KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, April 18, IWN — Lawyers for Leader of the Opposition, Arnhim Eustace, has written to WE FM demanding an apology and EC$140,000 for statements Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves made on the station on Feb. 17.
Mira Commissiong, a lawyer or Eustace, told I-Witness News on Thursday that WE FM is yet to respond to Eustace’s demand.
The demand came even as Gonsalves has refused to apologise for saying in a telephone call to the station that Eustace had alleged in an interview with the BBC that investor Dave Ames, chair of Harlequin, had gone to Gonsalves’ office with a bag of money and left without it.
Eustace has denied making the allegation and Commissiong said that she has been instructed to sue Gonsalves for EC$140,001.
But Gonsalves, a lawyer, has said that Eustace’s claim has no legal merit, that he will not apologise, and that he will vigorously defend any legal action against him.
“The only thing I have to say on that is that the Prime Minister is entitled to his opinion,” Commissiong told I-Witness News, when asked about Gonsalves’ comments.
Gonsalves said last month that he would sue Eustace for statement that the Opposition Leader made at a town hall meeting in New York.
what a pratt, born and bred in a mauby shop where he probably was taught to tell lies, never stopped since
Arnhim Eustace is TRYING to STIFLE FREEDOM of SPEECH in SVG by SUING WE-FM. He is TRYING to SILENCE POOR PEOPLE..
What is our COUNTRY COMING to??
If Eustace is the PM he is going to TURN SVG into a COMMUNIST STATE.
Eustace is a DICTATOR in WAITING.
Oh my, I SOUND like one of those NDP NUTS in regards to Dr. Gonsalves suing NICE RADIO.
SCARY!!!!
But then it was only SARCASM.
There are many things wrong with the culture of the US, but WHEN IT COMES TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, THE US IS SECOND TO NONE. One particular law that I point to is the defamation laws. Under US law, defamation laws are so much more muscular than the English equivalent. Whereas in the US plaintiffs have to show that material published about them is substantially false, under English law the defamatory material is presumed to be false unless and until the defendant is able to demonstrate otherwise. Under English law it is the responsibility of the defendant to prove the truth of the defamatory allegation. In other words, UNDER THE US DEFAMATION LAWS, GONSALVES WOULD HAVE RECEIVED NOT A DAMN CENT!!!.
Further, under US law the defamatory statement must have been made with fault. The extent of the fault depends primarily on the status of the plaintiff. Public figures, such as GONSALVES AND EUSTACE, well-known individuals, and people involved in specific public controversies like the DPP Colin NOLLE PROSE WILLIAMS, are required to prove actual malice (ie that the defendant knew their statement to be false or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of their statement). So when I say the DPP ———— Gonsalves- under English law, I will be sued for thy kingdom come but under the US LAW…the DDP will have to prove that I was reckless in my utterances and acting with malice. And this is where the defamation laws under English law is REALLY F’KING WEAK, there is no distinction between private and public figures. English law holds that all potential claimants can sue, regardless of whether they are public figures or not, and need not show malice to do so.
Eustace and Gonslaves need to relax with all this SUING…but Gonsalves have set such a polarizing precedent with all these litigation of his opponents,that its very hard for other politicians to not reciprocate when they have the chance to do so.On the one hand, defamation suits are a necessary recourse for those who believe that they have been wronged by the press or individuals. On the other hand, this constant running to the courts every Monday morning ala Gonsalves can serve as a subtle censor of our freedom of expression.
YOUuuuuuuu WHOooooooooo VINCYPOWA, have you told the IRS yet?
TEACHERFANG, you were a RABBLE ROUSING SUPPORTER of the NO VOTE in the REFERENDUM exercise, so I am really puzzled by your claim that the ENGLISH LAW is WEAK.
In other words, you SUPPORTED KEEPING the ENGLISH CONSTITUTION given to us by the FORMER COLONIAL MASTER of SVG, BRITAIN, in 1979, with the QUEEN of ENGLAND as the HEAD of STATE, that Dr. Gonsalves and his government wanted to get rid of with a NEW CONSTITUTION. So it is quite AMUSING and SICKENING to see you writing about how WEAK the ENGLISH LAW is as it relates to DEFAMATION.
People like you should be LAUGHED at, because you have no TRUE CONVICTION or INTEGRITY on anything.
Your views are simply based on PERSONAL GRUDGES and are AGENDA DRIVEN.
SVG entire legal system needs a overhaul. It is terrible out of date, especially when a policeman can threaten to lock up citizens if they question him too closely. A police should not be able to lockup a citizen, unless some law was broken. He must record the offence and inform the citizen of his/her rights. No one, not even the police should be able to abuse their power and get away with it.
SVG police feel they should not be questioned or rebuked.
WOOOHOOOOO VINCYPOWA, like your FOUL MOUTH SENATOR, LINTON LEWIS, “NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!!!”
WOOOHOOOOO PETERBINOSE like your FOUL MOUTH SENATOR, LINTON LEWIS, said, NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!!!
COOoooooo EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee VINCYSTINKER, yes it is, I have made it my business as an honest world citizen. So I wrote to them on your behalf giving them details.
VINCYPOWA, why have you sent two mails the same, one to yourself? Is the brain disease getting worse?
By the way that word that you use beginning with g, is a sign of being aligned to Satan. I doesn’t surprise me that you use it. Its also anti Christ and linked to Obeah.
I have seen you described on the internet as a Theistic Satanist who worships Theistic Satanism. I know you have a strong support for who I now call the Obiman in SVG. Who self declared that ” if I work Obeah I only work Obeah for the Lord”. Exactly which lord he is referring to has never been clarified. It certainly cannot be Lord Jesus, you cannot work Obeah for Jesus. So unless properly clarified we will assume it is the Lord Satan.
Thought you may be interested in this, as I promised I am helping you with the IRS.
The IRS remains actively engaged in ferreting out the identities of those with undisclosed foreign accounts. Moreover, increasingly this information is available to the IRS under tax treaties, through submissions by whistleblowers, and will become more available under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Foreign Financial Asset Reporting (new IRC § 6038D).
Eric, while you’re at it, DROWNING YOURSELF in FANTASIES, tell them I said it is NONE OF THEIR GODDAMN BUSINESS.
PETER, while youre at it, DROWNING YOURSELF in FANTASIES, tell them I said it is NONE OF THEIR GODDAMN BUSINESS.
Do you have the protection here in SVG? or Do you have a Diplomatic passport?
VINCYKIPPERKNICKERSPOWA, I now know what your SVG protection is, Collin told my friends at dinner.
By the way who is Eric that you refer to, your starting to come unhinged, not that we care, its quite nice to have the evidence of your oncoming senility. It will probably improve your present intelligence.
HEY PETER, when persons were TESTED for INTELLIGENCE, you were last on the totem pole.
As for going senile, I SUGGEST that you speak to your IMPOTENT LEADER Arnhim Eustace.
See you around, BUB.
TEACHERFANG, I agree with your comment 100%. Those were exactly my thoughts. There was an article on Caribbean News Now a couple months ago voicing the same concern about these lawsuits being an attempt to cesnsor public opinion. Here is the link.
http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Letter%3A-The-Vincentian-Nazi-and-Gestapo%2C-in-sheep%27s-clothing-14180.html
Eric, so, are you saying that Arnhim Eustace and the NDP are TRYING to CENSOR PUBLIC OPINION?
In other words, are they a THREAT to DEMOCRACY in SVG?
WE-FM gave the NDP a PLATFORM, courtesy of the Linton Lewis programme, to SPEAK to the MASSES and Arnhim Eustace turned around and SUED the STATION.
Next thing you know, Linton Lewis decided not to show up for his THURSDAY PROGRAMME on WE-FM after Eustace sued the station.
Did Linton Lewis choose not to show up for his Thursday programme on WE-FM, because the NDP doesn’t want to LOOK like IDIOTS and HYPOCRITES by SUING a STATION that gives its CHAIRMAN and SENATOR, LINTON LEWIS, a platform to air his PARTY’S VIEWS?
The HYPOCRISY of Eustace and the NDP is quite AMUSING.
Again, DEMOCRACY is UNDER THREAT, COURTESY of EUSTACE and the NDP, because they’re SUING a RADIO STATION, if one has to take Eric seriously, to KEEP the VOICES of the PEOPLE QUIET.
If Eustace and the NDP are like this in OPPOSITION, IMAGINE what they will be like as the GOVERNMENT.
I say NO to the NDP EVER GOVERNING this NATION again.
Not only are they a THREAT to DEMOCRACY, they have NO ALTERNATIVE VISION, PLANS And POLICIES to GOVERN SVG.
SHAME ON EUSTACE for SUING a RADIO STATION that GIVES his PARTY the AIRWAVES to COMMUNICATE its AGENDA to the MASSES, COURTESY of SENATOR and CHAIRMAN of the NDP, LINTON LEWIS
COOoooooo EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee CATTLEHEAD, did you get a visit yet?
Peter, tell the VOICES in your SCHIZOPHRENIC HEAD I do not have TIME for their DELUSIONS and SILLINESS.
We will see ‘O dip s..t’ of little intelligence. If its not you VINCYPOWA, how come you recognised it was directed at you? seeing as I purposly never mentioned your [false] name.
See how simple it is to get an admission from you, without resorting to the SVG police method of, beating it out of you.
Boy, you really are not the full ticket.