THE DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY (DLP) has no moral authority to talk to the Barbadian people about values and integrity. Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley stressed this during her address to a large crowd gathered at the Bay Street Esplanade for the official launch of the Barbados Labour Party's (BLP) 2008 campaign on Wednesday night. She said DLP leader David Thompson's endorsement of St James South candidate Donville Inniss was testimony to the fact that the DLP did not really care about values and was power hungry. Stating that people in Barbados seemed to have short memories, Mottley said she wished to remind them of an important event back in 2001 when Inniss, as a businessman, was identified in the operation of an Internet website that featured nude broadcasters. Holding up an enlarged copy of a 2001 SUNDAY SUN newspaper article, Mottley said the story dealt with a Barbados-based offshore company, managed by Inniss, that operated Nakednews.com. She said the site had an average of six million visitors per month, and was among the world's fastest growing Internet sites, but the operations of the Canadian company EGalaxy Incorporated, managed locally by Inniss through his own company Global Overseas Limited, had come under scrutiny. "When questioned about the site, Donville Inniss would only say: 'I am not privy to disclose any details about EGalaxy Inc.' "He didn't say he didn't know. He didn't say what it was about, he just said that he was not privy to disclose details," Mottley told the crowd. She said Inniss was the sole director of the company which was formed in June 2000. On May 4, 2001, Mottley said Inniss disclosed he was resigning right away but in fact he did not resign until March 1, 2002, ten months later. Against this background, Mottley said Thompson had endorsed Inniss as a DLP candidate and was talking about morality and integrity and calling for integrity in public office. "I say to you that as leader of the DLP, his mere endorsement of a candidate whose involvement was stated in THE NATION newspaper, prior to his becoming a candidate, tells you that it is all talk and all about winning power in this country," said Mottley. (BB)
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