By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

IN A night which saw sharp comments against political adversaries, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell on Monday described attorney Fred Smith as an “ass” for capitalising on the public’s fears about the controversial Interception of Communications Bill in a bid to rebound from racial remarks he made in January.

Mr Mitchell, who has long engaged in a public war-of-words with Mr Smith, insisted that the activist had retuned “from under his rock” to build a base around the supposed “spy bill”, hoping that the public would quickly regret his assertions that black Bahamians possessed a level of hate for white foreigners.

“Ladies and gentleman, brothers and sisters, there is no spy bill except in the imagination of Fred Smith,” stated the Fox Hill MP at a branch meeting for the Fox Hill, Marathon and St Anne’s.

He added: “But I (will) tell you a story, stick with me here. It begins with a quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. And Juliet says of Romeo, ‘What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’

“So the point is, brothers and sisters, no matter what you call something, it is that same thing. Stick with me another minute.

“Remember as we approach Lent, that Jesus told his disciples, this in the Bible in Matthew 21:2; he said ‘go to the village ahead of you, and he told them that once you would find a donkey tied there with her coat beside her, untie them and bring them to me.’

“The disciples went and did as Jesus said. And in the Bible it says, ‘and then they brought the ass and the colt and put them there and sat Jesus thereon’.”

He continued: “My point tonight brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, you may call it a donkey sometimes and sometimes you may call it an ass. But by whatever name you call it, even if you call the donkey Fred Smith, it is still an ass.”

He added: “Charles Dickens wrote, ‘the law is an ass’. And since, ladies and gentlemen, we are in the middle of carnival, Harry Belafonte use to sing this song, ‘the jackass will dance and bray; let him bray, let him bray.’”

Mr Mitchell’s comments came just before Prime Minister Perry Christie shocked the nation with an offensive hand gesture, sticking up his middle finger in response to claims made about his ownership of a condominium.

The allegation was made in a video posted to Facebook.

Mr Mitchell, who started his address with the salacious sentiments directed at Mr Smith, softened his stance later, claiming that the nature of the meeting and the presence of people like Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin did not permit the tone and vitriol expressed.

He said if he were anywhere else, he would take Mr Smith and members of his organisation even more to task over their actions in recent weeks.

According to the controversial bill, interception would be done in the “interest of national security,” which is defined as protecting the country from “threats of sabotage, espionage, terrorist acts, terrorism or subversion.”

Mr Smith, who has had his past troubles with the Christie administration over the right to privacy, expressed concern over what the term subversion could entail over time.

He said subversion could be perceived as any simple form of “political dissent,” adding that this can be construed to mean anyone openly disagreeing with the government.

Mr Smith said last month: “So they will accuse anybody who doesn’t toe the line, who doesn’t agree with everything every politician is going to say or do, whatever the government proposes, as being a subversive, as being a destabiliser as the person trying to bring the government down.

“That is the job of the Opposition, that is what every Opposition does in any democratic society. They try to change the government. And that can be defined as subversion.”

The government last week announced plans to delay the bill, with a view to hold public consultations ahead of its debate in Parliament.