Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5823/-1/135/
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Banks Clears Air About A New Anguilla Democratic Party
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The announcement that the Anguilla Democratic Party (ADP) is reorganising itself under the principles of its constitution, with the aim of contesting the next general election on the island and bringing about change, has brought swift reaction from the Hon. Victor Banks, former Political Leader of that party.
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The Honourable Victor F. Banks
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The announcement, on which Mr. Banks has provided clarification, was made in a press release published in The Anguillian last week in which the contact persons were mentioned as being Mr. Julian Harrigan and Mr. Leroy Rogers. According to that release, the party was “encouraging former members, dormant members or interested individuals to register as supporters or members of the Anguilla Democratic Party.”
In 2000 the ADP entered an agreement with the Anguilla National Alliance to form a single political party known as the “Anguilla United Front” which subsequently became the present Government of Anguilla.
Writing to The Anguillian from his home address at Sachasses Estate in The Valley, Mr. Banks stated that “present executive members of the Anguilla United Front who were original members of the ADP in 2000 are both surprised and confused by this new initiative.” He suggested that “a new party with a new name would lend itself to a new and clearer alternative for the future.”
The full text of Mr. Banks’ letter to the Editor of The Anguillian is as follows:
“As the Political Leader of the Anguilla Democratic Party before it became a signatory to the United Front Agreement on January 7th 2000, I would like to give clarification to a release which appeared in your paper regarding that party. I do so without any intention of standing in the way of what is being proposed or to obstruct anyone’s candidacy. This correspondence is merely to state the facts surrounding the United Front Agreement and what they imply.
The first paragraph of that Agreement reads as follows:
‘The United Front was fashioned by the leadership of the Anguilla National Alliance and the Anguilla Democratic Party after consultation with and advice from members and supporters of both Parties. It is the
outcome of months of discussion and debate to establish a principled basis for working together. It reflects the commitment of the Partnersto promote accountability, transparency, openness and responsibility in government and politics in Anguilla.’
The entire ‘Agreement of the Partners to the United Front’ is found on page seven of their 2000-2005 Manifesto and signed by the Party Chairmen and Political Leaders of both parties. For the Anguilla National Alliance (ANA) the signatories were Chairman Sir Emile Gumbs and Political Leader Osbourne B. Fleming witnessed by Samuel Connor and Blondell Rodgiers and for the Anguilla Democratic Party the signatories were Chairman Ashton Bradley and Political Leader Victor F. Banks witnessed by Jerome Roberts and Jeffrey Carty. The agreement was signed in the Hon. Atlin R. Harrigan Parliamentary Building on January 7th, 2000.
At the time of the signing, the objectives of the United Front were clearly set out and are recorded on page two of the 2000 Manifesto. Two paragraphs in particular discuss the issue of unification as follows:
‘The two parties will maintain their sepaateness as political organisations, but will develop collaboration politically and not act merely in Government, in order to bring the people of Anguilla closer politically, to promote common understanding and ultimately unity.
The present initiative is not an attempt to unify the partners into a single political party. The partners are prepared to discuss the question of unification and to promote ongoing debate and discussion on it and will keep the issue under review over the period of existence of the United Front.’
The United Front partners in keeping with this agreement ran under separate symbols in the 200 general election but after five years of successful collaboration presented a united party in 2005. The Anguilla United Front partners to give credibility to this unification retired their original party symbols, namely, “the Hand” and “the Clock” and ran under the symbol of the “Beacon”. The retirement of the “Hand and the Clock” was done legally and completely to the extent that both these symbols were removed from Schedule 2 of the Elections Act. No party can now use those symbols under the present schedule.
For further purposes of clarification it must be said here that none of the signatories to the Partnership Agreement in 2000 are now part of the present proposal to form a new party called the “Anguilla Democratic Party”. It is also noteworthy that while there is talk of alternative there still seems to be a wish to hang on to old labels. It is in this context, that the present executive members of the Anguilla United Front who were originally members of the ADP in 2000 are both surprised and confused by this initiative. The motives of this new development under the banner of change are therefore, to say the least, unclear. Perhaps a new party with a new name would lend itself to a new and clearer alternative for the future.
Sincerely,
Victor F. Banks
Deputy Political Leader, Anguilla United Front.”