Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Rag On Haut de le Garenne and How Senator Syvret May Dismantle Life in Jersey






~Senator Syvret



Known as the mouthpiece of the ‘oligarchy’, the Jersey Evening Post or The Rag is the only newspaper on the island of Jersey.

Stuart Syvret has posted a great blog on the JEP’s latest editorial! He provides a very thorough deconstruction of the article, it’s rather tiresome attempt to gloss the scandal over and it’s continued attack on him.

Note: Bolding is my emphasis!

“It is undeniable that the present investigation into alleged historical child abuse at Haut de la Garenne and elsewhere has cast a dark shadow over Jersey and its people.”

“However, in spite of what some critics seem determined to assert neither the great majority of Islanders nor our political and legal establishments can be damned by awful events which, as far as we can tell, unfolded decades ago and clearly involved a restricted number of people.”

Sorry, the abuse wasn't decades ago - it went on for decades and continued up to at least two years ago. Maybe the JEP forgot about Simon Bellwood !

“It is possible that the Haut de la Garenne scandal could produce lasting effects that go beyond the scars that it will leave on the collective psyche of this Island. If Senator Stuart Syvret’s attempt to force the hand of British Justice Minister Jack Straw through a legal action calling for the intervention of English judges and prosecutors were to be successful, a constitutional precedent would be established.”

“This is not to say that the imposition of English judges would mark the immediate end of our status as a Crown Dependency – in fact, there are occasions when, for reasons of its own, the Royal Court calls in UK assistance in certain cases – but it would signal that the established order is not beyond challenge.

“It is, though, highly unlikely that the Senator is unaware of the possible far-reaching consequences of his foray into the English courts and of its potential for spurring a catastrophic reordering of not only the legal but also the political, social and economic life of the Island.”

It is very interesting to see The Rag’s spin. Their vocabulary is chosen with the greatest of care – notice, it’s all about the island, the ‘oligarchy’, and the demon that is Senator Syvret – no mention of the scores of victims, their suffering or the scars they have and will always carry!

To me, the rhetoric indicates the 'oligarchy' and JEP are the deer caught in the headlights.

As the good Senator says: “No critic, nor survivor, no campaigner, no politician – not even any national media - have stated that the ordinary people of Jersey are to be dammed for the awful events.”

“Only a fool or a liar could possible come to any conclusion other than that the Jersey oligarchy has – entirely – been the author of its own misfortune in this matter.”

Precisely Senator!

The entire article can be found here - Senator Stuart Syvret Blog

3 comments:

Sprocket said...

If there ever was a newspaper in the government's pocket, JEP is it.

Anonymous said...

Most comments in the JEP regarding Haute de la Garenne are practically dripping with self pity. Instead of sympathy for the abuse victims, we continue to hear only "outrage" for the reputation of the corrupt oligarchy system which is responsible for enabling much of the abuse scandal in the first place.

Doesn't that sound like the typical chronic child abuse offender who feels sorry only for himself?

There is something extremely perverse about the defensive commentary we read in the JEP. And, for something calling itself a newspaper, there is a bizarre lack of awareness of the shocking impression their words make on the outside world, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

"The Rag" this newspaper is named ... what a complement! ... this so-called fount of information is as obscene and as diabolical as every single person responsible for the hell at Haut de la Garenne. Faeces itself could be perceived as attar of roses compared with the utter satanic stench emanating from this gang of nazi thugs attempting to put a gloss on the past and trying to look pretty and blameless.
... FOUL FIENDS,themselves!