Business vendors operating on Cabbage Beach at Paradise Island took to Rawson Square with placards and posters Wednesday morning and claimed that Senior Vice President of Public Relations at Atlantis Ed Fields is “violating the rights of local business owners in The Bahamas.”

According to Monique Taylor, president of the Cabbage Beach Business Owners Association, Mr. Fields, other hotel officials and even some police officers are getting in the way of vendors conducting their businesses at that location.

“As it stands right now for business owners, they have a gate to the public access on Cabbage Beach,” she said. “The vendors on Cable Beach are placed by the water’s edge basically in the water, and they have hotel representatives such as Mr. Ed Fields and others that are unlawfully expelling business owners with a government business license. They have officers in cahoots with it stating that the letters from Atlantis are higher than the government business license. What I would like to know is when since does the hotel letter supersede the business license?”

Ms. Taylor was joined by a handful of other Cabbage Beach vendors who all said their livelihoods are being affected by the alleged move.

According to her the demonstration was orchestrated after repeated attempts to resolve the situation.

“We sent emails, we actually hand delivered letters but we got no satisfaction,” she said.

According to a member of Economic Justice and Equality for Bahamian People (EJEBP), a fence was erected in the past to prevent free access to Cabbage Beach, which he said is meant for public use. He further accused Mr. Fields of breaking the law.

“The beach is not owned by Ed Fields,” he said. “He cannot secure a public beach because he is not working for government; he is working for Sol Kerzner or Kerzner International, whichever comes first. These people are entitled to that ever since time immemorial.

“It is in the books. At the high water mark belongs to the Bahamian people. The buck must stop here, and we want (Prime Minister) Perry Christie to make his legacy and let these people go back to the beach.”

The Bahama Journal spoke with Mr. Fields about the accusations being levied against him and refused to say much on the matter as he said there is another matter involving Ms. Taylor that is currently under police investigation.

“The lady and her brother who you are referring to have a matter involving the police on which we acted, and so that matter is before the police,” he said. “That is the only comment we will have at this time.”