Over 1,500 sign petition against sale of Bequia Crown lands

Over 1,500 citizens and residents of Bequia have added their voice to the protest against the sale of crown lands on Bequia by signing a petition which states, “We, the undersigned citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, do not agree that Government should sell off all of Bequia’s Crown Lands.” This, according to the People’s Action Alliance (PPA) in a press release on Tuesday.{{more}}

The group states that they have written to the Minister of Lands, Senator Julian Francis, in a continuing effort by the People’s Action Alliance to discover the status of the Crown Lands of Bequia. The PAA says that it speaks for the majority of the inhabitants of Bequia in “expressing dismay over the apparent transfer of all of Bequia’s Crown Land to the International Airport Development Co. for re-sale at prices most local persons cannot afford.”

Rocky McIntosh, co-chairperson of the executive committee, according to the release, “is worried that the sale of these 739 acres (17% of Bequia’s land mass) represents a permanent loss of control over the island’s territory.” He explained that “in a small country like St. Vincent, this loss has far-reaching implications for our sovereignty. Once it’s gone, I’m afraid it’s gone forever.”