A tale of two marches in SVG

08.APR.11

EDITOR: I look on with keen interest as the two political forces in SVG battle for the public’s attention.

After the recent elections, political tension in the country has heightened. The quest for the public’s attention has shifted to the streets of capital Kingstown, and this is where we really saw how the two parties are vastly different.{{more}}

For the last two months, the NDP has held several protests in capital Kingstown. Needless to say the party’s hierarchies have been extremely disappointed with the support it has received, to put it mildly. Insiders are even suggesting that they are on the verge of abandoning the protests. Dueling forces within the party are at war, as they try to define the way forward.

The NDP appears to an ordinary on-looker as a rag-tag bunch. On the streets they are led by Burton Williams, a one-time parliamentarian. Williams was the one who led the charge as NDP supporters tried to break down the gates of Parliament. He was the one who declared that a Venezuelan war ship was steaming towards St. Vincent.

In Parliament, Vynnette Fredericks is Queen of the indisciplined pack. She frequently updates her Facebook page, and when she was rebuked by the speaker responded defiantl:, “It done send already”.

In all of these protests, the NDP is defined by its clear lack of discipline. However, this has been their defining characteristic for the last 10 years. Their indiscipline can be seen regularly on the New Times programme, which is aired on Nice Radio from Monday to Friday. On that programme, anyone who dares to disagree or challenge them is subject to all forms of abuse. Kingsley DeFreitas, a declared supporter of the NDP, was the recipient of that abuse when he tried to question the leader of the opposition at a recent forum. Therefore, it is not surprising that their protests on the streets of Kingstown follows the same trend. During those protests, their supporters hurled abuse at members of the police force who have shown tremendous restraint. They have even gone so far as to damage a police vehicle and have tried to overturn a fire truck.

This lack of discipline has extended itself to the House of Parliament. The House is where Eustace has chosen to make his last stand; and stand he did. Even after being asked to sit by the Speaker several times, Eustace still stood. I wonder for how much longer Eustace will stand as leader of the NDP?

Over the last few weeks, the leadership of the ULP showed tremendous restraint, despite numerous calls from their supporters to come out onto the streets to counter the NDP. This approach seems to have been the right one, it showed wisdom.

The ULP’s march in Kingstown was so different from what we have seen from the NDP. The party seems organized and purposeful. They brought out their supporters by the thousands, all decked out in red from head to toe. They waved their red flags proudly as they marched through the streets of Kingstown. ULP Supporters were also applauded and cheered by thousands of onlookers, who admired the disciplined manner in which they conducted themselves. They obeyed the police and listened to the instructions given by the officers. After their rally, thousands celebrated peacefully.

The leadership of the ULP has demonstrated that they have the right temperament, wisdom and discipline that we need in this day and age to effectively run our country. This was clearly demonstrated as they organized and marched through capital Kingstown on March 28.

Oswald Sutherland.
22 East, New York Avenue,
Brooklyn New York