WASHINGTON, DC – The “most serious” human right problems in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in 2011 were “police use of excessive force, poor prison conditions, and violence against women”, according to the Unites States’ 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released on Thursday.
“Other human rights problems included official corruption, lack of government transparency, discrimination, trafficking in persons, and child abuse,” according the report, which said that the country generally respected human rights last year.
But the inclusion in the report of “trafficking in persons” — human trafficking — is expected to receive a strong response from the Unity Labour Party government in Kingstown and its diplomatic personnel in the United States.
SVG has annually protested against its association with trafficking in persons.
The government and Vincentian envoys have repeatedly said that the United States does not provide evidence of such crimes taking places on Vincentian soil.
The report said that in 2011 there were no reports that the Vincentian government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
It, however, noted that police officers, in the line of duty, shot and killed a Dominican man on July 13 after the Coast Guard intercepted his vessel and he allegedly fired a weapon.
It also mentioned that police shot and killed on Dec. 11 escaped prisoner Godwin Moses, who was suspected of murdering dental technician Ewart “Ells” King earlier that month.
The report also noted that police constable Rohan McDowall reneged a plea bargain that would have seen him charged with manslaughter rather than murder in connection with the August 2010 shooting death inside the Biabou police Station of fellow officer Kingsley John.
The Director of Public Prosecution, who had made the deal with the cop, subsequently charged McDowall with murder again after he reneged the plea bargain.
The report said that in 2011 there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances, and that the government “generally observed” legal prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention even as it quoted the Human Rights Association in Kingstown as having asserted that the police used excessive force.
It said the government “generally respected judicial independence in practice”, and added that the judiciary was “independent [and] impartial” in civil matters.
The state “generally respected … in practice” prohibitions against arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence.
The report said that the government respected the constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.
“An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press,” the report stated.
It, however, also said “there continued to be accounts of the prime minister or other officials rebuking the press for comments critical of the government, spurring some reports of self-censorship”.
Vincentians continued to enjoy Internet freedom, with no credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms.
“Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail,” according to the report, which also said there were no restrictions on academic, cultural, political, peaceful assembly and association and other rights, and that there was an absence of forced labour.
Wtf did I just read? Reasons why I hate America so much…. They need to deal with their issues at home before they start on other people. They have the telivision raising their kids and they dunno how to keep slim… And they sue left right and center for all kinds of shit Wtf man…wtf
Posted by smilez | May 28, 2012, 19:26These reports are arbitrary and does not honestly reflect what is happening in the country in many cases. We do not have an independent and impartial judiciary, for example. And to what extent is there really human trafficking in SVG? While one case might be too many, it is not as if we are swamped by this vice.
Posted by justice | May 28, 2012, 19:55Seems like I will have to get in touch with the US State Department, they need updating and correcting.
Things are a lot worse than they think, and they need to consider the actions and behavior of the DPP Colin Williams.
Police torture in the interview rooms.
Employment of convicted criminals in the police force.
Posted by Peter | May 28, 2012, 21:16I think Peter,you should put joke aside and honestly say a lot of these stuff is rubbish-while there are problems here and there-a lot of these things are fabricated-baseless. These people are writing to create sensation-they think its a movie they are making.Let me remind you too that the word TORTURE spells USA
Posted by albert | May 29, 2012, 14:20I do not know about the other stuff. However,I think prison condition improve a whole lot-the prisoners living large now. This human trafficing thing baffles me-not sure why this country is judge in this way-perhaps the USA needs to explain to ordinary people like me on this matter.It will be interesting to note the comments of other vincentians.It is however interesting to note that while SVG is getting good reviews on matters relating to tourism-we are viewed in this way by the USA-from whose column the tourism reviews come.Pretty interesting!!! Makes me wonder !!!
Posted by albert | May 29, 2012, 02:47I cannot believe this report-seem strange to me.
Posted by albert | May 29, 2012, 09:41HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SVG-THE SAD CASE OF VINCYPOWA.
[DISCLAIMER:This story is based on actual events. In certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental.]
A police officer guarding the Prime Minister’s residents is approached by a frantic and scared young woman, who goes by the name of VINCYPOWA, running from a store that sells provocative women’s clothing. she asks for help and says she’s being held against her will. Later, she tells the police that she is a VINCY citizen and is being beaten by a pimp, call RALPHIE, who is forcing her to prostitute herself in rooms along the super highway.
Commissioner Miller recounts the story of Vincypowa in a interview with F.U.D.Z.:
VincyPowa’s story is one of immense pain and heart break. Vincypowa has been in servitude for the past 12 years, serving her master with the utmost of devotion. It all started with the arrival of Ralphie and his Marx gang; Ralphie is the epitome of a Grenadian Bishop and people gravitated to him in troves. One such person was Vincypowa-a lost soul going nowhere, bouncing from pillar to post. Ralphie was looking for someone to clean his balls and when he saw Vincypowa, it was minion at first sight. This was a match made in hog heaven…from the moment Vincypowa heard the specious and often invective utterances tumbling from the lips of Ralphie…she fell to her knees and cried in a loud voice…YES MASSA THAT IS TRUE..from that day on, Vincypowa rendered unflinching service to Ralphie’s ball sack. Sam?
Over the years, with Vincypowa in tow, Ralphie flounder in the wilderness, in a constant state of detumescence…but all that change with the road block stimulation. This was when the muff diving of Vincypowa really escalated to another level. Vincypowa was now being used not only by Ralphie but by his friends…one such group, who goes by the name labourhogs, was brutal in their treatment of Vincypowa. Police reports indicate that Vincypowa was forced to be in rooms on the internet 24/7 taking bulwood after bulwood…and when Vincypowa say “ah can’t tek it no more”…the labourhogs will scream…we naah tun back! In another instance of sheer depravity, Vincypowa was forced to go high diving with a sadistic clown. Even though it is widely known that Vincypowa suffers from coulrophobia. It is said this malady came about as a result, when Vincypowa saw her mother tossing the salad of a well known clown at the time, call Saadiss. The incident led to Vincypowa developing insomnia and was often heard constantly repeating the phrase, “can’t sleep, clown will eat me”. Nevertheless, having little choice in the matter, Vincypowa summon all her courage and engage the sadistic clown…suffice it to say, it was a mistake of monumental proportion…cause for the next several years that clown creampied Vincypowa on a daily basis.The acts were so bdsm in nature; I dare not repeat them for fear of wetting myself. The abuse was so psychologically damaging, Vincypowa developed a permanent case of cognitive dissonance. For example It is not uncommon to hear Vincypowa say she believes in woman empowerment…yet will go and molest a policewoman..Or she claims to be a patriot but yet fleece the Nation’s coffers for political expediency. Or believes she is the most righteous but yet is a member of the most unholy alliance since conquest and settlement. Vincypowa says she believes in black power…but sees nothing wrong in being a slave to a “portugy”..It is this sort of warped, imbecilic mindset, that allows people like Ralphie to easily coerced folks like Vincypowa to participate in bukkake parties for their own sick enjoyment. Sam?
When you come to think of it, you really have to feel sorry for Vincypowa, here is a person, bereft of any motherly love, forced to rimmed out a meager existence and when she thinks she has found her true love…her feelings are betrayed and is daisy-chained to an ATM by a person,she truly believes in. Three policemen beating the bejesus out of a youth man couldn’t compare to the abuse suffer by Vincypowa. Its such a heart breaking experience that it bring tears to ones eyes. Sam?
After years of humiliation, Ralphie attained andromimetophilia: now one would think, that the misery will be over for Vincypowa…nope! Ralphie was determined to keep Vincypowa in her proper place, on her hands and knees. Vincypowa hopes of being awarded for her magnanimous services with milk and honey…was trampled upon. Vincypowa having been transported all across the super highway, taking bulwood from all tom dick and jane; was hauled across the ocean to TAIWAN. There in an area call Kenton, where.the smell of sulphur is pungent, Vincypowa is put to work. it was not long before, Vincypowa was duly and summarily spread out. She kicked and screamed, speaking incoherently about some argyle and 2013, tunnel vision in the garden, arnos vale city and going cross country…she rant and rave but the locals just continue to throw bulwood after bulwood on her…when all is said and done, she was given several pearl necklaces and a golden shower for her troubles. That is the life of Vincypowa, a sad state of affairs if ever there was one.
Well thank you Mr Commissioner, for giving us your time for this interview.
No Problem, I am here to protect and serve the people of ULP.
Oh! Mr Commissioner, what is the latest in the investigation of the car accident involving Samantha’s relative?
What accident?
Sam?
Posted by Saadiss | May 29, 2012, 05:49SAADISS, very imaginative, and dramatic. Do you compose calypsoes? The imagery easily lends itself, with some sprucing, to kaiso writing, too. Will have to get a new dictionary for some of the unique words, though. Fine attempt in the different genre.
Posted by STEVE_HUGGINS | May 31, 2012, 08:37Lol…Mr Huggins, sometimes my imagination do get the better of me…and goes off on a tangent. As for calypso writing…I assisted in several over the years…lets just say ah reach the finals on two occasions.
Forgive the use of certain words and phrases…Ah notice Mr Chance, edited some of my posts in the past and so wanted to not transgress any further. So it was very deliberate to pass the sensibilities of Mr Chance and of course being down right facetious…Mr Chance took two days to publish this post…I actually give up on it being publish. Thank you Mr Chance, I was beginning to think, you were a puritan.
Let me say on a very serious note, that the issue of HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS an “appalling form of human rights abuse”. And every Government should be doing everything in their power to eradicate this abomination from this world we live in. Now while there are instances of some form of human abuse in SVG; I am yet to see any definitive proof of Human trafficking where SVG is concern…and so if the US has proof in this regard, they ought to disclose such data to support their claim of human trafficking in SVG.
Posted by Saadiss | May 31, 2012, 10:44Correction, should read:
…instances of human RIGHTS abuse.
Posted by Saadiss | May 31, 2012, 10:48It must be really easy to get a passport,suppose you’re a pm who gets his passport stamped so many times in so many different countries,you need a new one every month,yet month after month year after year you’re being trafficked to every country in the world,with no assets you’re just there to beg,nobodyelse could tell immigration in any country they’re visiting to beg and not get deported, Occupation : Beggar/Part time politician
Are they counting people trafficked in during elections?
Posted by Jahu | May 29, 2012, 19:55JAHU ! Getting a PASSPORT to BEG?!
oh, what hapless mendicancy.
Posted by STEVE_HUGGINS | May 30, 2012, 19:51Human trafficing is not always putting people on boat and smuggling them and selling them. Our very own government actually does quite a bit of human trafficing. Working with the government and not getting pay is the latest example of it, that is labor trafficing. William wise and his government “friends” in SVG flew in quite a few women to play “scrabble”, that might be sexual trafficing. Their is quite a bit of sexual trafficing going on in SVG. Forcing people to vote for you for fear of not getting any jobs when they win is in a sense human trafficing (Gonsalves did that). Go to Vincy, and look around, it’s everywhere.
Posted by blane | May 29, 2012, 20:31How about all the South American girls that were imported here for prostitution at a Villa Beach location? used mostly by leading ULP MPs, now closed.
How about the poor people brought here from the Far East on the promises of jobs in Canada then abandoned?
How about the brothel and drug den currently in Kingstown with traficed girls.
Don’t you people know whats going on, well some of our top policians do, they are customers.
Posted by Peter | May 29, 2012, 22:27ALBERT, its not a joke and its not rubbish, its very true. Do you think the Americans wrote what they wrote without the relevent information. What they have done is tame it down, make it seem less than it really is.
If I know about it, so do the police, we must ask who is on the take?
Posted by Peter | May 29, 2012, 22:32Or even who at the top is protecting the evil.
Posted by Peter | May 29, 2012, 22:34Remember there are of dirty old perverts in and around the ULP hiararchy.
Posted by Peter | May 29, 2012, 22:35ALBERT, forget about the USA torture, what we are talking about is torture right here in SVG, police beat confessions from people on a regular basis. They beat them with rubber hoses and other instruments, picking people up and slamming them on the floor. Remember police officers were convicted of doing that and they are still working as police officers, still in their old jobs. We employ criminals as police officers.
This shows that the ULP government condone torture, and thats not fiction, its fact.
Posted by Peter | May 29, 2012, 22:43
Posted by ulpforever | May 30, 2012, 07:14
Posted by Jahu | May 30, 2012, 07:18Do the cubans at the airport earn more than Vincentian minimum wage?Wouldn’t that count as trafficking and exploitation?
Posted by Jahu | May 30, 2012, 07:21JAHU, brilliant, your quite right. But as further infomation for everyone, here is the way the Cuban employment thing works.
SVG pay the Cuban Government $375 weekly for ordinary workers and much more for those with special skills. The Cuban government pay the Cuban workers, how much I do not know, but the rate of a labourer in Cuba is less than US$30 a month.
Your quite right that is trafficing and exploitation.
The problem with using Cuban workers is that the money paid for them never circulates in our economy, it benefits the Cuban economy.
It also means that Vincentian workers are without jobs, and those that are employed are underpaid or paid late.
All this happens because Gonsalves wants show Cuba what a good Marxist he is.
Using the Cubans increases the airport wage bill by 300%
Posted by Peter | May 30, 2012, 14:37JAHU, I heard of a big flap a few years ago, where the CUBAN GOVERNMENT was said to have objected MOST STRENUOUSLY to our SVG normal level of wages being paid to their doctors and nurses who were IMPORTED TO WORK HERE.
The compromise solution was that the SVG government would pay the Cuban workers AT THEIR MUCH LOWER COMMUNIST RATE – - – AND THE SVG government would forward THE DIFFERENCE OF THE MJCH HIGHER SVG WAGES vis-a-vis the cuban rate TO THE COMMUNIST CUBAN GOVERNMENT.
Their workers, here, were NOT ALLOWED TO BE REMUNERATED AT THE SVG LEVEL.
They said that that would lead to those workers, and others back in Cuban demanding higher wages and better conditions of work – - – and maybe seek to MIGRATE or DEFECT.
Note that the Cubans have to apoly for and get a COMMUNIST EXIT VISA – - – before they are normally allowed to leave the country – - – even for a vacation or other overseas visit – - – TO ANY DESTINATION ON THEIR OWN.
ALL THIS hula-balu was being noised about aroun the time when those CUBAN NATIONALS ATTEMPTED TO DEFECT, AND THE ‘dg’ and CUBAN SECRET POLICE and COMMUNIST PARTY MINDERS nabbed them – - – following the SVG authorities failing to permit them adequate protection and freedom of movement. Those were among the earlier set who came here under the ulp mal-administration.
Posted by STEVE_HUGGINS | May 30, 2012, 19:48So, PETER, by that measure, THE SVG GOVERNMENT IS A COMPLICIT PARTY, AND EVIL COLLABORATOR, TO THE WICKED EXPLOITATION OF THOSE CUBAN WORKERS IN SVG?
Isn’t the Government not therefore, in actual VIOLATION of the LABOUR LAWS OF SVG?
HOW MORE ILLEGITIMATE can a corrupt political MIS-GOVERNMENT get? SVLP usurpers, subverters, and saboteurs. Political party thieves. The tiefers of political parties.
Representations urgently need to be made to the U.N. International Labour Organization [ I, L. O. ] on the behalf of these communistically, physically and economically, exploited Cuban workers – - – in addition to the U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, the U.N. COMMISSION FOR REFUGEES, and U,N.E.S.C.O.
me falta. me falta. me falta. me falta. me falta. me falta. POBRE COMPADRES.
Posted by STEVE_HUGGINS | May 31, 2012, 08:50STEVE-HUGGINS, there are two ways of interpreting this situation,
Vincentians are being denied jobs in favor of Cubans, Vincentians are going hungry, children unable to go to school, that must be human rights abuse by the state of SVG.
Cubans workers are being exploited by the Cuban government, isn’t that a form of slavery, abuse and trafficking by a state.
In fact the abuser is Donkey Dung Gonsalves, because he and he alone created the situation. He created the situation because he wants to pay a tithe to Cuba, and it is in line with his Marxist doctrine.
RALPH GONSALVES IS THE LABOUR LAWS, HE SIGNS CONTRACTS WHICH ARE UNCONSTUTIONAL AND UNENFORCEABLE, HE IS THE LAW, WITH COLIN WILLIAMS AS DPP, GONSALVES IS UNTOUCHABLE.
STEVE, they didn’t steal the party, they purchased it for value, they paid cash for it. The deal was struck on a dirty Beeche
WAKE UP PEOPLE AND SMELL THE SULPHUR, THE DUNG AND THE ROTTING WOUND. NO WONDER HIS WOMEN SLEEPS IN A SEPARATE ROOM. NO WONDER HE WANDERS THE GARDEN AT 4AM IN THE MORNING.
GONSALVES BEWARE, HEED THE SAYING THAT “THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM”, KEEP IT IN YOUR TROUSERS YOU ARE IN DANGER.
Just a reminder in case we forget.
Gonsalves is reasonable for the massacre of Syrian Children
Gonsalves is responsible to tell us where the US$1 million in cash came from.
Gonsalves is responsible for the slaughter if Christians in Iran.
Gonsalves is responsible for the payment to 60 farmers at Argyle for their land stolen by the state.
Gonsalves is responsible for the failure of bananas.
Gonsalves is responsible for the state of our roads.
Gonsalves is responsible for the crime in SVG.
Gonsalves is a liar..
Posted by Peter | May 31, 2012, 13:47Heard about the “Chinese ROT” those WWII western pilots in SOUTH EAST ASIA used to talk so much about? They say absolutely EVERYTHING of mr.william ROTS OFF! Ah doan wish dat every on me wuss enemy . . . so, be careful . . .
Posted by STEVE_HUGGINS | June 4, 2012, 12:08STEVE-HUGGINS, are you referring to the deadly knob rot, a kind of abscess on the helmet. Ask nursey about the required treatment, she is an expert, and has traveled to the orient to get more experience.
Posted by Peter | June 12, 2012, 20:46