British Take Over Government Of Caribbean Island

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DAVID GREENE, host:

The Turks and Caicos Islands, they may conjure images of a great Caribbean vacation for many Americans. But today we have to tell you about some political turmoil there.

Britain announced Friday that it's taken control of this Caribbean territory. The British government has suspended the island's constitution, ousted the prime minister, dissolved parliament and taken away the right to trial by jury for the island's citizens.

Britain says it has imposed direct rule because of corruption among the island's government officials and Britain has promised to hold elections by July 2011. The prime minister of the Turks in Caicos described Britain's actions as "a coup" and said the islands were being "re-colonized" by the United Kingdom.

Hayden Boyce is editor-in-chief of the Turks and Caicos Sun, and he joins us by phone from Providenciales, the main city on the islands. Thanks for doing this.

Mr. HAYDEN BOYCE (Editor-in-Chief, Turks and Caicos Sun): Yes, thank you.

GREENE: What are the specifics of these corruption scandals that have been cited by the British government as so troublesome?

Mr. BOYCE: After the inquiry was held, the

GREENE: This is an inquiry by the British government?

Mr. BOYCE: Yeah, they inquiry was held from by the British government. And the report was quite wide ranging. Sir Robin Auld, when he had his inquiry, but there wasnt (unintelligible) evidence of corruption.

GREENE: And who was that who did the report?

Mr. BOYCE: He was a former British judge and he's the one who commissioned the report.

GREENE: And what kind of corruption are we talking about here?

Mr. BOYCE: He pointed to several things, like officials selling crown(ph) land for profit. And there were also accusations of bribery and so on. But these things are yet to be proven.

GREENE: And tell me whats been the reaction to this? And did anyone see it coming?

Mr. BOYCE: People saw it coming from the point of view that once the inquiry was launched, it became quite clear that the Brits were going to suspend either the constitution, in whole or in parts.

GREENE: Did the British government have clear authority to do this and impose direct rule?

Mr. BOYCE: Yes. Yeah. Let me take a step back. Well, first of all, the relationship I believe between the British government and the Turks and Caicos has been, in recent times, very adversarial. There's a general feeling that the British government is trying very hard to re-colonize the Turks and Caicos.

Some people have been very vocal against the takeover because they believe that it's a backward step, that there should be a movement now towards independence. Some people believe, for example, that the British government should have chosen the option of working with the Turks and Caicos Islands officials, as opposed to imposing full and direct rule.

GREENE: And, Mr. Boyce, the London-appointed governor, Gordon Wetherell, said that this imposition of direct rule is not a takeover by the British government. What is their next step? I mean how do they paint this as something other than overstepping their authority?

Mr. BOYCE: I think they're engaged in semantics, because it is, in fact, a British takeover. Any time you, for whatever reason, you take over the running of a country, it stands to reason that you are, in fact, taking over. So Mr. Wetherell, I believe, is engaging in semantics. Because the House of Assembly has been dissolved. There are no more members of parliament. So the people actually have no representation. The House of Assembly dissolved completely until 2011.

And then what is also incensing people here is that part of the suspension of the Constitution clearly states that there will be no longer will be trial by jury. And people see this as a basic infringement of their human rights, because it is perceived and I believe it is to be unfair to be having this situation where you cannot be tried by a jury of your peers. I think that is one of the fundamental principles of democracy and of human rights, in most developed countries.

GREENE: Well, we will be keeping an eye on your coverage of this story. Hayden Boyce is editor-in-chief of the Turks and Caicos Sun. Mr. Boyce, thanks for your time.

Mr. BOYCE: Yes, you're welcome. Bye.

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