BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CITIZENS and residents of St. Kitts, among whom were many dressed in white, went out in their numbers yesterday (Oct. 11) for a March and Rally in support of the newly-launched Unity Construct - a union of the People's Action Movement (PAM), the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) and the People's Labour Party (PLP).
The March, led by the St. Kitts members of the Unity Team, began at Greenlands travelling east along Cayon Street before turning right onto Lower Market Street, left onto Liverpool Row, left onto Fort Street, right onto Cayon Street, right onto West Independence Square Street, right onto the Bay Road, right onto Fort Street and come to a halt on Bank Street.
Hundreds filed the streets of Basseterre in their white shirts and or pants and or accessories, while some bore placards displaying their support for Team Unity and their disgust with the Federation's Prime Minister and Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas as well as his political party.
Some of the placards displayed the face of the Unity Leader, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, while others read: "Unity is growing", "A had enough a Denzil Doulgas 1989-2013", "Unity is Strength', "He is not my Prime Minister", "Full Confidence in a Unity Government".
One man donned a white T-shirt with a paper pinned to it that displayed copies of three cheques, seemingly from the famous Lex Consulting LLC. One was for $40 000 to the Labour Office Committee, another for $95 000 to Denzil L. Douglas, and another one for $5 000 to SKN Ground Handling Services.
The Rally kicked off shortly after the march came to an end and the members of Team Unity took their seats on a temporary stage, each addressing the large crowd that had eagerly gathered to hear what the men had to say.
A number of issues were addressed and many promises made. The members said that under a Government of National Unity better housing would be provided so that "people would not have to shake their keys and struggle to pay their mortgage”.
The members said that they would like to see young men and women travel to neighbouring islands and learn a trade, and they promised to represent the interest of the people, ensure women have equal opportunities and young people get proper jobs.
Issued addressed included the electricity rates, the rise in food prices and the lack of prescribed medication at the JNF Hospital Pharmacy. Topics touched on also included the Motion of No Confidence, the Land-for-Debt swap and the lack of financial assistance for local farmers and businessmen and businesswomen.
The large gathering clapped, cheered, screamed and shouted as each Unity member entertained them in song and dance before delivering their speech.
In his address, Dr. Harris challenged Dr. Douglas to "ring de bell" as well as to a debate. On hearing that, the crowd was driven to frenzy as they screamed and shouted in agreement. Some were heard saying, "He fraid you”, "He got to go", "He gone dis time" among other things.
The Rally ended at about 9:30 p.m.
Speaking with Dr. Harris after the Rally, he deemed both the March and Rally very successful, stating that he is pleased with the fact that it was very peaceful and there were no reports of incidents.
"We had a successful March and Rally. People came out in their thousands to show solidarity, to ensure that we achieve democracy, to show that the Motion of No Confidence being delayed for so long is unacceptable and, by and large, they paid tremendous support to Team Unity and our policies for setting the country back to work again."
With regards to the route given, Dr. Harris said: "We still find it objectionable because Government Headquarters is the focus of the protest. It is there that the Parliament that is not hearing the Motion of No Confidence is located, it is there the illegal Prime Minister sits and we believe that we have a Constitutional right to protest everywhere and, therefore, that shouldn't be cordoned off."
He said that they applied for a specific route which included marching down Church Street and that route was denied, adding that the Commissioner of Police, Celvin G. Walwyn, said that there were national security issues.
The Unity Leader said that the Police Force wanted them to just march straight across Cayon Street and turn right onto West Independence Square Street, but they protested against it and was given a compromised route.
He said despite the fact that they were denied the opportunity to march down Church Street or even College Street Ghaut, they still had a great time and managed to get their message across that Team Unity would soon be taking over to properly represent the people of the Federation.
"Nonetheless, we took the route that was given because we are setting example of obedience to the law. We had a tremendous turnout! The energy is there and we saw that the energy was maintained throughout the night.
Team Unity promised to take the energy over to Nevis very soon.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)