BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN yet another attempt to sensitise the population to the perceived failures of the Labour government, lead opposition party the People’s Action Movement (PAM) conducted a demonstration throughout downtown Basseterre on Wednesday, March 4.
The demonstration consisted of a man, dressed in a red sheet with “Labour: All 8 is Great” printed over it, sleeping on a cot. Beside him was a gas lamp and signs proclaiming “While Crime Rising, Labour Sleeping” and “Lights Gone Again”.
Drawing scores of interested onlookers, the exhibit was first set up at the Basseterre Ferry Terminal at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. After an hour had elapsed, a group of four policemen arrived at the terminal and ordered its dismantling.
In response to what law the man had broken, one policeman stated the order to remove the exhibit had “come from a higher power”. He refused to give any specific details as to what law the man had violated.
Undaunted, the man reconstructed the demonstration at noon at the top of Fort Street by the old Shell gas station. It remained there for over an hour despite the presence of a policeman several feet away who was directing the lunchtime traffic.
SKNVibes contacted PAM’s Deputy Leader Hon. Shawn Richards, who said the demonstration was another component of his party’s creative marketing campaign to highlight how the Labour administration is ignoring key societal issues.
“We are entering the third month of the year and we have already had seven murders. The vast majority of citizens would agree the government is doing very little; they are merely paying lip service. We are not hearing from them and we are not seeing anything come from them. The government said they would make crime their number one priority and they have failed on that priority,” Richards said.
The demonstration is the latest in a series of marketing ploys by the opposition party. Previous stunts have included a chained car, a broken-down chair and protesters with tape over their mouths. Each of these demonstrations has been accompanied by signs chastising and criticising the Labour government.
Richards expressed confidence that the message behind the exhibits was getting through to the electorate. He said persons had commented on them and had shown support for PAM’s actions.
However, he stated his disapproval and anger at the actions of the police.
“As far as I know, the man was not breaking the law. It is not enough for a policeman to indicate he had orders from a higher power. They should have indicated which section of the law he was violating.
“Section three of the Constitution guarantees persons the rights of expression, assembly and association. These are rights enshrined in the constitution. The police violated this man’s constitutional rights,” Richards declared.
