A mid-day protest march organised by current and former members of the People’s Progressive Movement, the group Save Cayman, and North Side MLA Ezzard Miller drew more than 200 people.
“I’m glad to see the hundreds and hundreds of people here today,” said East End MLA Arden McLean. “It makes me feel good to know that some real people still call Cayman home and still love this country.”
Most of the demonstrators started at the Cricket Pitch in George Town and either walked or rode buses downtown to Heroes Square.
The march comes on the heels of two separate demonstrations held on Saturday. One group held a protest in opposition to the East End Seaport, another demonstration was a jobs rally held to support Premier McKeeva Bush and the United Democratic Party.
Many protesters in Tuesday’s march were present at the Saturday protest against the proposed seaport in East End, which they have labeled a ‘mega quarry’, and continued to express their concerns about the rate and nature of local development.
“I’m old, I won’t be here much longer, but I don’t want to see the island destroyed,” said protester Paul Hurlston.
In addition to concerns regarding proposed development projects, many protesters also called for the resignation of Premier McKeeva Bush as a result of recent claims that he is currently under police investigation.
“The East End quarry, the oil refinery, the closure of the West Bay road, the dredging in the North Sound… If we get rid of the corruption, all that will fall away,’ said protester David Wight.
Outside the Legislative Assembly the crowd chanted “McKeeva must go” and carried signs that read “Bush resign now”, “Push back when Bush comes to shove”, “Chicken cut teeth today bobo” and “What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas’, among others.
“I feel that the Cayman Islands is being dragged down the drain, you know?” said Esther Ebanks. “We are going to destruction under the leadership of the Premier and we feel that what he is doing is hurting our country and we must now stand up against his deeds.”
George Town MLA Ellio Solomon, a government backbencher, recently decried Tuesday’s march as “vulture politics” organised by opposition politicians.
“What they’re engaging in is nothing than a malicious and disruptive campaign of misinformation,” Mr. Solomon said to a group of United Democratic Party supporters Saturday.
Premier Bush told supporters that the protest leaders were merely using their followers to try and destroy his government.
“The country must suffer so they can get at me,” the Premier said.
Compass journalist Brent Fuller contributed to this report.
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Is nice to hear that only 200 people showed support for this political Protest.This showed the PPM still a minority unpopular party and the silent majority still alive and we are waiting for Mckeeva Bush to put these beautiful cayman islands back to work.Mckeeva please put us back to work and don’t get unfocused by the unpopular minority.
It pretty much goes like this
WE WANT WORK chant
Bush okay how about this idea
NO chant
Then a little while later
WE WANT WORK chant
Bush okay how about THIS idea
NO chant
Then a little while later
WE WANT WORK chant
Bush okay how about THIS idea
NO chant
So in other words. It doens’t matter how many idea’s Bush comes up with. The majority say NO but they still complain they are out of work.
How about SHUT UP, and let the Mr. Bush do his job. Get work in here for Caymanians. And shut your pie holes.
God, talk about complaining just to complain. ABOUT EVERYTHING.
There goes Arden, Ezzard and thier Cronies….
This low turnout for a march so highly publicized (Compass coverage, CNS overkill, Rooster nearly every morning) and encompassing so many seemingly popular issues (from the environment to the oil refinery to the East End Seaport to the moving of West Bay Road), suggests a far-smaller constituency in support of these causes than one might presume.
Although the event was cheer-led endlessly by Ezzard, Arden, Alden, Austin Harris and Gilbert McLean, the number of participants was minuscule which raises this uncomfortable question: Are the local media giving these strident elected members and their causes far more coverage than their support would suggest they deserve?
…many protesters also called for the resignation of Premier McKeeva Bush as a result of recent claims that he is currently under police investigation…..
Ummm – what about ‘innocent until proven guilty’?
Irrespective of who the once being investigated, what happened to living in a civil society!
lol… and Gilbert Mclean on Radio Cayman said as far as he see, it was about 600 people.
I totally disagree with the headline that they were only two hundred people in attendance at the march – whoever made that count must have had on blinders. There were at least between 400 – 5oo protesters in the parade. We were exercising out democratic right to a peaceful protect. I was heartened to see such a huge cross section of the population participating!
It was closer to eleventy billion, actually
Good job Big Berd. My words exactly. You are drowning. Somebody is trying to save you but because you dont like him, you dont take hold of the rope he has thrown out to you. You would rather drown than be saved.
All of the projects that Bush has announced to stimulate the economy, these people are rejecting outright. What they are saying is we dont want the economy to improve, we would just rather continue to suffer until some miracle happens.
What most Caymanians fail to understand is that Cayman is still a young country that still has alot of growing to do. Every year thousands of young men and women graduate school. How do you propose to give them jobs? Without economic growth Cayman will have its own diaspora. Born Caymanians will have no choice but to leave Cayman to look for jobs and a better life. It is already happening.
By and large, the people who are in favour of the Premier and his multitudinous projects are the foreigners who come here to make a killing in Cayman and then go back to whereever they came from. Because it is hard to believe that any right-thinking Caymanian who looks at the total picture of things, could agree with the destruction of the North Sound, the sale of the West Bay Road, and the destruction of the East End water lens, among other proposals. A true Caymanian who is thinking of the long term, and not just the short-term gain of a few dollars, would realize that in the end, he would lose more than he gains. This is called a pyrrhic victory, whereby the battle is won at too great a cost. Development is good, but at what cost to our natural resources and infrastructure? Caymanians, think carefully about what legacy you are leaving to your descendants. Once it’s gone, we cannot get it back. Is it worth it in the end?
Really, mamus? And I supposed all these foreigners who want to make killing in Cayman and then go back to whereever they came from elected the Premier by MIND CONTROL over Caymanians. Really?
When are right-thinking Caymanians going to stop blaming expats for the problems and wake up to the reality of 2011. Cayman needs foreigners. Get over it and get to work.
Mamus,
Let me guess. You are against the new Cruise ship pier, you are against the refinery, you are against the refurbishment of the old Courtyard Marriot, you are against the East End Seaport, you are against the sale and relocation of the dump, you are against the expansion of the Esterly Tibbets bypass, you are against the Shetty Cardiac hospital, you are against the Drug Rehabilitation Center, you are against the New Public Beach.
Now tell me, what are you for? Which project do you support?
How will Ezzard, Arden and Alden get this economy going.
Thats what I want to hear instead of political mudslinging.
Of a population of 40- 60,000 people living and working in the Cayman Islands and a turn out of only 600 people which according to Mr.Gilbert McLean and others verified and announced on rooster this morning. This only means one thing and that it is not very good: That the majority of people living in the Cayman Islands are X-pats who don’t give a damn what happens to this little country, they’ll just head home when things get bad or a tidal wave fills up the big hole Imperado wants to dig in east end. AND the rest of the people are frightened Freddy’s who live in fear of Big Mac’s big hand to seek retribution from them should they oppose him. The remainder of the population are just simply too weak, scared and ignorant of their democratic rights that are being violated daily by the dictator.They are far too lazy to fight for their rights. We can not allow any government to approve anymore status grants and the rollover policy must STAY! We have nothing left but the rollover policy. everything else is gone!
Is it any wonder that the X-pats are always in our business telling us to cut the civil service while they grab the jobs that any fired civil servant would need to apply for after Big Mac gets them fired through threats to their director? Well, how did Big Mac get into the civil service business anyway? I thought that was solely the governor’s port folio, don’t tell me the Lieutenant Governor responsible for the civil service is being manipulated by him any.
Be reminded that the Premier has no legal power over the civil service. If he tries anything Sue him! It’s not his port folio. Most politicians want the civil servants to remain gagged it gives them certain control. The civil service general orders need to be reviewed and amended to free them completely of this noose around their necks ready to hang them. Civil Servants all over the world exercise their rights so its time to set our civil servants free. Come on Mr. Watler, start drafting that document, get her done. It goes to the governor not the premier for submital. You can’t appeal to Ceasar about Ceasar.
When you put it that way beenie. WOW….they really should just get a cup of shut the hell up, huh LOL
Beenie gets best post in this debate.
To: Beenie JFK
The foreigners, aka, the developers, are the ones who have the Premier in their back pockets. Or perhaps they are in his back pocket. They come here for their own selfish motives and I don’t believe for a moment that they do anything out of the goodness of their hearts for the Cayman people. If they give, they have an ulterior motive to take back much more. Maybe you guys are the one who should wake up and smell the coffee and not just think of dollar signs.
Right.
Because Caymanians make expats feel right at home here with all the love and welcoming sentiments. Oh, btw, GTFO after 7 years. Doesn’t matter that the exodus has already happened in the Financial Services industry. But who cares? Let the foreigners leave, we don’t need the Financial Services Sector. We have Tourism!
Wait… Doesn’t this anti-expat stance sound similar to how Cayman feels about tourists? Caymankind? More like come to Cayman and spend your tourist dollars and they get back on your ship.
Wait, let’s not have a nice cruise ship berthing facility so that these tourists can enjoy disembarking and not having to take tenders to GT. Let’s keep it next to a cargo port b/c we’re so against change, and when St. Maartin gets their new one and Cuba starts taking cruise ships we can complain that nobody comes here anymore. But who cares, we don’t need Tourists anyway!
What are the twin pillars of Cayman’s economy again?
Right. Thought so.
I’ll say it again: Caymanians can elect whomever they want to rule the country. Just be prepared to reap what you sow.
Yeah Mamus,
Those dirty, devilish developers who come to Cayman and put 5 million or more into the economy to construct retail and office space so that new companies can come to Cayman and start hiring. To make matters worse, Caymanians can then actually lease some retail space and start a business. Totally unacceptable, dont you think?
Those developers are way too greedy for wanting to actually make a profit on thier investment and not lose their shirts. I mean thats a little to much to ask for right?
And Bush, GD Bush. He’s the mastermind. He actually goes out finds these people and convinces them to spend their millions in Cayman. Imagine that. Ridiculus right?
Beenie gets a head nod from Mamus.
Just so we are clear, I was being very sarcastic with last post and in no way believe those statements to be the case.