Guest commentary by Ian Mabon.

The following letter was published as a letter to the editor in The Tribune of Monday, February 26, 2007 and has been reprinted here with Mr. Mabon’s kind permission.

PLP exposes its hand on the race issue or Some of our political leaders should look in the mirror.

The real face of the PLP was exposed at the recent rally with the Prime Minister and Fred Mitchell holding center stage. The remarks of both of these men of supposedly superior intellect were nothing short of a feeble attempt to incite the masses to racial divisiveness.

Mr. Mitchell has an issue with Brent Symonette running for public office and possibly the leadership of the Government. Is this not the same office that Mr. Mitchell aspires to and so desperately pines for? What redeeming or endearing qualities does Mr. Mitchell possess that makes him a candidate better qualified than Mr. Symonette for high office, the fact that he’s black?

Are the ministerial qualities required for office now running to things such as peddling influence as well as other things, stashing used US hundred dollar bills in closets and being photographed with porn stars in compromising positions, just to name a few? Any citizen of this country, regardless of their colour, ethnicity or paternity, has the right to offer for public office so long as they are not a criminal, bankrupt or a lunatic. Judging from some of the happenings during the last few years, the Prime Minister should be taking a hard look at some of his own who might well fit any or all of these categories.

To add insult to injury, we have Mr. Rigby weighing in with “the struggle of blacks has not ended” and that black Bahamians are still looking for a share of the “economic” pie. However, if Mr. Rigby and his associates were honest with themselves, and if as Mr. Rigby states, the problem is not one of black and white, but rather one of economic empowerment for all Bahamians, the question begs, who is really depriving the black masses of empowerment, economic or otherwise.

Last time I checked, black folks have been running this country for the last 40 years and the white man has had little if any say in governing during that time. The bones of the white UBP oligarchy have long since turned to dust which has been scattered by the political winds, therefore Mssrs. Christie’s, Mitchell’s and Rigby’s efforts to breathe life into something so long dead goes beyond pathetic. If the PLP want someone to blame for the current woes that afflict our country, they need look no further than the mirror.