The following is a press release from the secretary of the Barbuda Council
For immediate release.
As the matter of lands remains before the Courts the Barbuda Council and the people of Barbuda will continue to manage and utilize the lands and resources of Barbuda in common ownership as prescribed in the Barbuda Local Government Act (1976) and the Barbuda Land Act (2007).
The Barbuda Council and the people of Barbuda have noted the desperate escalation of the efforts of the Gaston Browne lead Administration to use coercion and other means to force change in the common ownership and management of the lands and resources of Barbuda. In the latest pronouncements the administration’s spokesman indicates that his administration will be adapting a more muscular approach…” in its efforts. The Barbuda Council and the people of Barbuda wishes to remind all concerned that the matter of the lands and resources of Barbuda is presently before the Courts and we will continue to operate as directed by the Barbuda Local Government Act (1976) and the Barbuda Land Act (2007) unless our final Court, the Privy Council, rules otherwise.
The Council advises all persons who purports to have interest in the lands of Barbuda that the matter remains unsettled and any arrangement entered into without the knowledge or consent of the people of Barbuda and the Barbuda Council will not be recognised or honoured and they therefore do so at their own risk.
The Barbuda Council and the people of Barbuda have no intention of engaging with the central government in its “muscular” approach but we will defend our rights which we have enjoyed for centuries. We will not allow our culture, heritage and the survival of our future generations to be extirpated through the callous greed of individuals in the present Administration and their wealthy associates.
