Grant says PM’s property rental smells of coercion
By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes.com
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Leader of the People’s Action Movement Lindsay Grant
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LEADER of the people’s Action Movement (PAM) Lindsay Grant said Prime Minister Douglas’ renting of property to the Taiwanese Government smells of coercion.
“What we are advocating and saying is that the Prime Minister ought not to have put the Taiwanese Government in this position to have him renting property to them, because it smells of coercion by the Prime Minister.”
Grant was at the time responding to questions during an interview with WINN FM last Friday on an article published by his party’s organ, The Democrat, in which the March 12 edition headlined “TAIWAN AIDING DICTATORSHIP”, was deemed by the Taiwanese Ambassador, John K Liu, as “groundless, irresponsible and regrettable”.
Grant declared that he did not see the article causing any problems because they did not put themselves in a position to say that they were either relinquishing or maintaining ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan.
“We are saying that that ought not to have happened, because had the Taiwanese rented from someone else in the private sector this matter would not have risen. And it is only because of the close connection between the Prime Minister and the Taiwanese why this appears to have happened. It is the perception of the arrangement that stinks!” Grant said.
Grant stressed it is obvious that Prime Minister Douglas used his office to cause and to force the Taiwanese into a compromising position that has left them in an untenable situation.
“This,” he said, “could not happen in Taiwan or anywhere else in the world. The Taiwanese should have a sense of right and a sense of wrong, and they ought not to be taking issues with the common view of the majority of people in this country.”
He called it “an unholy alliance” and declared it is unheard of in diplomatic circles. ~~Adz:Right~~
The opposition party’s leader is also of the view that the Taiwanese, as a foreign entity and government, have caused themselves to get embroiled in a local political battle by trying to explain what the Prime Minister has said to be a private matter.
“Renting from the Prime Minister has to be a public matter, open to public scrutiny and to be commented on by fair-minded Kittitians and Nevisians. When the Taiwanese Ambassador said yesterday [March 13] that there had been no negotiation, that is absurd, to say the least,” Grant contended.
He opined that the rental of the property by the Taiwanese paying some US$10 000 is not the issue, but “it is the principle of the matter…and even the payment of one dollar is still an affront to the principle because the Prime Minister is the leader of the Government and he is in a position of influence that all matters of this nature must be disclosed and given the fullest hearing in the public domain”.
Grant added that such behaviour is akin to insider trading in the public sector.
