BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AMIDST talk suggesting that nationals returning to the Federation are being targeted by criminals, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas has sought to reassure that “there is no targeting of returning nationals to St. Kitts and Nevis with regard to crime”.
“I want to appeal to our returning nationals that the government will continue to do all within its efforts to ensure their security and their safety. I want to assure our returning nationals that St. Kitts and Nevis, to a large extent, is a safer community, a safer country than several countries and communities that they have come from on returning to St. Kitts and Nevis.
“I want to give them the full assurance that my government will continue to do everything within our power to facilitate their return home and to ensure that while they are here they would have, like all citizens of this country, full protection of our laws that exist, especially in fighting crime,” Dr. Douglas explained while addressing the local media at his monthly press conference yesterday (Aug. 18).
On April 11, 2010, the partly decomposed bodies of British couple James and Mildred Daniel were discovered in their Half Moon Court home, having suffered gunshot injuries. Just about two months later, a young British couple, Julius and Cam Bertie, was severely beaten by masked individuals who forcibly entered the Half Moon Court home in which they stayed. Both matters are still under investigation.
Recently, a news article was printed in a Birmingham newspaper, according to which, daughter of the Daniels, Christine, questioned whether or not her parents were targeted because they were British.
Dr. Douglas accused persons of deliberately facilitating the constant dissemination of information relative to these incidents and thereby casting an unfavourable light on the Federation.
“That is exactly what I have been told, that there have been people who have been stoking the fire…so that the external media in England, in particular, would want to reflect a negative picture and image of St. Kitts and Nevis to affect our tourism. It is very unfortunate that some members of the press would have been perpetuating and disseminating information to suggest this. It’s just Monday I was being informed in my Cabinet that there are deliberate malicious attempts by persons abroad to constantly keep within the media, and writing to specifically chosen media houses abroad, negatives pertaining to the incident that occurred at Half Moon Bay, the double murder…at recently it would appear, another couple…
“We are aware that crime can be a destabilising factor in our country and in every other country. We are aware that our people are hurting from this continuing criminal activity, but what good does it do the media and other people who deliberately want to feed negative information abroad persistently and consistently to hurt this country, to hurt the economy, to pull people who are here struggling to be kept alive by their jobs, putting them out of jobs, so that they cannot feed their families and they cannot look after themselves. What good is derived from that?”
The country’s leader expressed that his intention is by no means “to belittle the hurt and the feelings of family members of the victims”, especially since he understands their pain.
“…I understand that. I appreciate that, I empathise as much as possible with the families of the victims. So it’s not a case were I am saying just simply gloss over it, cover it over and move on. No, I am not saying that at all, because I feel the pain!”
