ASP: Plug will be pulled where violence breaks out

Revellers who were anticipating the South Windward carnival street jam, had a disappointing evening on Saturday, May 26, after the event had to be canceled, because of a violent altercation earlier that day, between two young men.{{more}}

According to reports, a fight that broke out during J’Ouvert between Angelo Isaacs and Carmon Goodluck resulted in both individuals receiving stab wounds.

The fight also signalled an abrupt end to the J’Ouvert event as well..

The two young men were rushed to the Biabou clinic and then on to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), where their wounds were treated.

They were both discharged from hospital earlier this week.

However, Chairperson for the South Windward carnival Meggie Stephenson told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday that he was very disappointed with the way the carnival activities climaxed, despite the success of all the other activities held earlier.

He explained after evaluating what transpired earlier during the J’Ouvert, the decision was taken not to proceed with the street jam.

“I am very disappointed with the few persons who are involved in violence during carnival. We will need to stop this kind of behaviour because it is making it bad for our festival and it is also sending a negative picture to visitors to our country,” Stephenson stated.

Despite the incident, Stephenson described this year’s South Windward carnival as “quite successful.”

“We had a few mishaps, but the festival itself was a vast improvement of last year. There were larger crowds at the queen show and calypso finals this year.

“All in all, we had a good festival except for the incident during J’Ouvert,” he added.

Meanwhile, Assistant Superintendant of Police Jonathan Nichols, speaking at a CDC press conference on Tuesday, advised persons on behalf of the police commissioner, that the “plug will be pulled” on any Carnival event where violence breaks out.

Nichols explained that the police had received reports of a couple of incidents over the weekend that were very troubling to the police and caused concerns.

“Now, the police force, we are very cognizant of our role of securing Vincy Mas, whether in the rural areas or in the capital, Kingstown.

“We also are aware that while we have to secure and protect and ensure that the events go well, we have to look out for the safety of persons who are not Carnival inclined and other members of the general public.

“Over the weekend, we had to stop one of the functions that was scheduled because of some violence earlier in the day and … the message is that we want people to enjoy Vincy Mas, we want you to enjoy yourself, we want you to enjoy the shows, but there are some persons, they are just geared toward making trouble,” ASP Nichols further stated.

Addressing the same press conference was Culture Minister, Cecil “Ces” McKie, who advised persons not to have the belief that having a safe Vincy Mas was the sole responsibilty of the Police.

“The responsibility lies with every single individual to do their part to ensure that our Carnival remains as the safest Carnival in the Caribbean.

“So, let us be reminded of that responsibility and ensure that we enforce the ‘No Bottle’ Policy, that we work along with the police to safeguard all of our citizens and the visitors to St Vincent and the Grenadines.”(AA)