Prime Minister Kenny Anthony paid tribute to PJ Patterson at a special banquet in Jamaica on the weekend. In his speech Dr Anthony described Patterson as a man he always admired. He added he had even turned to Patterson for advice as far back as when he [Anthony] was St Lucia’s education minister.
Said Dr Anthony: “When I envisage the continuum of regional politics, I think of a time-line of remarkable leaders walking across the pages of Caribbean history. At several points along that line there is a recurring punctuation mark: that towering exclamation sign which is P.J. Patterson.”
Speaking at the Round Hill Hotel in Hanover, Dr Anthony noted that Patterson was a champion of the Caribbean Court of Justice.
“He was and remains an ardent advocate of the Caribbean Court of Justice, a cause close to my own heart, and one the ties that bind us tangibly to each other at a deep personal level.”
“I believe as he does that it is anathema to any self respecting people— particularly a people so valiantly throwing off the yoke of colonial domination—to place above our own judicial system an appellate court of higher authority than our own.”
Dr Anthony retraced the history of the former prime minister and especially the decisions he had made. Finally Dr Anthony said: “Enlightened by education, by virtual and real travel, and by social media, our populations are already demanding better of us as leaders and managers of our countries.
“In essence, that is what the “Arab Dawn” is about. Populations are and will continue to be, increasingly intolerant of injustice, inequity and inefficiency. If we cannot fight these enemies fragmented and alone, we must band together to deliver the promised benefits so long touted as the fruits of economic integration.
“If this sounds too much like truth, too much like irrefutable logic, then such is the measure of the man. Ladies and gentlemen,
here’s to P.J. Patterson, the man of the hour, a man of
all time.”
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