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Posted: Friday 6 August, 2021 at 2:45 PM

PM Gonsalves flown to Barbados for medical treatment

By: Staff Reporter, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - VIOLENCE erupted in Kingstown yesterday afternoon (Aug. 5) resulting in Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves sustaining a head injury and was flown to Barbados for treatment. 

     

    Reports suggested that the Prime Minister was assaulted with an object to the head, which caused blood to flow profusely from a wound, around 5:25 p.m. outside the House of Parliament.

     

    The Office of the Prime Minister confirmed the incident, explaining in a media statement to reporters that approximately 200 demonstrators, responding to a call to action from the Leader of the Opposition, picketed the Parliament and blocked the entrance to the building. 

     

    When the crowd prevented the vehicle carrying the Honourable Prime Minister from driving through the gate of the Parliament, he alighted the vehicle and attempted to enter on foot.

     

    OPM noted: “An Opposition demonstrator then hurled a projectile at the Prime Minister, which struck him in the head, inches above the temple. The Prime Minister, bleeding profusely, was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital by his security detail, where he was met by his wife.”

     

    Senator Julian Francis indicated that a female was arrested in connection with the incident as she was allegedly caught on camera hurling the projectile.

     

    “I want to say a woman has been arrested; there may be more. She wanted to apologise to the Prime Minister. I said no, she is not going in front of my political leader to do what; because you got locked up, you want to apologise,” Francis  was quoted as saying by local media.

     

    The OPM condemned the act, the instigators and the “back-room authors of this kind of violence”.

     

    “The Prime Minister strongly reiterated his belief in the solemnity of the vote as a cornerstone of parliamentary democracy and basis of governmental legitimacy. In spite of his injuries, the Prime Minister welcomed all peaceful demonstration as a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution, but cautioned that legitimate peaceful demonstration should in no way impede parliamentarians’ rights of entrance and egress from the House of Assembly.

     

    “Moreover, the use of violence in pursuit of political purposes is entirely unacceptable. We expect that the perpetrator of the actual act of violence will be brought to justice,” the statement read.

     

    Gonsalves in currently receiving an MRI to determine the extent of his injuries.

     

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