Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BRIDGETOWN220
2008-04-01 12:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bridgetown
Cable title:  

ST. VINCENT: PM'S (FIRST) RAPE CASE HIJACKED BY

Tags:  KCRM PGOV INRB PHUM PREL ASEC XL VC 
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FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6298
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
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RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000220 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: KCRM PGOV INRB PHUM PREL ASEC XL VC
SUBJECT: ST. VINCENT: PM'S (FIRST) RAPE CASE HIJACKED BY
POLITICS

REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 58

B. BRIDGETOWN 78

C. BRIDGETOWN 134

Classified By: PolOff Arend Zwartjes for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000220

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: KCRM PGOV INRB PHUM PREL ASEC XL VC
SUBJECT: ST. VINCENT: PM'S (FIRST) RAPE CASE HIJACKED BY
POLITICS

REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 58

B. BRIDGETOWN 78

C. BRIDGETOWN 134

Classified By: PolOff Arend Zwartjes for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The judge reviewing the Director of Public
Prosecutions' (DPP's) February decision to "discontinue" the
rape case against Prime Minister Gonsalves has ruled that the
DPP acted properly and within the parameters of the law. The
lawyers for the accuser have appealed the case, and have
filed separate rape charges against the Prime Minister on
behalf of another woman. In addition, they intimated that
more women have stepped forward, claiming that they too were
raped by Gonsalves. The rape case has further polarized a
community already sharply divided along party lines, and the
handling of the case--notably the Prime Minister's seeming
intervention on his own behalf and refusal to recuse himself
as security chief to allow an impartial investigation--has
alienated large swaths of civil society, leading many to
conclude that the courts are no longer independent when it
comes to government figures. If the allegations gain any
sort of momentum, however, PM Gonsalves may be forced to call
early elections and the political stability of the country
could be undermined. End Summary.

DPP's Actions Upheld
--------------


2. (U) On February 28, 2008, Justice Gertel Thom heard
arguments regarding the legality of the Director of Public
Prosecution's (DPP) decision in early February to take over
and "discontinue" the criminal rape case against Prime
Minister Ralph Gonsalves (Ref B). Justice Thom then ruled on
March 12th that she found "no arguable grounds for a review"
of the DPP's actions, finding that the constitution allows
for the DPP to intervene in certain circumstances. According
to Thom, "it was not necessary for the Director of Public
Prosecutions to take over the complaints before he
discontinued them. However, having taken over, under Section

64 (of the SVG Constitution) he was empowered to discontinue
them at any time before judgment." One of the accuser's
lawyers, Emery Robertson, announced his team's plans to
appeal the ruling immediately to the Privy Council (the court
of final appeal in SVG).


3. (U) Immediately following the announcement of Thom's
ruling, one of Gonsalves's attorneys, Anthony Astaphan of
Dominica, participated in a Grenada radio call-in program and
hinted that the Prime Minister might counter-sue the accuser,
calling the rape charges a "frontal attack on the
administration of justice". According to press reports, he
also called the matter "political and ridiculous," and said
he did not think the Prime Minister should allow the matter
to rest.

ULP Stages "Pro-Rape Rally"
--------------


4. (C) PolOffs met with two of the three lawyers representing
the PM's accuser March 18-19. According to Kay
Bacchus-Browne, "the Police Commissioner purposively did not
investigate the matter" of the alleged rape, and she pointed
out the many conflicts of interest clouding the Prime
Minister's case, since Gonsalves himself appointed the
Commissioner of Police, and in practice, he also appoints the
DPP. Bacchus-Browne noted that the "control of
administrative arms are in the government's control",
virtually ensuring that a case against the PM could not
receive a fair hearing. She emphasized that despite
Gonsalves's claims that this was a political ploy, "he was
the one who turned this into a political matter", citing the
recent "Support De Comrade" rally held by the ruling Unity
Labour Party to express support for the Prime Minister (also
crudely described by one Embassy contact as a "pro-rape
rally").


5. (C) Bacchus-Browne lamented that the Prime Minister's
police-woman accuser has been put on the street beat at
night, a position that puts her in further danger of reprisal
violence, since her picture has been published in local
newspapers and the PM named his accuser publicly. She also
described the death threats received by herself and the two
other lawyers during the course of the rape case, adding that
she had been followed by police and believed their phone
lines had been bugged. She did concede that once they
reported the threats, the police took statements from them

and opened an investigation. Bacchus-Browne repeated earlier
requests for assistance in having evidence DNA-tested (Refs A
and B),noting that "We have no doubt what would happen if we
trusted the (local) system" and reiterating her assertion
that police had already destroyed what they believed to be
evidence form the crime scene.

"A Very Uncomfortable Atmosphere"
--------------


6. (C) PolOffs then met with a second lawyer for the accuser,
Nicole Sylvester, who is also the President of the St.
Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association and who
first informed the Embassy of the rape case and requested
assistance (Ref A). Sylvester said she had just returned
from a "secret" trip to Trinidad, in which she successfully
smuggled the policewoman's uniform (the key evidence) out of
the country. Sylvester said that she had identified a US
company, NFC Global, that does due diligence work and was
willing to test the evidence outside of law enforcement
channels.


7. (C) Admitting that there is "a very uncomfortable
atmosphere" in St. Vincent at the moment, Sylvester claimed
that she too has been followed by police and received death
threats. In her efforts to engage international human rights
groups, Sylvester explained that Amnesty International had
expressed interest in the matter, and delivered over 300
letters to the Police Commissioner, the Superintendent of
Police, and to the Foreign Minister, all expressing concern
about the handling of the rape case. Sylvester further noted
that while in Trinidad, a reporter from the Trinidad Express
who had interviewed Gonsalves claimed that he told the
reporter off-record that "the whole thing was concocted by
the CIA."

The Other Shoe Ready To Drop
--------------


8. (C) Both Sylvester and Bacchus-Browne informed PolOffs
that they have filed a second, separate rape charge with the
Family Court, on behalf of a second accuser. According to
Sylvester, several women have come forward claiming to have
been raped by the Prime Minister, though several are not
willing to press charges because they do not want to get
involved. Sylvester noted that one of these women is a
lawyer at the Family Court, another is a lecturer at the
University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados, and a third,
currently considering filing charges, is an expat living in
Toronto. Sylvester added that at least one accuser claimed
that the alleged rape was committed in the Prime Minister's
office. In Sylvester's words, "these are all things that
happened to women because he abused the power of his
position".

The Political Divide Deepens
--------------


9. (C) Sylvester further noted the government's tendency to
politicize any issue, and Bacchus-Browne opined that the
population of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is now highly
polarized. As detailed in Ref B, the matter was in fact
first made public by the Prime Minister, though the
Opposition NDP later boycotted a session of Parliament in
protest of the Prime Minister's failure to step down while
the investigation continued. In a private meeting with
PolOffs, Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace noted his
particular concern that the Prime Minister did not divest
himself of the National Security Portfolio, since in that
capacity he directly oversees the work of the Commissioner of
Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions, a rather
glaring conflict of interest. While many Vincentians appear
likewise outraged by this, many citizens believe Gonsalves's
claim that this is a political accusation manufactured by the
NDP. The senior reporter for the pro-government Searchlight
newspaper, Kirby Jackson, told PolOffs that the NDP's attempt
to "use the accusation for political mileage has backfired".


10. (C) Several Embassy contacts expressed guarded optimism
that the Prime Minister will be forced at some point to call
early elections (which are not constitutionally due until
2010). The constitution does allow for rare circumstances in
which the Governor General can dictate that early elections
be announced, but short of widespread violence and chaos,
this is highly unlikely, especially since the Governor
General himself was appointed by Gonsalves and is considered
a politically ally. Meanwhile, people close to the case have

told us that the tension in the country extends into the
police forces themselves. While many (politically
appointed/promoted) senior officers back the PM, the
rank-and-file are reportedly deeply divided, with many beat
cops supporting the accuser and expressing dismay at the
damage to their reputation as a force and at the treatment of
a fellow officer.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) This case--along with the bungled investigation of a
recent high-profile murder case (Ref C)--appears to have
widely damaged general confidence in the independence of the
judiciary. It is clear that what should have been a legal
matter to be decided by the courts has become a political
football, with opinions on the Prime Minister's guilt or
innocence depending on one's party affiliation. Several
contacts (though none in government) have labeled the
handling of this case an international embarrassment for St.
Vincent, and have highlighted the contrasts between this case
and the handling of the allegations against New York Governor
Spitzer, which many on the island hold up as the model of
politicians not being above the law. Additional rape
charges, if they are pursued by alleged victims and if they
are made public, will certainly bring sustained pressure on
the Prime Minister, but it is not clear what it would take
for him to subordinate himself to rule of law. End comment.
OURISMAN