Unprofessional and malicious act by WINNFM’s talk show host condemned

WINNFM’s Voices Talk Show Host, Mr. Ian “Patches” Liburd at the Town Hall Meeting in Half Way Tree. (Photo by Erasmus Williams)

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, NOVEMBER 6TH 2012 (CUOPM) – The use of a foreign clip with sound of gun fire by WINNFM’s “Voices” talk show host, Mr. Ian “Patches” Liburd, has attracted criticism from St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.

The foreign clip was unprofessionally and maliciously inserted by Mr. Liburd to give the impression that it was recorded among others at a recent Town Hall Meeting organised by the government in Lodge.

“I understand that sometime last week, when Mr. Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd was on Voices and he was conducting this programme, he played certain clips it would appear from the Town Hall Meeting. I understand at one stage he interspersed in those clips he was playing of the town hall meeting what appeared to have been a foreign clip with gunfire, clearly gunfire and would want it would appear to believe that gunfire was associated with the meeting in Lodge,” Dr. Douglas told listeners to his weekly radio call in programme.

It is a view that use of the “gunfire clip” is an attempt at instigating persons to become involved in using gunfire in other town hall meetings that would be held.

“I want to say to Mr. Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd and to the Management and the Board of WINN FM that, I am extremely disappointed in this, because here is the person, who clearly saw before he came to the programme, clips of a previous recording of gunfire, that must have been related to some other incident, and brought it onto his program deliberately in order to create a particular image and impression and to influence people’s lives,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

Dr. Douglas added: “This is dangerous. It is so very dangerous that I say to Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd that he should remember what the elder people say, ‘when you dig one grave for someone else, dig one for yourself’ and that’s all I would say for now on that.”