Prime Minister Douglas condemns attack on Nigerians
(ZIZ News) — Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has condemned the five-minute threatening attack on Nigerians, which occurred on Winn FM’s “Voices” talk show, last Thursday.
Dr. Douglas said it was tragic that this caller would have been allowed to place such a damper on what had begun as a year with such remarkable promise.
“And then came that chilling phone call to Winn FM, the phone call in which a male voice expressed his desire to see certain voters meet a fate which I shall not detail here. His frustration at some in our Federation not sharing his views, his interest in performing certain terrible acts himself and his confidence that there are the means in our Federation to transform his twisted dream into reality. The call of course was quite shocking. What was equally shocking however was the fact that the Winn FM host allowed this caller to make his case, uninterrupted, to expand upon his gory desires and to paint this shockingly twisted and alien portrait to the people of our Federation over the course of some 100 seconds uninterrupted. This is utterly reprehensible,” Dr. Douglas said during Tuesday’s “Ask the Prime Minister” programme.
Prime Minister Douglas continued by saying that there are those who are seeking to convince the world that the Federation is in crisis for political gain.
He said the continued claims of crisis, combined with the threats being issued by people like the Winn FM caller, should not be taken lightly.
“And so, we have to ask ourselves whether these people have decided to create the crisis of which they so insistently speak. One opposition candidate, the PAM candidate for Constituency #1 has proclaimed to the nation – on radio, and repeatedly – that he understands why some people strap bombs to their bodies and go into public buildings, why, he says, some people decide to become suicide bombers. This is the view of Ian “Patches” Liburd, PAM candidate for Constituency #1. This kind of talk, when combined with the type of statement which Winn FM allowed to be played last week, must not and must never be taken lightly,” the Prime Minister said.
Dr. Douglas also called on the St. Kitts-Nevis Bar Association, Christian Council and others to condemn the Winn FM caller’s attack.
He said, “Death and killing have never, ever been a part of this country’s political lexicon, and every citizen and resident must roundly and resolutely condemn and reject these people for their repeated raising of these themes. And the thing about it is that there are other Commonwealth people who are here, who in fact are registered to vote, they come from the UK, from Ireland, from Canada, from Scotland, from all over the world. But why zero in on Nigerians and Africans? Why? Is this a racist thing? Why are Nigerians being singled out?”
The Prime Minister ended by saying, “The Bar Association needs to let the country know what it thinks about all of these statements, in general, and Winn FM having allowed the caller to make his case last week, in particular. The Christian Council needs to let us know whether it thinks that these statements are simply a matter of free speech, or whether it thinks that they are toxic and dangerous. The Evangelical Association has been silent to the best of my knowledge. Is this okay with you, sirs? How about the Chamber of Industry and Commerce?”