PAM’s Leader receives letter from Dr. Douglas’ legal Counsels;
14 days to comply or…
By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes.com
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| Leader of the People's Action Movement, Mr. Lindsay Grant |
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LEADER of the People’s Action Movement [PAM] Lindsay Grant has 14 days to reply to a letter sent by legal counsels of Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas requesting the acceptance of a number of requirements or legal action would be taken against him for defamation.
A letter, dated May 16, 2008, was sent by Dr. Douglas’ lawyers, Dublin and Johnson, requesting Grant’s reply within 14 days to a compensatory package or, “In the absence of a speedy and constructive response to this letter Dr. Douglas will be left with no choice but to issue legal proceedings for defamation.”
When contacted yesterday [Wednesday], Grant, who was preparing to wing out of the country on personal business, admitted to SKNVibes that he was in receipt of the letter but could not have provided a comment until his return next week.
The PM’s lawyers wrote that the letter concerns the defamatory broadcast published by Grant in recent weeks on the Voice of Change 6 in which he alleged, in summary, that Dr. Douglas corruptly rented property to the Taiwanese Embassy and used his Ministerial Office to corruptly acquire Crown or other lands identified by him in his broadcast.
“The said broadcast was also published in the Democrat on page 2 of the March 22nd to 28th, 2008 edition (Issue: 3036),” the letter added.
~~Adz:Right~~ The letter notes that on March 16, 2008, Grant’s broadcast clearly bore the meaning: “(a) Dr. Douglas, whilst Prime Minister, been caught out acting improperly, immorally and against the interests of the population by leasing for profit a private property of his at Adams Hill to the Taiwanese government; (b) that he has, as Prime Minister, has corruptly amassed and continues to amass the lands and real estate properties identified by you in the broadcast by taking improper advantage of Prime Minister office and, in doing so, is guilty of corruption and gross misuse of his office and public position.”
It also states that although it is for Grant to prove the allegations are true if he intends to plead justification, Dr. Douglas maintains they are false and where there might be comments rather than allegations of fact, the facts upon which the comments are based are untrue and no honest commentator, in possession of the true facts, would make the allegations or draw the inferences he had drawn.
The letter further states that Dr. Douglas does not own all of the properties Grant identified and he has never acquired lands from Central Government or Crown Lands.
The lawyers wrote that Grant’s broadcast was part of a calculated and partisan campaign to deliberately smear Dr. Douglas and drive him from political office to be replaced by him [Grant] and his party.
They also wrote that Dr. Douglas could not allow the allegations to go uncorrected and requires that the broadcast and publication Voice of Change 6, if still available online is removed immediately pending resolution that he agrees to publish in the hardcopy of the newspaper and broadcast a suitable retraction and apology in agreed terms at the end of the next weekly broadcast.
Another condition the PM requires of Grant is that he pays an appropriate sum of money on agreement in order to compensate for the damage and distress he caused him to suffer and to vindicate his personal and professional reputation.
The PM further wants Grant to undertake not to repeat the allegations and that he indemnify him for his legal costs in dealing with this matter in any event.
