BAHAMAS MONTHLY -- MAY 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000362

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO ECON PGOV PREL BF
SUBJECT: BAHAMAS MONTHLY -- MAY 2009


1. (U) This is a monthly report on a variety of topics of interest
which do not merit full reporting cables.

-- Opposition Leadership Digging in as Economy Sinks?
-- Continuing Criminal Justice Crisis: Bad Guys Doing the Crime,
Not Doing the Time
-- Another Temporary Hotel Closure, More Job Cuts Feared
-- Heavy Rains Soak Thirsty Island, Preview Upcoming Hurricane
Season as Embassy Readies
-- Bahamas.com Reels in More On-line Tourists
-- Pageant Tempest: Miss Bahamas Universe Crown Disputed

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Opposition Leadership Digging
in as Economy Sinks?
--------------


2. (SBU) The incumbent leadership of the opposition Progressive
Liberal Party (PLP),with ex-Prime Minister Perry Christie at the
helm, appears to be digging in its heels as the economy sinks.
Political observers now expect that the Deputy Leader of the PLP,
ex-Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia "Mother" Pratt, will seek to remain
in office beyond the next party convention in October 2009. She had
previously signaled her intent to leave front-line politics for
personal reasons, leading to a poorly-disguised and sometimes
unseemly public competition among her would-be successors.


3. (SBU) The Deputy Leader post is thought to be a stepping-stone
to the party leadership still tightly gripped by the former PM. If
Pratt too remains in office, the door will be all but closed to
ambitious activists aspiring to climb the PLP leadership ladder
without challenging Christie directly. Despite the PLP's continuing
infighting and poor reviews of its effectiveness in government and
out, including the leak of an embarrassing report analyzing the
reasons for their shock May 2007 election defeat, change may not be
coming to the PLP anytime soon after all. The top PLP incumbents
may now calculate that daunting economic troubles provide a
favorable backdrop for a 2012 rematch with the governing Free
National Movement.


--------------
Continuing Criminal Justice
Crisis: Bad Guys Doing the
Crime, Not Doing the Time
--------------


4. (SBU) A daily newspaper published figures in mid-May from a
government report showing how many accused violent criminals were
being released on bail -- possibly to commit more violent crimes --
leading to another outcry over the poor functioning of the criminal
justice system and more criticism of the government's law
enforcement performance. After a court of appeal ruling May 21
overturned a law denying bail to accused violent criminals,
reactions from beleaguered anti-crime campaigners, church leaders,
and ordinary citizens sharpened. Lawyers pointed out that judges
retain the discretion to deny bail, but citizens fear that more
violent offenders will pour into the streets as courts fail to try
them in a timely manner.


5. (SBU) The Bahamian public is also beset by a seemingly endless
spiral of crime and violence juicily reported in the daily news
cycle. May was no different. Ex-Deputy Prime Minister Pratt
witnessed a daylight bank hold-up while waiting in line for the
teller. A "Wild West-style" street shootout ensued after bystanders
intervened to stop a purse-snatching in progress: when the would-be
mugger pulled a gun and began firing, another passer-by returned
fire with a shotgun! In other demoralizing items, a 19-year old
woman was killed and dumped in an open grave, while the head of
airport security was shot during an apparent robbery attempt. With
across-the-board budget cuts looming, Bahamian criminals are likely
to keep doing the crime without much fear of doing the time.

--------------
Another Temporary Hotel Closure,
More Job Cuts Feared
--------------


6. (U) In the latest in a series of closures or layoffs resulting
from the global economic downturn, Hotel Riu management announced
they will close the hotel for renovations from August to December,
the traditional slow season. The move will hit 300 hundred workers
at the hotel, many of whom will be forced to use three to four weeks
of paid vacation while the hotel is closed. The temporary closure
follows in the footsteps of similar plans by the Wyndham and other
hotels in The Bahamas. While Hotel Riu has not laid off any
employees so far, many fear that staff reductions are the next step
for the Paradise Island resort.

--------------
Heavy Rains Soak Thirsty

NASSAU 00000362 002 OF 002


Island, Preview Upcoming
Hurricane Season as
Embassy Readies
--------------


7. (U) Sun-seeking tourists were disappointed but at least some
rain-starved locals celebrated a two week-long series of sometimes
violent thunderstorms bringing heavy downpours in late May. At
first the rain brought much-needed relief to parched lawns and
gardens, but the island was thoroughly sodden by the end of the
month. Lightning reportedly struck the airport control tower May
25, temporarily disrupting flight operations, and the sustained
rainstorms flooded roads, complicated already congested traffic, and
caused power outages again May 29.


8. (U) All of it amounted to a preview of the upcoming hurricane
season, which kicked off June 1. Embassy Nassau preparations are
well under way. Post hosted the visit of a senior USAID Office of
Foreign Disaster Assistance official, who met with local emergency
agencies and the Hurricane Action Committee May 27. Post also
hosted two hurricane preparedness town hall meetings, separately
providing employees and American citizens with guidelines and
encouraging everyone to begin preparations now. The National
Hurricane Center predicts a normal Atlantic hurricane season in

2009. As always, Embassy Nassau is hoping for a quiet season but
preparing for the worst.

--------------
Bahamas.com Reels in More
On-line Tourists
--------------


9. (U) The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation said the new tourism
website -- www.bahamas.com -- has been a huge success. The ministry
reported a 24 percent increase in the number of hits to the website
in April 2009 compared to April 2008, and a 10 percent year-to-date
increase in visitors despite the economic downturn. The website was
launched in October 2008 and includes the ability to book trips to
The Bahamas directly from the site. It also boasts interactive maps
of all the diverse Bahamian islands, which the ministry hopes to
individually brand as travel destinations. The Tourism Ministry has
also begun promoting special events on-line -- the promotion of the
filming of the U.S. television show "Scrubs" in Abaco earlier this
year brought 17,000 visitors to the website. Ministry
representatives said visitors that booked vacation packages on
bahamas.com average 64 percent more in value than those booking in
other ways.

--------------
Pageant Tempest: Miss Bahamas
Universe Crown Disputed
--------------


10. (U) In perhaps the least consequential yet most heated of
current social controversies, the title of Miss Bahamas Universe
2009 -- not to be confused with Miss Bahamas World, also chosen in
early June -- is being disputed by backers of disgruntled
contestants, as well as by many ordinary viewers of the event who
immediately concluded that the fix was in. The much-coveted crown
was taken by a well-known vocalist and front-woman of a local band,
but many cried foul at the outcome as suspicions of a rigged process
reverberated throughout the country. The judges' justifications
appeared to do little to assuage the outrage as the final tally was
upheld. Nota bene: the Miss Universe pageant will take place at
Atlantis, Paradise Island this August, showcasing the new Miss
Bahamas Universe -- as elected -- on a global stage without ever
leaving home.

ZUNIGA-BROWN