Comments undermine sensible discussion of refugee decision

THE initial reaction was one of surprise, then shock and then incredulity.

Did he really say that?

Sometimes things just seem too implausible to be real.

But he did. Chief Minister Jonathan Le Tocq, during a radio interview, completely unprompted and off his own bat, managed to label the island Islamophobic and no amount of trying to explain the context in the aftermath will change that.

It was naivety in the extreme, comments that have been seized upon not only nationally but internationally, travelling around the globe apace.

Would any other head of government even have let the notion cross their lips, whatever the context?

That is the crux of the issue.

This is the same chief minister who only last month was setting out an argument about how mature a democracy Guernsey was, how it was ready and able to handle itself on the international stage and needed more powers to do so.

It is events such as this that dent those arguments.

With more power comes even greater exposure – even more opportunities for the foot to be planted firmly in the mouth.

The track record of handling international issues has been damaged by what has unfolded at the weekend. Memories are long on matters like this too.

Since the issue of housing Syrian refugees in Guernsey was raised, the chief minister has been at the forefront, driving the agenda forward.

It is clearly a divisive issue – but the conclusion drawn by the Policy Council that Guernsey was not well-placed to handle the needs of refugees seemed like a sound one.

What is not so clear is that why when Jersey confirmed its stance – with not a murmur in the national press, incidentally – it took so long for Guernsey to follow.

Having taken legal advice, Jersey was concerned that taking in Syrian refugees would leave it obliged to take in people from other countries with all the implications of that.

Guernsey sought its own legal advice to come to the same conclusion much later.

That delay shows there was more going on behind Policy Council doors.

What the chief minister's comments have done is not only put Guernsey in the international spotlight for the wrong reasons, but undermined any sensible debate about the Policy Council's judgement on the issue.

When Jersey made its decision in December, the chief minister said that Guernsey was assessing whether there would be sufficient access to health care, welfare, security and employment opportunities for refugees being resettled directly from camps near Syria.

It has now confirmed that changes would potentially be needed to housing policies and legislation if refugees were to be relocated here – not impossible, but something that would need to run through a States debate to happen.

Given this latest episode, that could have been the equivalent of car-crash television – much like watching those past Assemblies debating same-sex marriage.

The chief minister's half-baked apology rushed out on Sunday morning had no impact on the flow of news organisations picking up on his original comments – and why would they?

Politicians caught in uncomfortable positions like to use the 'taken out of context' argument, but it always comes across as an unwillingness to accept a mistake was made.

In this case the chief minister said: 'I apologise to those who have, rightly, been angered by the way those comments have been presented.'

So no regrets about saying the words in the first place, which given they were recorded we have for posterity with no chance of wriggling away with the usual 'I was misquoted' stance.

As a reminder, it was this: 'There's certainly a lot of Islamophobia and negativity that's been around. That would entail it would be difficult for us to ensure they would find the security and stability here in Guernsey were they to be resettled here in the same way as in other parts of the UK.'

Deputy Le Tocq now finds himself in the somewhat unenviable position of being supported by various far right groups who no doubt would be the last people he would want to be associated with – the likes of the British National Party and English Defence League have picked up on his comments. He is also the darling of below the line commenters on the Daily Mail online.

There is a debate to be had about the best role Guernsey can play in the refugee crisis. It is not something anyone should turn their back on.

Correctly directed aid contributions, volunteer efforts overseas; they are all part of the picture.

There will be extreme views in this debate, that much is abundantly clear.

They should not, though, be driving the policy direction because that way lies an even more dangerous precedent.

Unfortunately, the chief minister comes out of this affair looking like someone who lost an argument around the Policy Council table and then let that disappointment spill out in a way that has offended the community in Guernsey.

Those who do not want Syrian refugees coming to Guernsey can be as equally offended by the remarks as those who do.

It is possible to reach that conclusion, as indeed the Policy Council has, without being Islamophobic, xenophobic or racist.

And in all this, no one has yet discussed whether refugees would want to resettle here in the first place.