BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):
A decision recently made by the administration of Prime Minister Mia Mottley to rename Independence Day has been reversed following backlash from several citizens.
Earlier this week, Mottley announced that November 30 will no longer be known as Independence Day, but it will be called Barbados National Day to incorporate celebrations for the anniversary of the country becoming a republic.
Mottley said she had “seen and heard the comments this afternoon on social media”, but defended the name change in a statement late Tuesday night.
However, things changed late Wednesday and minister of home affairs, information and public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams, said the response of Barbadians from all walks of life have been swift and vocal, with the overwhelming majority, not in favour of the change or of its timing.
Abrahams, who is also chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee on national events, in November, released a statement saying it is “clear that now is not the time”.
“I will recommend that the status quo be preserved and that we celebrate November 30, 2022, as Independence Day,” he said.
This decision follows a statement from the president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, who called the decision a “stupid, downright callous and foolish move”.
Yearwood, who is a law lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, told reporters on Wednesday evening that the decision would have to be passed as an act of Parliament.
“It is something that would have to go to parliament. If you look at the Public Holidays Act of Barbados, Independence Day is noted as one of the listed holidays and it says November the 30th; that is Independence Day,” he said.
“So there is a legal aspect to this … It looks as if the government’s ability to simply rename Independence Day by Cabinet decision is not only wrong, it is also illegal because as far as I understand, I do not think that any act was passed in parliament.”
The DLP has begun to implement several strategies to combat the change and Yearwood has since created a petition to reverse what he calls a “hasty and unwanted decision”.
He said the party was also planning a peaceful protest match in The City from Queen’s Park to Independence Square, The City, over the weekend, and invited all Barbadians to participate.