“This isn’t just a struggle against drugs, crime and corruption but a determination against a ruthless dictator.”

This was the declaration by opposition senator St Claire Leacock when he addressed the thousands that descended on Heritage Square, at the climax of the NDP led protest march through Kingstown last Wednesday.

Calling the march a historical occasion, Leacock told exuberant supporters that if they were not careful, there would be a Venezuelan military base established in St Vincent and the Grenadines within a few years.{{more}}

“St Vincent and the Grenadines is too small to be caught up in any way between Venezuela, Cuba and the United States,” he said.

Also addressing the crowd was the Green Party’s leader Ivan O’Neal, who some in the crowd jokingly suggested was addressing the largest audience in his struggling political career.

“The NDP has a strong leader,” O’Neal said, “a man of courage,” he stressed.

O’Neal said that the march was also to show Prime Minister Gonsalves that he was shooting himself on his foot through the policies he was pursuing. O’Neal also made a call for there to be an end to the sale of land to foreigners as he advocated the leasing of lands for development instead.

The Green Party leader told the large crowd that his party’s research had shown that there was need for single sex primary schools in this country. He said that those schools have proven to be more successful worldwide.

NDP’s Public Relations Officer, Vynette Frederick thanked the marchers for their support and renewed her call for the government to resign. The recently dismissed Human Resources Manager of the East Caribbean Flour Mills, Junior Bacchus also addressed the crowd briefly.

But it was NDP’s spokesman EG Lynch who stole the show. During the rally, members of the Rapid Response Unit (Black Squad) showed up, fully armed in two vehicles and the word filtering through Heritage Square was that they had come to arrest Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace.

“I am prepared to stand up for this man,” was Lynch’s declaration.

As he pulled up his jersey to “expose his heart” Lynch emotionally declared his love and support for Eustace and vowed to sit in jail and “eat dry bread” with him if it came to that.

“They must respect our leader, they must respect the man,” Lynch said.

He called the police’s presence, the rumoured intention to arrest Eustace and the attempts to stop the rally from taking place at Heritage Square “an insult to democracy, an insult to freedom.”