The Devil's Deception.... (On the Warner Saga)

On the morning of the Labor Day holiday of 2011 the country was abuzz with the news that Austin Jack Warner and FIFA had come to a parting of ways and because of said parting, FIFA was prepared to consider all charges and allegations pertaining to Mr. Warner closed. That FIFA went on to  recommend that he should henceforth remain presumed innocent of all charges is rather presumptuous on their part and Mr. Blatter and his colleagues should be cautioned against ascribing more authority to themselves than they really possess.

How much of this was fallout from his support of Bin Hamam over his former boss and how much was the strength of the English response to what they considered a grave insult and a questionable result to the award of the World Cup Competitions of 2018 and 2022 we will never know, but what is known is there was enough in the mortar to sever a high ranking official from his substantial post of over thirty years and this cannot be presumed to have happened over nothing.

Needless to say that FIFA's ruling can in no way be the end of this matter and their presumption of innocence does nothing to remove the perception of guilt surrounding certain events alleged to have taken place here. FIFA's modus operand appears to be self preservation at all costs, and while this may be fine for that organization the gentleman in question is at present a member of the Government and the Cabinet and remains bound by the rules and conventions that govern those institutions and is not above the laws of this land.

Based on all that has been said on this issue and the information on a multi million dollar bribe that may have also involved the breach of our currency, Customs and other laws, it remains a responsibility of our law enforcement agencies to pursue these numerous allegations of wrong doing and misconduct within their jurisdiction to a determined conclusion and subsequent prosecution if found warranted.

The questions that now burn to be answered are if he should be allowed to remain a Minister and a member of the Cabinet until he is cleared of all questions of wrongdoing, and should he be allowed to remain a member of the House of Representatives. Despite protestations of his Attorney that Mr. Warner has no questions to answer here, we the people of this country are entitled to and should be asking questions until there is a clear understanding as to what exactly took place so as to protect our highest institutions from being sullied by this scandal now or in the future.

Until then, it is the view of this writer that Mr. Warner is ethically if not morally bound to step down until his name is cleared, and should he fail to do so then it becomes incumbent on the Prime Minister to remove him and place as much distance as possible between her government and this scandal as she can ill afford to be tainted by it. The Westminster tradition demands no less, and as long as we want to retain some semblance of respect in the civilized world, the actions prescribed in these circumstances do not require much thought.