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ENERGY Minister James Robertson this morning told the Cabinet that he will resign, hours after admitting that the United States embassy had cancelled his and his wife’s visas.
James Robertson
James Robertson 1/1
Robertson, however, will not quit as a deputy leader of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, neither will he give up his parliamentary seat.
Last night, Robertson confirmed a Sunday Observer report that he and his wife’s visas were revoked by the United States Embassy in Kingston but he said that they were not told why.
“On Friday, May 20, 2011 the Government of the United States of America cancelled the visas of my wife Charlene and me,” Robertson said in a statement e-mailed by Generation 2000 president Delano Seiveright.
“We readily acknowledge that as a sovereign nation it is the prerogative of the US Government to issue and revoke visas,” Robertson added. “However, no details have been provided as to the basis for the cancellations although we are of the view that this could have resulted from the uncorroborated statements forwarded to various departments of the US Government in support of a failed application for political asylum. The allegations made in those statements have been, and remain, wholly rejected.”
Robertson’s confirmation follows this week’s Sunday Observer lead story reporting the visa revocations which were shrouded in secrecy.
The Sunday Observer had made repeated attempts to contact Robertson for a comment. However, calls to his cellphone went to voicemail and he did not respond to a message left.
Last night, Robertson said that he and his wife have dispatched their US-based attorney to Washington, DC, the US capital, to seek audience with the relevant officials in an effort to ascertain the basis for the cancellations.
“All appropriate channels will be utilised and we are confident that once given the opportunity and due process, that this matter will be resolved,” he said.
Robertson’s reference to a failed application for political asylum stemmed from a case involving former Jamaica Labour Party activist Ian Johnson.
Johnson had, on December 17, 2010, filed a claim in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, making damning allegations against Robertson.
However, in January this year a Florida court threw out the suit.
Related story:
Confirmed! - James Robertson admits his US visa cancelled
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/James...#ixzz1NIPJnqbT
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