, including potential liability for any defamation it may contain, resides exclusively with the person who published it. I have made it abundantly clear, that I did not publish the message in question.
This matter including the publication of the message was motivated, and is now being exploited for political and evil purposes, by several actors including the person who published the message, and our political opponents. This is not my concern at this time.
I however, take note that the Director of Public Prosecutions has unequivocally and publicly stated that he received no payments from anyone including any former Minister of my Government.
This denial is good for our country, and means that the law enforcement and prosecution authorities in Antigua and Barbuda are acting, and will continue to act in good faith, in accordance with their collective and individual free will.
Law enforcement and prosecution authorities in Antigua and Barbuda are expected to uphold the law in all investigations and prosecutions, including those initiated in overseas jurisdictions that might involve any person in our jurisdiction. This includes the ongoing United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency’s investigations taking place in London and Antigua and Barbuda, and it’s requests for information.
I therefore, remain confident that this matter will be conducted in good faith, in full compliance with the law, and our international obligations, in order to ensure that the relations between Antigua & Barbuda and the United Kingdom will not be adversely affected.
I wish to assure the people of Antigua and Barbuda, that I will continue to demand the highest standards of ethical conduct from each of my Government’s Ministers and all of its parliamentarians, as well as, every person in our public service who holds a position of public trust. Where they violate these standards, they will suffer the consequences.
I will also act to uphold those standards vigorously without fear or favour.
Finally, I remain fully committed to ensure our Nation’s commitment to good governance, the rule of law, and the preservation of our democracy and the international good standing of our Nation.
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So wait how you demand highest ethical standard of your ministers and you just told one barefaced brazen lie in the same press release.
On my! ” what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” I didn’t published the message, it wasn’t me, must be the top dawg. So if I didn’t published it? Who wrote it? More questions than answers. The silence is definitely deafening.
@ KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR
KNIGHT I do not expect any better from you. Hon.Gaston Browne has spoken. He has nothing to do with the letter..So you can go ahead and accuse Him and you will pay the HIGH price. We are wating to hear you. As I mentioned before you better have DEEP pockets.
The PM should say he did not write it. Maybe he can confuse you with his semantics, but the rest of us can see right through him. Did he write it or not?
That is the question that needs to be answered.
Come on PHILLIP .G what Gaston Browne said is that he did not publish the letter. He has actually insinuated that Asot published the letter. Publication therefore is not an issue. What is an issue is the authorship. Now, did Gaston Browne ever said that hs did not write ths letter. That is the question he has to answer i.e., whether he wrote the letter or not.
Goebbels literally “loved” Hitler to death by telling him everything he did was right and good. You’re doing the same to the PM. Even the Bible itself says whom the Lord liveth he chasteneth
Did you hear him say he had NOTHING to do with the letter? You hearing must be of superior class. Some day, life will be fair in Antigua and Barbuda
And, yet, neither the intestinal nor the testicular substance to own up. (No guts. No balls.) Only a continued cowardice, hiding behind your own perversion of law and order to persecute — and a scheme to prosecute — your political enemies. At least the real Hitler took responsibility for his actions.
lol well said. The PM is using us to continuously serve himself.
REGARDING COVID-19 EMERGENCY ORDERS.
PROTECTION FROM DEROGATIONS FROM FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND
FREEDOMS GENERALLY
19.- Except as is otherwise expressly provided in this Constitution, no law may abrogate, abridge or infringe or authorise the abrogation, abridgement or infringement of any of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual herein before recognised and declared.
DECLARATION OF PUBLIC EMERGENCY
20.-
1. The Governor-General may, by Proclamation which shall be published in the Official Gazette, declare that a state of public emergency exists for the purposes of this Chapter.
2. Every declaration shall lapse- (TAKE NOTE)
a. in the case of a declaration made when Parliament is sitting, at the expiration of a period of seven days beginning with the date of publication of the declaration; and
b. in any other case, at the expiration of a period of twenty-one days beginning with the date of publication of the declaration, unless it has in the meantime been approved by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament.
3. A declaration of public emergency may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General by Proclamation which shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Whoever could have wanted to do DAT ?? No idea at alllllllllllllllllll
Mmmmmm Mmmmmmm CHUPS CHUPS
And as the saying goes, that statement and nothing is the same thing. The question is not who published but who wrote it. Neither the protestations of the DPP, the tepid response from the BAR Association, nor the deafening silence from law enforcement are doing anything to enable public confidence in the justice system.
Applause!! So well said! One can ignore the truth, suppress the truth, prosecute the truth but it remains the truth, and in the fullness of time will expose those who try to hide it.
Direct question Mr PM did you write the letter?
Who published the message does not need clarity. It is a known.
Are you Mr PM concerned about the allegation in the letter since some of it was under your watch?
Hon.Gaston Browne …Thank you very much for clearing the air. What more that the Prime Minister can do to appease you UPP BLUE KOOLAID PEOPLE. He has nothing to do with this letter.
He did not publish means that He did NOT write or DISTRIBUTE this letter. You better have the proof when trying to accuse Hon.Gaston Browne because the consequences are HUGE.
You are a darn idiot lacking of understanding, or just a blind supporter.
You’re NOT helping our beloved PM. Tough love good medicine. He needs desperately your responsible help, not your blind support
Geez some of you people could crucify Christ! Let me ask you you. On your deathbed would you reflect on this and proudly say, I truly believe all that I said concerning this matter and now proud and certain to meet my maker?
No media house no opposition no one has ever accused the PM of publishing anything absolutely no one.
The accusation is solely about the authorship of the message, nothing else, just the authorship.
Please Mr PM speak explicitly about the authorship, since when you afraid to tell the people the truth?
Talk the truth Mr PM, talk the truth, did you author the message? listen its just 12 days talk, and you know a new scandal will appear because that is the nature of ABLP, and it will soon be forgotten so talk the thing nah…..
hahahah is this guy for real… you are just as guilty as the sender, pathetic excuse for a leader… u all just wait he go use the same tactic he did with Maria, wait until its close to election make sure he get rid of Asot, tell Shermaine Jeremy stand down you will get a Senate position and mec his son run in Asot place lol hahaha … i hope when your pointing out all of Asot discretion you dig 20foot hole for your Sk^%$ … even if you craftily make other person front for you that still makes u as guilty because its call insider trading.. everything goes through the Office of the PM and u know firsthand what’s up and what you would like to take for yourself aka other family members aka other hacks … so please , spare us the rhetoric we all know your good at deflecting…
The response should have been earlier i believe
Dear Mr. Prime Minister we are not all jackasses in this country. The issue is not about publication. You have made it clear that the letter was publicized by Asot. The issue Sir is about authorship. You need to stop playing games with the citizenry of Antigua and Barbuda. Did you or did you not write the letter to Asot? That is the question and the country needs an answer from you. Stop taking all of us for idiots. You may take many of your supporters as such but please Sir give some credit to the intelligence of many Antiguans and Barbudans.
And if he says no I didn’t write it, what would you do next? Go after Asot and ask Asot to provide evidence that he wrote it. And how will Asot proof that. By showing you a WhatsApp message that says sender Gaston Browne. And that my friend will stand up in any court as evidence? I know you are not a smart lawyer and you should go and request back your tuition fees from the university that accredited you. You’ve heard about his word against mine. Pictures and Tapes or video don’t count as they can be manipulated. And since WhatsApp doesn’t provide any un-encrypted messages there is no proof.
You sound like an unethical lawyer.
FROM THE SIDELINE please just ask him to honestly answer the question whether be wrote the letter to Asot or not. What is so difficult about that. And for your information the evidence can be easily obtained and would be admissible in court.
@ From The Sideline
Anything done online has a foot print. We are only users of the platform.
You can delete from your device but cannot delete from the source.
Service providers can view all the contents on your phone at any time. ONDCP has access also.
Nothing you do on the internet is private.
I guess you did not read I said WhatsApp. They have nothing to do with your phone service. And their messages are encrypted and they will never ever breach their privacy clause. Place remember even Apple was brought to court for not releasing their code to unlock someone’s mobile phone in order to solve a terrorist conspiracy crime.
You dont need to try to insult the good lawyer; stay on topic. They was a time when I consider you to be objective but I see now that you have been totally sucked in.
The proof can easily be ascertained and will be. This is Information Technology we are talking about and I do have an MSc in it.
Question to you though. If it is proven, would you still offer such unwavering support? Or, like Saul of Taursus you would have seen the light.
As I said not even the FBI could get Apple to unlock a phone from a terrorist to see what was on his phone. The terrorist that shot the gay people in a bar in Miami I believe it was. So WhatsApp will never grant us that wish to unencrypt the PM’s messages. That will never happen. So be real Mr. IT. This story is a he said she said and that it will remain until the PM wishes to disclose more. Why don’t you guys ask Asot to take his phone to someone that can give further support to his claim. Perhaps an IT person like you. Or the police. Let us examine Asot’s phone
And by the way it is not an insult if in my opinion I don’t think he is a smart lawyer. I ask him to reveal his court records. Something easy to do. How many cases have you won and how many have you lost. What kind of cases etc. And he won’t do that.
@Sideline. The Apple phone messages were decrypted by an Israeli company and the information given to US law enforcement. Its all electronic signals my friend so dont count on that being a saviour.
I would love to help if asked by the police; not a politician.
No surprise to see who ah left comnents da pm really know wha fu say to bring out da red and blue jackasses
This should not be about red cool aid or blue gatorade or purple champagne, white punche kuba it should be about truth. Alot of people put their trust in man, that have been accused on numerous occasions. All the accusations all are lies all the time? We havent reach heaven as yet but we have leaders who cannot and never lie, and the gullible continue to sing for their meals daily
Glad to see you mentioned that.
Thank you for your reply, Mr. PM
What about the part where the author threatened to exert his/her power to have law enforcement officials forge ahead with certain matters which seem to be dormant.
Isn’t it important to find out who wrote the message to look into who has/possibly has such strong power over even our police?
Seems very alarming coming on the heels of an offending similar sort of threat from an MP to the chief magistrate.
What is really going on?
The PM needs to be removed from office as as soon as possible to avoid more damage to our country. He’s nothing but a lying, dictator who is continually selling our lands while making us slaves to China.
Its good to know that there is something called an Antiguan Citizen. I wonder what country that is. Cause my passport says Antiguan and Barbudan.
by the way your wishes will not come through for a very very very long long time. Let’s say 28 long years. Hope you live to see that.
Its nice to know that you have one but I hope you value it as much as the one from the country from which you were born. I have only one: the same as my parents, children and grand children. That is why it is not so easy for me to accepts corruption lies and deceptions.
Anytime within the 28 years, you can say to heck with it, pull up and gone. Me and my generation have no such luxury. So let me fight for the truth; Fight for a better country because this is all I have. If you truly love this country, rather than politicians, you would be happy to fight with those who believe in the truth .
Sorry but just because you re blinded by whatever you think is the truth doesn’t make it my truth. And since you claim to love this country, perhaps you won’t believe it but I do as well and it is that why I am for the party the people overwhelmingly voted into office. Too bad you reject them, but guess what, that is how a democracy works. Today I win you lose and who knows tomorrow you win I lose. But don’t hold your breath it will really take a while a very long while.
In my opinion.The writer and publisher are both culpable.If you were to write something and gave it to me.I turned around and publish that which you gave to me.You the writer is just as guilty as the publisher.You Gaston Browne cannot weed yourself out of this predicament. In which you have found yourself in,today.You may twist like a worm and or Chubby Checker’s twist again.You would need to come clean to the people of Antigua and Barbuda.You are trying to circumnavigate this story on a dagger log.In other words you are trying the impossible.Not this time for we are not all suckers.Your bull dung would not work.For the majority of us are educated.We could think for ourselves,dance,walk and chew gums at the same time.We could see right through your BULL DUNG.You Gaston Browne,spoke about highest standards in your Administration.From one Browne to another.Why the heck did you hand pick.Some of those, whose voices were heard on those IHI tapes into your Cabinet? I could call names that matches those voices.However,I am a responsible and Law Abiding National of Antigua and Barbuda.You would need to get your acts together. Becoming a more disciplined matured person/leader would be a good place to start.
Come on PHILLIP .G what Gaston Browne said is that he did not publish the letter. He has actually insinuated that Asot published the letter. Publication therefore is not an issue. What is an issue is the authorship. Now, did Gaston Browne ever said that hs did not write ths letter. That is the question he has to answer i.e., whether he wrote the letter or not.
CARSON B I am very disappointed in your intellect. Since when “did not publish” can be equated with “did not write” or “did not distribute”. They are distinctly three (3) different things. Stop looking for ridiculous excuses. The question he has to answer is whether he wrote it or not. Maybe he might say it is Maria since he could not blame Prince.
Donald Trump claims to have written a book, The Art of the Deal. Did he really wrote that? I guess not. The man can’t even tweet a correct sentence.
From the Sidelines:You would do and say almost anything to keep Gaston Browne in Office.The foods being fed at the Red Kool-Aid trough is overly strong.Eat as much as you could fat boy.For your days are numbered.
I think everyone’s days are numbered. I just do not know when the Good Lord will call me home. Perhaps you know.
But certainly my days are numbered.
You guys should really take it easy you know. Cause hate kills also.
FROM THE SIDELINE you are showing that you are really losing it with this issue. Your logic is so flawed it is astounding.
What is your track record in court? Cause your arguments have so many flaws and I’m not even a lawyer and I can shoot down many of them.
FROM THE SIDELINE don’t worry about my track record. Just be logical and stop showing that you are like one of the regular minions and sycophants of the ALP and Gaston Browne like Fumancho.
And it appears, neither can you! …..”did he really wrOte that”….. Oh boy! You need some BASIC grammar lessons.
All this popycock about publishing is besides the point. Gaston you are an intelligent man, did you write all those allegations yes or no? Simple as ABC.
Perhaps you did not expect the penguin to make it public. however the allegations and claims about directing law enforcement to do certain things is alarming and should not die with the usual 9 day talk
Mr. Prime Minster. With all the the education you have. I ask a simple straightforward question. Did you or did you not penned, dictated, typed, recorded or any way authored the publication as alleged by Minister Asot Michael? Are we warn fu no!
The red and blue jackesses still braying I see. Da pm really mash some 🌽🌽 wid dat press released. Continue fu bray jackasses.
@Heee. Its hard to say what kind of Jackass you are! You are certainly one, or a Jennyass. Either way, this is really a serious topic and if you are a national, you should be really concerned about the actions and content of this letter. The people mentioned in that missive might someday determine the innocence or guilt of you or a loved one. If this matter is left unresolved, how much confidence would have in a decision that went against you?? You would probably be running back and forth crying that justice is only for some people while others can flout the system at will.
Point is: this is a serious matter so take it seriously.
Much ado about nothing. We all recognize that and are thoroughly beside ourselves being left with nothing more than deflated egos! So we try for the next best thing. Flog the ASS in the hope that something would give. (Pun intended). The matter that was initially aired had everything to do with comments made to a known scum bag about a string of documented breaches allegedly committed by him, but which allegedly referenced an untouchable VIP who hinted at the possibility of filing for defamation damages of his pristine character. Defamation as far as I understand involves the publication and distribution of material with a view to tarnish one’s reputation. The Hon. P. M. is entirely correct in his response. The ASS overplayed his hand and now has riders aplenty, which I believe he relishes greatly. It was the ASS which, during its riding ecstacies that wittingly or unwittingly brought the public into its private stables and published or caused to have published and distributed information which potentially tarnished the unblemished(?) character of a third party.
To the ASS: Stop giving away rides to freeloaders. At the end of the day, it’s only your ASS that will burn out from sheer exhaustion.
@Anon. As far as I am concerned, they are all Scumbags. But do you know what you call a scumbag that is above the law? A dictator. These dictators did not get up one day and declare, I am a Dictator! It took supporters and collaborators who turned a blind to small infractions which led to larger things until a society becomes completely numb. Just reading some of these posts I have to wonder if we have not already fallen off the precipice of good governance.
FROM THE SIDELINE don’t worry about my track record. Just be logical and stop showing that you are like one of the regular minions and sycophants of the ALP and Gaston Browne like Fumancho.
Given your many illogical arguments one has to question your record. Cause from what you are making for arguments I must say you are a poor lawyer. No legal substance in your argument at all. Just political bile. And as I said before it makes you sound and look stupid. Someone reading your comments would have second thoughts of hiring you as their lawyer. At least I would.
FROM THE SIDELINE while you deal in argumentum ad hominem, I deal with logic and facts. You I would not need as a client since you appear to lack comprehension of simple concepts and the methodology of deductive and inductive reasoning.You can spin as much as you want, the simple question you need to ask Gaston Browne is whether he wrote the letter or not. The crucial issue is not who published but who wrote. Try and get Gaston to understand that.
@Charles Tabor
You do good to actually engage in an intelligent discussion with a moron like From The Sideline and the rest of the other morons who we all know on here.
You are wasting your breath. For all we know, it could very well be the dictator PM himself or one of his cronies.
You guys have me crackin. I mean when you cannot bring up arguments any longer you result to name calling and denigration and character assassination. But those things make me stronger as I see that you guys cannot take me on. And that is without the support of tenman.
Tabor I gave you a scenario that if the PM says no he didn’t write the letter, what then is your next question.
What is your obsession with that. You know Johnny Cochrane got OJ Simpson freed only on one fact. The glove they had as evidence didn’t fit him. I mean the whole world followed the case and everyone was convinced he did the crime. But one little evidence. the glove set him free.
You think you can proof that the PM wrote the letter in a court of law? You think WhatsApp will break their encryption code for you or for the Antigua court for that?
Give me a break. Your thinking is very shallow for a lawyer.
FROM THE SIDELINE you think that you are so smart yet your logic is so flawed. Don’t you believe that TENMAN has more sense than to try to find ridiculous excuses for Gaston Browne on this issue of the letter and whether he wrote it or not. TENMAN would realize (unlike you) that Gaston’s reluctance to answer this simple question and his distinction between writing and publishing would make him look like a jackass. The question at this stage is not about evidence and proof, since we are not in a trial, the question is about the honesty and integrity of your great Prime Minister. If he did not write the letter what is so difficult for him to say he did not as he did with respect to the issue of publishing. FROM THE SIDELINE please give me a break with all your nonsensical arguments.
And by the way, FROM THE SIDELINE knowing the propagandist strategies that are employed by you ALP and Gaston sycophants and also the fact that all of you are hiding behind pseudonyms, maybe just maybe you and TENMAN are one and the same. Be like me and put your name and show you have nothing to hide. For God sake stop being a coward.
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