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Commissioner of Polcie, Colin John, left, and other police officer around Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, his shirt covered in blood, after being injured in protest in Kingstown last week Thursday. (Photo: REUTERS/Robertson S. Henry)
Commissioner of Polcie, Colin John, left, and other police officer around Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, his shirt covered in blood, after being injured in protest in Kingstown last week Thursday. (Photo: REUTERS/Robertson S. Henry)
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There are three “tests” which the Leader of the Opposition Godwin Friday fail to take or pass after the protest in Kingstown last Thursday turned violent, resulting in an injury to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

“When he became first aware of that what transpired, he should have gone to the crowd, small crowd as it is, of 200 people or under and say, ‘This matter has gotten out of hand. This protest is at an end. Go home. I do not tolerate this kind of violence’,” the prime minister said on WE FM on Sunday, his 75th birthday.

“Even though it might have been nothing but an opportunistic, holier-than-thou bit of hypocrisy since he had been involved in riling people, riling them up,” Gonsalves said.

“But that’s at least the first test which was before him. He meet it; he didn’t pass it.”

The prime minister said that the “second test is that the first opportunity in the House to have denounced what happened unequivocally in specific terms with absolutely no ambiguity or equivocation, instead, his first response is that what happened was regrettable. 

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“In other words, my bloodshed was regrettable. And having done those first two things and he failed to take those tests, he should have then called Eloise [my wife] and requested permission to come at the bedside of Ralph at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. 

“That also he failed to meet. When I was in the recovery room, [former prime minister and NDP founder] Sir James Mitchell called on FaceTime, you know, and we had a long conversation.”

The protest was organised by the opposition New Democratic Party, the Teachers’ Union, the Public Service Union, the Nurses Association, and RISE Hairouna, in demonstration of objections to changes to the Public Health Act, which were later passed into law around 3 a.m. Friday.

The prime minister was asked if he would attach any culpability to the other entities that were “purportedly in the protest: the Teachers’ Union, the PSU, Nurses Association, the van drivers”.

Gonsalves said:

“A few van drivers there don’t represent van drivers. And insofar as the leadership of the Teachers’ Union and The Public Service, their conduct was wholly reprehensible. 

“They tried to piggyback on a political demonstration, which has, which from the beginning has only one purpose, from [Senator] Ashelle [Morgan] all the way, get rid of Ralph and the government.”

The prime minister said that he had read the comments of the union leaders at a press conference two days before the protest.

“And I can tell you, their representation at the press conference, entirely dishonest, and did not speak the truth as to what the bills were before the house. And the lawyers who presented themselves at that press conference were more guided by politics than by law. That is my settled view and I can demonstrate that.”

PSU and Teachers’ Union legal counsel Jomo Thomas and Zita Barnwell as well as Israel Bruce, lawyer for the Police Welfare Association attended and spoke at the press conference. 

Bruce is also an opposition senator. 

6 replies on “Opposition ‘failed’ ‘3 tests’ after protest violence — PM”

  1. Yvonne Findlay says:

    Fellow vincey, be careful we in Canada are watching and won’t be traveling to a place with such violent events, and countries would warn their citizens not to travel to svg

  2. Tell it like it is says:

    It’s a pity how he know all these failed tests now and when he received that phone call concerning the Mr John matter he should have advised the caller to go and get a lawyer and report to the police station bloody hypocrite One Law For paddy an another for Jack.

  3. Flash back. Road block Revolutionary Mercenaries day.

    Did our you are party take blame for stone death of my Calliaqua family.

    Did you and party called off the stoning and band fires all over SVG.

    Did you and supporters lift cease on the main roads in SVG.

    Have you and UlP take responsibility for blocking of Ambulance and people in emergency situations going to Hospital and Doctor offices.

    Did you take responsibility when house parliament was in session which be i believe dates and time is set by your office when MP Daniel and other was seriously hurt upto this day .Did you called off parliament?.

    Remember this saying. “More you climb up the more you expose your bam bam”.

    Keep talking. SVG done forget.

  4. If all the Unions and the opposition party came together to protest against the government, something is definitely wrong.

  5. Strongly agree that the opposition has surely failed 3 tests. ( one) they were not accused of rape, ( 2) , they never had any relationship with a mental woman, ( 3) they have not failed their test to enter Canada.

  6. For twenty years we have had to suffer from kakastocracy, pornocracy, monsters of heathendom, empleomania, throttlebottom leadership of mugwumpery, obstructionistism of real progress.

    We have suffered the highbindery of misprision, and kakabolsaismo.

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