From Anne Southern.
I WAS disappointed to read the personal attack on Deputy Shona Pitman (JEP, 2 July) by Collette Crill, whose work for Amnesty International I admire and support.

She claims to be unaware of any of Deputy Pitman’s achievements; that is not to say that there have been none.

The Deputy works hard both to ensure the rights of her constituents and to fulfil her role on Scrutiny, and being in touch with the electorate, is very aware of how offensive many found the Bailiff’s words on Liberation Day.

He seemed to imply that revealing Jersey’s dark secrets was more scandalous than the nature of those secrets themselves. This only confirms the feeling that the establishment are operating a ‘cover-up’ policy.

It is interesting that Mrs Crill accuses Deputy Pitman of belonging to a ‘cabal’ – a group that operates in secret and indulges in conspiracy. On the contrary, she belongs to the JDA, which is a properly constituted political party, with the openly stated aims of promoting democracy, and as such it is supported by the Rowntree Foundation.

This party openly declares the dual role of the Bailiff to be unconstitutional. It is the establishment of this Island that is perceived to conspire in secret and could therefore more properly be labelled a ‘cabal’.

To defend the Bailiff on the grounds that he could earn more in private practice is again offensive, as most of us who work in the public service could earn more elsewhere, our salaries being only a fraction of the Bailiff’s; the status and power that accompany his role should more than compensate him for any loss of income. The cost to the taxpayer of his salary is around six times that of a Deputy.

Deputy Pitman is representing those who elected her by bringing before the States the concerns felt by many. She does not deserve to be attacked, and especially not by someone who is campaigning to restore democracy to Zimbabwe by seeking transparency in its electoral process.

I am in no way comparing the Bailiff to Robert Mugabe, but the principle of opposing the exercise of power by those not properly elected remains the same.
La Rochelle,
Bellozanne Road,
St Helier.