Virgin-Islands-On-Line's Coconut Telegraph

Turnbull Asks for FBI and DOJ to Speed Up Investigation and Answers

From the St. Thomas Source:

"Gov. Charles W. Turnbull took St. John's racial tensions to Washington, D.C. by asking U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to press for answers in the federal government's investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation into recent alleged racially-motivated crimes on St. John.

"The incidents have inflamed emotions in St. John and across the territory, resulting in a series of demonstrations and protest marches planned during the first week of October," the governor wrote to Gonzales.

He told Gonzales that the demonstrations are timed to coincide with the day residents commemorate Contract Day, "often referred to as the Fireburn, which is the anniversary of a slave uprising which occurred on St. Croix in 1878."

In fact, slavery ended 30 years earlier –– in 1848. The Fireburn was a workers' rebellion.

A rally, march and motorcade, a joint effort between groups from St. Croix and St. John, are scheduled for Saturday. A week of events including forums are also planned."

More here. Here's another snippet:

"However, Monique-Sibilly Hodge, assistant Tourism commissioner, said that so far, she's not gotten any reports from the territory's travel partners about the situation."

I mean, of course she is going to say that. No one in the industry is going to say anything, because it has the potential to be a very negative story for tourism, and the local economy. Unfortunately this doesn't seem like the kind of story that is just going to go away, or be ignored away. I am hoping that Saturday is a peaceful and calm day on St. John, for everyone's sake, but if things go bad, you can bet Ms. Sibilly-Hodge is going to be hearing a lot.

Posted by afinta at September 30, 2005 10:44 AM

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