BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER National Security Minister and co-founder of Operation Rescue Dwyer Astaphan is adamant that the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) must have a change in its command structure.
Speaking last night (Apr. 14) on his radio programme ‘The Operating Room’ aired on WINN FM, Astaphan opined that members of the SKNDF are not happy with Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Wallace being in command of that military institution and that he should be replaced.
“Patrick Wallace is still in the army, he’s still the head of the Defence Force. Are the soldiers happy with that? …Nobody on this planet is going to tell me that eight weeks is not enough time to change the leadership of the Defence Force. That is my opinion respectfully, disagree or agree, call it victimisation if you will. I believe soldiers were being victimised, and when soldiers are victimised and they are not happy and comfortable to do their work in protecting the nation, then the nation is not only victimised but it certainly is compromised. Simple logic!”
Earlier in the programme, Astaphan declared that he was always in support of Team Unity, that he wants the coalition Government to quickly settle down and move on with the country’s affairs, and that those are the reasons for his stating his opinion.
“Nobody wants the new Administration to settle down more quickly than I do, and nobody is against victimisation as I am. And nobody can seriously or credibly question my support for Team Unity. And it is that very support which impels me to express my mind in a honest and forthright way. And that’s not going to change either.”
He indicated that there are some people in the Public Service whose presence could be detrimental to good governance and democracy.
“The matters that I raised last night had to do with people still being in critical decision-making positions in the Public Service. People’s whose record and conduct are in clear conflict with good governance and democracy, and whose continuing presence in your positions can do nothing but harm to Team Unity and harm to the mandate given to Team Unity by the people on February 16.”
Astaphan made reference to some of the pronouncements he made during the previous programme in which he had called the names of some individuals.
“Last week I said some people bathe and dress and put on their clothes and they go to work in the government job to do nothing but harm. Regardless of who those persons support, they must not be allowed to do harm to the Government and to the mandate of the Government. Nobody!
“Last week I mentioned some names and positions. One was Patrick Wallace, the Commander of the Defence Force. And I am going to do this with my gloves off. This is a country that we have here. We are citizens, we have rights and we have responsibilities. This is nothing personal towards any of the individuals that I named.”
Publicly known for the stance he had taken against former Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas and his management style, Astaphan gave his opinion on what transpired during the early voting of the Federal Elections.
“In the early voting of persons working in the Central Services, the results in Central Basseterre…where for the record Camp Springfield is located and where a number of soldiers, past and present, are registered. In that early voting on February 14, only 29 persons voted, with 23 voting for Marcella Liburd and six voting for Jonel Powell. Remember, it’s not just only those who are at Camp Springfield presently will be registered there, others who were there before and who may have left the services and gone on.
“So, 29 votes in that early voting in Basseterre were not enough to make Douglas happy! But those numbers mean something just like the numbers in the other seven constituencies. The Saturday gave more incite for him to bring more flights in. Things were looking brown. Some of you don’t know the scrambling that was going on last minute. They were frightened! So all of those numbers were disappointed, he needed more. And the numbers told the story.”
He also explained at length what he perceived the story behind the numbers to be.
“The story was that the support of soldiers, past and present, was far weaker than before. And one of the reasons for this, quite apart from the fact that Team Unity had a vastly superior campaign, vastly superior manifesto, vastly superior plans and programmes, and its platform was more issues based, and also apart from the fact that people were tired of Douglas and his candidates, one of the reasons for the disappointing support from those early voters is that a number of soldiers, past and present, felt that a vote for Marcella Liburd and Labour was a vote to keep Patrick Wallace in charge of the Defence Force. And like their Coast Guard colleagues they wanted a change, they wanted Wallace out. They still do! Nothing personal, but this is just how it is.”
The former Government Minister noted that just as how the police in even larger numbers had wanted to see Commissioner of Police Celvin ‘CG’ Walwyn “jumped on a plane and go back, and they got their wish, a vote for Asim or whoever was a vote for Celvin Walwyn if you are a police and a vote for Patrick Wallace if you are in the army.
