Stephen Pollard, an activist for the ruling Unity Labour Party, took to the streets of Kingstown on Monday calling for the removal of commentator Frank Da Silva from hosting a programme on the party’s radio station, Star FM.
Pollard’s one-man protest followed an article by House Speaker and ULP member, Jomo Thomas, in his weekly column in The Vincentian newspaper last week, in which he called Da Silva “a loud, foul-mouthed radio bully, an intellectual dwarf, and a political prostitute in search of a home”.
Thomas, who was a candidate for the ULP in the December 2015 general elections, accused Da Silva of being opportunistic.
He said that for many years, Da Silva played music in an NDP fete and excoriated Gonsalves, ULP and anyone who even whispered the word star – the symbols of the ULP.
“Then the loose cannon’s boss broke with the NDP, better put, the NDP foolishly broke with its founding father. Frank did not wait for the command to jump. He proclaimed himself Gonsalves’ partner,” Thomas wrote.
In his response on his radio programme Friday night, Da Silva said that he had repeatedly said that if he had to vote for someone with a heart, he would cast his ballot for ULP leader, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves many times but not once for outgoing leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, Arnhim Eustace — a man whose praises he once sang.
Da Silva also asked what is it that he wanted or got from the ULP to trigger Thomas’ accusation that he is opportunistic.
“This sounds like an intellectual debate? Eh?” Da Silva said.
Meanwhile, ULP general secretary, Sen. Julian Francis, speaking on his weekly radio programme on Tuesday, called on both men to stop their bickering, even as he noted that Thomas is an ULP member, but Da Silva is not.
Francis called on Thomas to tone down his commentary on Da Silva and further called on the former ULP senator to learn to take licks, adding that Frank is not paid for his advocacy on behalf of the ULP.
Da Silva’s became critical of Thomas, after the outspoken commentator said in his column that the government undersold lands at Mt Wynne-Peters Hope, accepting EC$7 million for 36 acres of land sold to Canadian investors.
Pollard is pollarding in the truest sense Frank Da Silva, who is what Gonsalves would normally describe as a worthless dirty dog.
For the readers further information pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches or head of a tree is removed.
Frank needs pollarding and at the same time scything at the ankles.
Ralph Gonsalves could not believe his luck in what he thought if managed could become another one of his master strokes. In fact I am sure Gonsalves just loves the political filth that Frank has been applying to everything NDP. Gonsalves will have a great laugh because he is from the same ilk as Da Silva he will revel in the belief that he Gonsalves has reversed the tables on the NDP. It is just another way to apply the all evil spite malice and hatred which he specializes in.
But Mr Pollard if he had any real idea of decency or principles should also pollard Gonsalves because whatever Da Dilva is doing it can only be with Gonsalves blessing and encouragement.
Its quite amazing how any filth emanating from the comrade is OK but from anyone else its not.
The kind of wrangling — a healthy debate from my perspective — would never and was never allowed by the command and control obsessed NDP.
Please remember what happened to Anesia Baptiste and Anatol Scott.
Anatol? If there is such a thing as a comeuppance to be had in this nonsense, Anatol came by his honestly. Anesia’s case I do not properly understand but Anatol, that’s a no-case submission.
Jeannine, I am no fan of Anatol, going back two decades when he posted a lot of crap on a site called KaribTalk where he chronically vilified his brother, Jerry, for enriching himself while a minister in Mitchell’s government and then went on to support the NDP (and the memory of his brother) in the 2015 election at least for a while (calling the Comrade all sorts of names) and them switched mid-stream to support the ULP after being marginalized by Eustace (hypocritically saying he could live with the Comrade for one more term).
My point is simply that Eustace never allowed any difference of opinion while he was leader and sent Anesia packing based on an inconsequential (for me) issue of freedom of conscience something that many progressive First World parties in Western Europe and North American routinely tolerate (e.g., the issues of abortion and euthanasia).
At any rate, a single protester on the streets of Kingstown and a single voice of opposition in the form of an emasculated Jomo are of no consequence.