Everyone now preaches openness when they actually would prefer SHUT!

Being open and not secretive, especially when you are in government, is the ideal concept all governments like the public to believe.

It has, to some degree, been forced on governments largely because of social media. A smart phone is a very fast recorder of events as they happen And within minutes it is on the Internet for the whole world to see.

Places like China are still so blinkered they try to stop this by attempting to block the Internet without realizing they are attempting to push the waves of the sea back from coming forward.

In a much smaller way some government departments will attempt to be silent on matters that they should immediately address and go public with.

A case in point is the recent revelations from the Human Rights Commission (HRC) who made it public last week by sending copies of letters they had sent to government departments relating to information it discovered by speaking with refugees we are detaining here.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement on June 27 (see iNews Cayman story ”Cayman Islands Home Affairs issues statement on Immigration Detention Centre” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/cayman-islands-home-affairs-issues-statement-on-immigration-detention-centre/. There is a link there to the HRC letters we also published.

Instead of just saying the incidents were under investigation they have to add to the public’s indignation of what is happening there by the now out of date phraseology it was “disappointing that the HRC has chosen to publish communications that carry an accusatory undertone of inaction on the part of the Ministry and other supporting departments.

“The decision of the HRC to engage in a public relations endeavour on matters with implications for security, safety, and well-being of detained migrants ahead of a completed investigation is fundamentally contrary to good practice and natural justice.”

Oh come on now. “….fundamentally contrary to good practice and natural justice.” The standard wording from the Bible of Gobbledegook”!

One of the letters sent by the HRC to government was dated May 19th! The other letter was more recent – June 8th.

The public only has to look at that to judge for themselves on any perceived “inaction”. However, the Home Affairs reply clearly makes that point for themselves!

We can now perceive from the tone of this reply that none of the public would have been informed “as quickly” (if ever) of what was happening at the detention centres and the steps being taken to remedy the serious conditions and irregularities going on there.

The Home Affairs reply even attempts to decry the investigations executed by the HRC by adding in the phrase, “Based on the limited information presented by the HRC…”

That tells us immediately the Home Affairs are not happy at all the HRC were executing investigations there. That phrase was totally unnecessary and the correct one would have been to say how happy they were the HRC had brought it to their attention.

Unfortunately the Home Affairs Ministry have made themselves appear worse than they probably are. It is a difficult situation they are in and public can be forgiving but not when the HRC are berated by them for being “open” and not shutting the door.

Incredibly too, the Ministry said neither the Department of Immigration nor the prison had received a formal complaint from any detained migrant regarding the use of drugs, consensual sexual activity, or sexual assault at main detention centre or the civic centres.

They seem surprised. Who on earth would the Cuban migrants complain to? The very people who were executing the offences?

I am shaking my head in wonderment.

It would seem the Ministry are shooting themselves in the foot. There are times when they should “shut up”.

I know they wish I would!