Asot slams Spencer’s threat of “religious war”

Excerpt from MP Asot Michael’s April 15th, 2010 presentation to the people of St John’s Rural West

Baldwin Spencer whose seat in the Antiguan and Barbuda Parliament has been declared vacant by the court, is promising to plunge the country into religious war better known to the global campaign against terrorism as a “JIHAD” through which he wants to start “CLEANSING”.

“I want to say tonight right here at Green Bay School in the constituency of St John’s Rural West, from tomorrow the situation change… We have had enough… and from tomorrow, the war will start… I don’t know how much longer I have but for whatever period remains we are going to have to deal with the situation… All joke stop now… And I am saying to my ministers we have to prepare to take action in all their ministries…

“Brother and sisters, this is war… I am in a fighting mood tonight… When it’s time for war, it’s time for war… I am saying it’s time for war… This is a just war, this is a religious war… I am serious, I am very serious… We must do what we have to do… the real fight is on… And as of tomorrow, we are going to begin the process of doing what we have to do… the process of cleansing will start tomorrow… that is the promise I am making…”

The angry and hopelessly out of control Spencer, spoke at an April 2010 town hall meeting in Green Bay

And he brought Errol Cort to justify waging war on public servants because the UPP believes they are ungrateful to be supporting the return of the caring governance policies of the Antigua Labour Party. Imagine that!

The poor people of this constituency need the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter for their families… they need jobs… they need proper education… they need reliable health care… they need to break free from the suffering and pain they have been forced to endure under the uncaring and incompetent UPP regime… they need to be able to afford the burdensome cost of living that Baldwin Spencer has punished them with… They are crying out for help, they want the government to ease up on the hardships that condemn them to greater poverty with every passing day… And all Baldwin Spencer can offer is more hatred of Lester Bird, Gaston Browne, Asot Michael and the Antigua Labour Party… and the angry cry of war

You cry out for peace… Baldwin wants war

You cry out for justice… Baldwin wants war

You cry out for an end to crime and violence… Baldwin wants war

You cry out for food on your table… for money in your pockets… Baldwin wants war

He has deprived you of millions of dollars that could have been spent for the benefit of the people of this constituency… He corruptly used those millions of dollars of the people’s money to hound us in the courts for the past five years. All he has to show for this outrageous abuse of public funds is a series of defeats in judgments of the court that confirm he is recklessly wasting the people’s money to finance his agenda of hate and his obsession with war

With every chest beating declaration of war, this man is hopeful that he can use the power of the state to intimidate us into submission.

He dreams… For, we are not afraid… The Antigua Labour Party is not afraid. As the song says: “If dem ah come let dem come… Labour is protected by the Most High One…”

The only man who is afraid is Winston Baldwin Spencer.

He is afraid because the courts have spoken… his election last year was invalid… null and void… in other words he is now relying on legal technicalities to hang on for dear life to a seat he did not win

He is afraid because the people have spoken… the people have said, loud and clear, that he can’t run the country and so he must give the leadership back to the Antigua Labour Party

This great Deceiver knows the Black March marked the beginning of the end for his trickery and deception of the proud people of Antigua and Barbuda particularly the extremely patient constituents St John’s Rural West.

Antigua and Barbuda - Documents Gone Missing from the High Court

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ALP) has learned that three very important documents, prepared by the Elections Judge in the three petitions which successfully voided the elections of three members of parliament, have gone missing from the High Court.

When the decisions in the Elections Court were delivered yesterday, March 31, 2010, the Honourable Judge attached certificates to her written decisions which were placed within a carton, and were intended for delivery to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The certificates are essential in concluding the cases and ensuring that all steps -which the law commands- have been taken by the Judge. Those certificates have been stolen and cannot now be found for delivery to the Speaker of the House.

The ALP condemns this unlawful act by person or persons unknown. One petitioner has written to the Commissioner of Police, informing him of the theft and declaring his willingness to share additional information with the Police in order to trigger a criminal investigation of the missing certificates.
Since the United Progressive Party has had its slim majority in the Parliament reduced to a minority, by the ruling of the Judge on Wednesday afternoon, person or persons unknown have conspired to delay the implementation of the decisions.

The ALP condemns this criminal act and seeks the assistance of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda.

The ALP has also begun the drafting of the necessary documentation to undo the ex parte order of Justice Harris who, on Wednesday afternoon, granted a stay-of-execution to the UPP respondents following oral arguments within his chambers. The lawyers for the ALP were not invited to attend the hearing. The ALP is of the view that the Judge does not have the authority to grant such an order. Those papers to reverse the Judge’s order will be filed on Tuesday morning following the end of the Easter holidays.

MEET ANTIGUAN PARLIAMENTARIAN ASOT MICHAEL

Every now and then, the political landscape in our island democracies is visited by a rare breed of politician who epitomizes the spirit of service above self, who devotedly places his possessions at the disposal of those in need, who “walks with kings but never loses the common touch”, and who gets things done by “keeping his head about him” even as others are “losing theirs and blaming it on him”. One such politician is the down to earth man MP Asot Michael

Since March 2004, the blessing of that extraordinary brand of political representation has been in the hands of the people of the St Peter’s constituency in the man Asot Michael.

“I give thanks and praise for my beloved constituents with whom I have been privileged to develop a personal bond built on a solid foundation of love and mutual respect for each other that transcends narrow, partisan politics”.

In all he does in politics and government, Asot Michael operates with a passion for excellence, a hunger for results and an uncommon love for people, their well being and progress.

“I have always been that way… Politics has always been in my blood I grew up in a family where my parents and grandparents were always looking out for people and wanting to see them succeed as well as they could. My father Patrick Michael sacrificed his business in support of the Antigua Labour Party during its darkest days in the 1970’s. And the Michael generation before him was even more involved in the socio-political life of Antigua and Barbuda.

“So I guess as far as it concerns politics and working with people, I have just been living the values I picked up from my family… Then there were all the valuable little lessons I learned from some of the best politicians in Antigua and Barbuda like Papa VC Bird, Lester Bird and Tim Hector. But I think the most important thing is that I really enjoy what I do…” Says Asot Michael

Indeed, to see Asot leading a convoy of trucks through every street in the constituency personally delivering Christmas and New Year goodies to every family is to be up close with a politician in peace and harmony with his purpose.

And when MP Asot Michael rises in Parliament to articulate concerns about the good and just governance of Antigua and Barbuda, it is crystal clear that the darling of St Peter’s is not just in tune with his people development mission but also destined to ensure it succeeds.

“The people of this country know that they were better off under the ALP and it is their money the UPP has recklessly taxed out of them to create the UPP version of heaven on earth – the fattening of big government from the sweat and toil of poor people"

“So the people who came first with Labour have actually ended up last under the UPP and we have to change that… We have to return to the good old days of people doing well instead of catching hell”.

As a Minister of Government Asot Michael demonstrated critical competencies and emerged as one of the most successful government negotiators on major investment projects and assistance programmes. With his excellent people skills he was able to build a valuable network of political and business leaders from around the world which remains a reliable resource for translating global contacts into advantages for Antigua and Barbuda.

Apart from the simple truth that he is a caring, down-to-earth people’s person, his rapidly growing army of fans around Antigua and Barbuda admires the fact that Asot has distinguished himself as a man who gets the job done in the public interest regardless of the difficulties encountered in the process.

As one elderly resident of Parham put it, “Others make excuses, Asot makes it happen”.

One of Asot’s main strengths as a politician is his proven ability to define and articulate the next level of advancement for the people he represents. Accordingly, and given the UPP engineered reversals in the welfare of the people since 2004, he is knows better than anyone else there is tremendous work to be done.

Under the incumbent’s leadership, this constituency has led the way in recent years in privately funded facilities for sports, recreation, computer technology and food delivery. Asot Michael has also been exemplary in using his own personal resources in the causes of less burdensome cost of living, proper infrastructure, crime reduction, adequate health care and education throughout the constituency.

Asot Michael's vision is fundamentally about economic transformation capable of generating the opportunities that will allow constituents to do better for themselves, their families and their loved-ones

• Modernization of the physical landscape (residential and commercial properties, infrastructure) throughout the constituency.
• Establishment of a proper foundation for investments in the tourism of the future, particularly in the emerging residential tourism niche market to create a platform for lasting economic and employment opportunities.
• Establishment of model eco villages/communities utilizing renewable energy as a tourist attraction and as an example of the future direction for Antigua and Barbuda and the rest of the region.

Asot Michael, the ALP’s candidate for St Peter’s is anxious to move ahead with the party’s plan to modernize local government across Antigua and Barbuda through the creation and introduction of high performance community committees/councils working in collaboration with the Parliamentary Representative to discharge the day to day responsibilities of constituency development.

The principal target areas for the work of the community committees/councils will be economic and business opportunities, safety and security, infrastructure, human development and social affairs.

Visit Asot Michael Main Website