BRIDGETOWN (CMC):
The government has announced that November 30 will no longer be known as Independence Day, but will be called Barbados National Day to incorporate celebrations for the anniversary of the country becoming a republic, sparking a public backlash. However, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has defended the decision.
The surprise announcement came from Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams on Tuesday as Barbadians entered Independence month and prepared to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Independence from Britain which coincides with the first anniversary of the country transitioning to a republic.
“Last Thursday, the Cabinet of Barbados took the decision to henceforth observe November 30th as Barbados National Day commemorating our independence from Britain in 1966 and our transition to a parliamentary republic in 2021,” Abrahams said.
“The national events on November 30th will culminate an entire month of celebrations comprising sporting activities, cultural and heritage-inspired activities.”
The disclosure came just over a year after Mottley declared in a national address that the move to republican status would not result in any change to the name of Independence Day.
“There is no change to the flag. There is no change to the name of Independence Day; there is no change to the name of Barbados. Barbados is Barbados. We’re not the Commonwealth of Barbados; we’re not the Republic of Barbados; Barbados is Barbados. We are also not changing our pledge,” she said in August 2021 when she announced that the then Governor General Dame Sandra Mason had been nominated to be the first President of Barbados.
The apparent about-turn led to criticism on various social media platforms.
The prime minister, who said she had “seen and heard the comments this afternoon on social media”, defended the name change in a statement late Tuesday night.
“Irrespective of how the government has felt about this issue last year and the decision we made, there is the reality that there has been confusion as to how the election of the first Barbadian Head of State would be celebrated without undermining the significance of November 30, 1966. It is not either one or the other. Both are milestones in our journey. And as a 56-year-old country we must act with our minds focused on the future,” she said.
Mottley insisted that “Barbados National Day on November 30 allows us to celebrate both the attainment of Independence and the attainment of becoming a Parliamentary Republic with a native Barbadian as president”.
“The fact is, our Independence from Britain is not being rewritten from our history. We can allay the fears of those who are concerned about that. But equally, we have to celebrate the election of our first president.
“We expect that some will continue to refer to both events as the day, but for the avoidance of doubt, we settle on an overall rubric that encompasses both events. And that is why we have settled on Barbados National Day – to celebrate two significant events in the life and journey of the sovereign State,” the prime minister maintained.
However, the president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood has called the decision a “stupid, downright callous and foolish move”.
“Independence doesn’t belong to the Democratic Labour Party or the Barbados Labour Party. It was never a party issue. Independence is just Independence. It is about Barbados, and to try to take away the day and rename it when nobody was asking for this, it just smacks of a legacy-building, personal project on the part of the prime minister,” he argued.
“And to be honest, I am angry and I know that lots of Barbadians are upset and angry about this. She crossed the line. She had no right to do this. Nobody asked for this, we don’t want it. Last year she said ‘we are not changing the name of independence.’ Now you come on the anniversary of the republic and what have you done? Changed the name of Independence [Day],” he asserted.
The DLP leader indicated that his political party will be engaging in “the necessary social pressure and agitation” to force the government to reverse its decision.
“We want this reversed. We are not going to stand for this. We want this name change to be reversed. So really, it’s not just about agitation, it is about at the end of this, we want action that Independence Day should stay as Independence Day. So whatever she needs to do to change this decision, she would be well advised to go and do that,” he said.