BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – A WINNFM Report Monday has highlighted the hypocrisy of Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris and the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly Hon. Eugene Hamilton on the issue of respect for the position of Speaker of the lawmaking body.
The report tells of Mr. Hamilton chastising the members of Parliamentary Opposition for what he considers disrespect being shown to Speaker of Parliament Hon. Michael Perkins outside the House of Assembly.
WINNFM states that Minister Hamilton spoke to the issue at last Tuesday’s (Jan 24) Team Unity town hall meeting in which the clip has Hamilton saying: “The rules are, you are not supposed to have reflections upon the actions of the Speaker in the public square. Dr. Douglas, they don’t seem to know that.”
But WINNFM quickly pointed out that while the call for respect for current speak Michael Perkins is seen as a worthwhile appeal, Labour Party supporters are recalling that in March of 2014 during the height of the protest against the non-tabling of the then motion of no confidence in the Douglas administration, then Speaker Martin was vilified publicly by the same Hamilton as well as Dr. Harris.
WINNFM played a March 3rd 2014 clip with the voice of Dr. Harris’ description of Speaker Curtis Martin, at a protest he Dr. Harris led outside the National Bank.
“The Speaker has become a sorry state; the Speaker has become the most biased, the most unreliable of Speakers anywhere in the Commonwealth, so the Speaker in itself has become a non-entity. Indeed he is still the Speaker no matter how inefficient and one must still hope that there is still some modicum of virtue,” Dr. Harris said then.
The WINNFM Report also stated that Labour Party supporters recall too that even when walking through Independence Square some two weeks later on his way to collect his child at a nearby school, Speaker Martin was followed by Team Unity supporters in what appeared to be an attempt at harassment or intimidation.
The Report also noted that in 2014 the then Team Unity opposition took public aim at the Speaker of the day because in their view he had unfairly prevented a motion of no confidence in the Douglas administration from being tabled in the parliament.
“In 2017, today’s opposition is taking aim publicly at the current Speaker because they allege that he has unfairly dismissed a motion of no confidence in the Speaker,” the WINNFM Report stated.
There are also photos of Dr. Harris, Eugene Hamilton, Shawn Richards and Lindsay Grant with placards outside National Bank where Mr. Martin worked.
SKNVIBES also carried headlines of what it termed “Mr. Grant’s public display harassing Mr. Martin” and another with Team Unity picketers “trailing Speaker Martin through the streets of Basseterre.”
The latter incident prompted a statement from then Commissioner of Police Mr. CG Walwyn that the public andblatant harassment and act of intimidation was an offence, guided by Section 4 of the Prevention of Crime Act, Chapter 4.26 of the revised Laws of the Federation.
Photo 1 – Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris (left) then Team Unity Leader demonstrating outside the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank as then Speaker, Mr. Curtis Martin arrives for work.
Photo 2 – Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly, Mr. Eugene Hamilton, then an opposition parliamentarian, protesting outside National Bank against Speaker Curtis Martin.
Photo 3 – Mr Lindsay Grant, now minister of Tourism, demonstrating outside National Bank against then speaker Curtis Martin
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