BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “I have not attacked the Prime Minister’s character. I have not said anything that would defame the Prime Minister. If I did, he has recourse to the court to sue me if I defamed him. Obviously, he has no case of defamation against me because I have said nothing about his character. I haven’t accused him of any crime. I haven’t accused him of any corruption. I have nothing personal against him. He hasn’t done me anything.”
These are the words of local social commentator and educator Washington ‘Washie’ Archibald in response to comments made by the Prime Minister of the Federation, Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas, who has accused him of making continuous “unwarranted...personal attack(s)” against him.
During Tuesday’s edition of his weekly radio programme, “Ask the PM”, Dr. Douglas accused Archibald of forwarding an agenda devised by “perpetrators” to “bring down the Labour Government” which he leads. He said Archibald does this during his morning programme aired on WINNFM 98.9, “Ask Washie”.
Archibald, in speaking with SKNVibes, expressed fervidly that the Prime Minister’s insinuation that he bows to the commands and demands of some puppeteer is a direct insult to his intelligence.
“...If the Prime Minister said that, he is insulting my intelligence. I thought he said that I was a wise man; a man they chose to honour by naming a school after him. How could the Prime Minister believe that I could be anybody’s puppet to carry out anybody’s agenda? He knows better than that. I didn’t carry out his agenda.
“I was offered jobs from the Labour Party when they got into power. I refused jobs that they offered me because I don’t want to be tied to anybody’s apron string. I don’t want to be carrying out anybody’s agenda. I am a free spirit. I do what I want because I’m free and I’ve done everything in my life to maintain my freedom because I don’t want to be tied to anybody to do anybody’s bidding.”
Archibald expressed that the Prime Minister’s comments are evidence that he is “playing the sympathy game. He is trying to evoke sympathy from his supporters and from those members of the public who fall for that kind of ploy”.
Reiterating comments made countless times before, Archibald said, as a citizen of this country and as a student of Government, Economics and History, he has and would continue to capitalise on his right to freedom of speech to comment on the ills which he observes taking place in his country.
“What I see going wrong is that we are setting up a Prime Minister for life in our country and I find that that is a dangerous arrangement; it is a dangerous thing to be doing. To establish the post of Prime Minister for life because he happens to be in a safe seat, a seat where people will vote for him every time and on the basis of that he thinks that he should be the Prime Minister for the next hundred years...and I disagree with that because Presidents for life and Prime Ministers for life are the biggest danger to democracy. You don’t have democracy if you have one man governing the country for a millennium; for generation after generation.
“You mean to say our country cannot find any new leaders, any new thinking? This is a ridiculous thing. This is a sad reflection on our society if we cannot find a new Prime Minister every 15 years. And anybody who will say that they think that they are right to be Prime Minister forever, I am going to challenge them because this is my country. I have a right to say what must happen in my country. You don’t have a right to believe me. People don’t have a right to follow me, but I have a God-given right to say if something looks wrong to me. I must be able to call it!”
According to Archibald’s point of view, the Prime Minister, like other leaders of the world, is not above criticism.
“People criticise the President of the United States. They criticised the Prime Minister of Britain. Well, what happened to the Prime Minister? What is he, some kind of king that if you criticise him he cuts off your head or threatens you? This is what I am warning my people against...I am warning my people that that is what is encroaching on our country.”
