Eustace cries foul after charge against Cummings

The Opposition leader is accusing the Government of using intimidation tactics in an effort to shut his party up; he however vows to continue to speak out against issues he feels are affecting the country.

Arnhim Eustace was commenting on new legal developments stemming from his party’s April 27 protest action at the Grenadines Wharf in Kingstown.{{more}}

Senator Daniel Cummings has to appear at this country’s Serious Offences Court at 9.00 a.m. on Monday, July 2, as defendant in a complaint brought against him by the Commissioner of Police.

The Complaint made is as follows; “That the defendant (Daniel Cummings)…on the 27th day of April, 2007 did unlawfully at Kingstown, in St Vincent and the Grenadines and within the First Magisterial District assault Alasius Stapleton, Police Constable No. 749, acting in the due execution of his duty.”

In a press conference last Tuesday, Senator Cummings said that his lawyers have filed private criminal proceedings against the said police officer and is awaiting a court date to argue their case.

“This is before the court awaiting a date which we hope will coincide with the police case,” Senator Cummings said.

Cummings further said that following the march and the incidents that occurred, he submitted a letter to the Commissioner of Police detailing the events as they occurred.

“To date, there has not even been an acknowledgement of this letter by the office of the Commissioner of Police,” Cummings said.

Meanwhile Eustace told SEARCHLIGHT that he is not fazed by the Government’s approach to dealing with opposition.

“They are trying to make us cower and stay silent but that would not work,” Eustace said.

This whole legal chess match stems from an incident on April 27th when Senator Daniel Cumming and others in the hierarchy of the New Democratic Party (NDP), the major opposition party in the country, led a demonstration at the Grenadines Wharf in objection to a $1 user fee that was implemented by the Port Authority on April 16.

According to reports, after a day of peaceful demonstration, the protesters clashed with the police officers including some from the Rapid Response Unit (RRU). The altercation began when the gate that barred access to the wharf was opened to let a car through and the protesters tried to push their way through on to the wharf.

It is during this clash that Senator Daniel Cummings and parliamentarian Dr Godwin Friday claim that they were assaulted by police; Senator Cummings stating that he was punched in his mouth, unprovoked, from through a gate.

Shortly after the incident, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ekron Lockhart told SEARCHLIGHT that an investigation spearheaded by Inspector Franklin Williams had been launched into the matter.

The senior police officer told SEARCHLIGHT then, that once the investigation had been completed and the report submitted, then any action deemed necessary will be taken.

Lockhart assured SEARCHLIGHT that such action would be taken whether it was against police officers or persons who were part of the protest action. He said that the police would be looking to interview as many eyewitnesses as possible.

“Events unfolding in our blessed land often make us wonder if we are in a democracy or if the dark days of communism have taken over our country,” Senator Cummings said yesterday.

Eustace said that he absolutely supports his colleague in the matter.