Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for Exuma and Ragged Island, the Hon. Chester Cooper addressed a smear campaign aimed at him in the House Of Assembly on Wednesday.
Cooper told Parliamentarians of the smear campaign funded by foreign interests to discredit the leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party. He said, “in recent weeks there has been an active, growing local and international campaign driven by one Mr. Bob Coughlin, an American businessman, the principal of Turtle Grass Resorts, a project approved for Sampson Cay in the Exumas. Mr. Coughlin has protested the plans of the adjacent development of the Rosewood Resort being development by Integra Resorts that also has an approved heads of agreement by the government of The Bahamas.”
The Deputy Prime Minister further stated that he rejects the defamatory and deceitful claims in an AI generated along with another video that falsely accuses him regard a lawfully approved development in the Exumas. He said, “no Chinese work permits have been issued, no Singaporean construction companies are involved, there are no approvals in this project for over the water bungalows as falsely claimed and the assertions that crown land is being secretly given away is not only false, it is dangerous misinformation.”
Parliament was also informed by Cooper that he has taken legal action. He said, “a formal criminal complaint has been filed with the Royal Bahamas Police Force in relation to both videos. My lawyers have been asked to pursue civil legal action to hold the culprits and their enablers accountable for their defamatory conduct. In addition, I will, subject to legal guidance ask tax authorities in the Office of the Auditor General to investigate any local entities particularly those suspected of receiving foreign funding under the guise of charitable work.”
Cooper says this campaign and his decision to take legal action is not about partisan politics but it is about the truth and the protection of the Bahamian democracy.
