122/2018
Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 19, 2018 – The opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) has again appeal to all right-thinking citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis “to decry the abhorrent and undemocratic actions of the government and the Speaker in an attempt to preserve the final remnants of our once thriving democracy.”
In a statement Monday, the SKNLP sent a warning signal that this corruption of the Parliament of St. Kitts and Nevis must stop, somehow “The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party is resolute in its opposition to the flagrant abasement of our Parliament and our democracy,” it said.
The SKNLP said it “utterly condemns the reprehensible conduct of Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Michael Perkins, who on Tuesday February 13 conspired with Prime Minister Timothy Harris and Member for St. Christopher 1, Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd to deny two members of the Opposition, among
them the Rt. Hon. Leader of the Opposition, from speaking out against the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) (Amendment) Bill.”
It noted that in full view of the public, Perkins performed his most detestable and abhorrent act of trying to muzzle the Opposition as the Timothy Harris-led administration rushed through legislation to auction off the assets of SCASPA as part of a corrupt scheme.
“Speaker Michael Perkins was deliberate, blatant and arrogant in his dismissal of the Opposition’s appeal to him for an opportunity to address the bill before the House. Instead, the Speaker on yet another occasion, allowed the government side to wind up the debate, thereby shutting out the members of the Opposition,” said the statement.
It added: “Such egregious and contemptible acts have become the norm in our Parliament since Mr. Perkins assumed the speakership. Mr. Perkins displays an uncommon ineptitude and callous disregard for the rules governing the Parliament and for the rights and privileges of the members of the Opposition. The naked
flouting of the rules of Parliament and the abuse of Opposition members are part of a deliberate conspiracy hatched between Mr. Perkins and members of the government, the Prime Minister in particular.”
The SKNLP said the public is now alert to the reality that as a result of the candidacy of Akilah Nisbett for the West Basseterre constituency on the ticket of the political party of Dr. Timothy Harris, the deliberate attacks and attempts at humiliation of the sitting representative Hon. Konris Maynard have become more frequent
and more flagrant.
“The Speaker of the National Assembly is the tool and puppet whom the Prime Minister uses to carry out his diabolical plot to undermine democracy in our Federation and to entrench himself in the corridors of power.
We note too that the attacks on the Leader of the Opposition, former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas have also been stepped up as are the attacks on Central Basseterre Representative Hon. Marcella Liburd,” it said.
The SKNLP further pointed out that Dr. Douglas’ personal statement was curtailed in Parliament on January 23rd with a subsequent
ruling by the Speaker that all personal statements must be in writing and sent to him in advance.
“Additionally, Prime Minister Harris at the last sitting on Tuesday personally abused in the lowest terms the only elected female in our Parliament after she criticised the government on the SCASPA (Amendment) Bill”
The SKNLP asked: “When and where will this kind of atrocity end? Where are the limits?
The most recent sitting of Parliament is the clearest indication yet that a tyrannical dictatorship aided and abetted by the Speaker is thriving in our once-democratic country. Dr. Timothy Harris and his government are trying to run roughshod over their opposition counterparts in Parliament while corruption flows wanton in the streets of Basseterre.”
It said the Sitting of the National Assembly scheduled for Wednesday February 21st makes the fifth occasion in recent memory that the Parliament is being convened without any public business to debate.
“The Parliament of our land is being used chiefly as a partisan political platform for Prime Minister Timothy Harris, facilitated fully by the Speaker,” said the SKNLP statement.
Photo 1 (left to right) – Dr. Terrance Drew, Dr. Earl Asim Martin, Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Hon. Marcella Liburd and Hon. Konris Maynard
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