By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday denounced a claim made by a reported American expert in security and terrorism that The Bahamas has terrorism links, suggesting that this country’s “tremendous collaboration” with US law enforcement would have provided ample forewarning of such a threat had the claims been true.

The Prime Minister also referenced US President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on persons from seven predominantly Muslim countries, saying as a nation so close to the US and a transit point, The Bahamas had to be on alert.

On Saturday, while speaking in opposition to Mr Trump’s recent ban on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US for 90 days on an MSNBC show hosted by Joy-Ann Reid, guest Malcolm Nance said: “We (the United States) have not banned terrorists from Brazil. ISIS has dozens of members from Brazil or Trinidad or the Bahamas who have more terrorists members than any of those other countries.”

Mr Nance has since apologised on Twitter for his remark and admitted the statement was erroneous. Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell subsequently hit out at the claims, telling ZNS news on Saturday that the remarks were “rubbish”. Mr Mitchell also indicated that the Bahamas Mission to the United States has been asked to reach out to US counterparts, to MSNBC and Mr Nance himself to find out what the source of the allegation was.

When asked for his take on the matter yesterday by The Tribune, Mr Christie said: “I was astonished by it. In the region, we have heard from time to time of the people going to the Middle East in connection with the fighting going on there, but never have Bahamians been named as being a part of that. And so I was astonished to hear the claims, and I was very pleased to see that it is being reversed. Because it is not true.

“We would have known, and I’m sure our law enforcement officers would have been made aware of it, because there is tremendous collaboration between the law enforcement agencies in the United States of America and The Bahamas, and there would have been a great sharing of intelligence in that regard, and we would have known.

“So I’m relieved that it is not true, and therefore every effort be made to convince the people that Bahamians are not that kind of grouping who have been attracted to do those sorts of things.”

Mr Christie went on to say that though Mr Nance’s statements were incorrect, The Bahamas “has to be mindful of the fact that we are the closest offshore country to the United States of America”, particularly when dealing with matters of national security.

“Therefore any policies promulgated by the president of the United States of America, like the temporary ban that he’s put in place for seven countries, The Bahamas has to be mindful of the fact that people could be looking to The Bahamas as a different route into the United States,” Mr Christie added.

“We are a stepping stone into the United States, one of those countries that has always been traditionally seen as that, and therefore we must be vigilant ourselves, with respect to ensuring that we take all the steps necessary to not have ourselves subjected to people coming in trying to get into the United States of America.”

In March 2016, Interpol listed that Khalid el-Bakraoui, one of two Belgium suicide bombers, had dual Belgian and Bahamian nationality and had been wanted in Belgium on charges of terrorism. The Bahamian reference was later removed. Bahamian government officials later said that the matter was an error.

“The Belgians have come back to us and said that the matter was done in error,” Mr Mitchell said last March. “And that it appears … both persons were Moroccan citizens at birth and assumed Belgian nationality. They have no explanation as to why is ended up being (reported as) The Bahamas.”