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ohDemocratic leader Ralph Thorne has expressed dismay that the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) annual conference was disrupted by what he called a “group of traitors”.
He also lamented the lack of protection provided by the Barbados Police Service during the incident, which he believed constituted a serious breach of the peace and a violation of the political parties’ right to assembly.
“I’m sorry to report that our event did not go well. I’m sorry to report that this group, what I call a traitor group, came in and disrupted the meeting.”
He recounted how the group gave false reports to the media, interrupted ceremonies with singing and chanting, and even mocked the sanctity of the event by singing hymns.
“I hope that the hymnal will be destroyed later today because I don’t know what will become of that hymnal,” Thorne said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.
The SDLP political leadership insisted Andre Worrell remained acting chairman and Pedro Shepherd remained acting general secretary.
The situation at the party’s George Street headquarters escalated further as the SDLP leadership tried to restore order, but their efforts were undermined by what Thorne said was a failure by law enforcement to do their job.
Democratic Labour Party political leader Ralph Thorne and lawyer Hal Gollop attended today’s meeting along with police officers.
“I regret to inform you that we believe that this conference has lost the protection of the Barbados Police Service,” Thorne insisted.
“A complaint was made to the police that the meeting was disrupted and there was a breach of the peace. The police came in and spoke to us because at this point you had adjourned the meeting,” Thorne explained.
He criticized the police for their lack of decisive action, noting that despite police promises to remove disruptive people, the situation had deteriorated further.
“What we are witnessing here today is a gross infringement of our right to hold our annual conference,” he said, lamenting that the disruption threatened the party’s efforts to present a united front to the people of Barbados.
Thorne’s indignation was evident as he stressed the importance of the conference. “The people of this country believe that this party has taken a very progressive step in turning things around, in showing that we have found a solution, in reaching out to the people of Barbados as a united organisation,” he said, suggesting that the destructive group was trying to derail the process.
He reiterated the SLP’s commitment to unity and progress and vowed that the party would not be intimidated by the actions of “traitorous” elements.
Thorne further revealed that the SDLP leadership rejected a proposal by a senior police officer at the compound to hold talks between the party and the disorderly groups, insisting that there was no need for negotiations in the face of such blatant disorder.
“If you’re having your annual conference and it’s being disrupted and disrupted and the peace is being destroyed, then there can’t be negotiations, there can’t be meetings, there can’t be consensus on this. They have to be excluded,” Thorne declared. He stressed that the SDLP’s main concern was to do its work peacefully and stressed that the party’s work was for the “suffering people of this country.”
Speaking about the wider implications of the day’s events, Thorne said the Barbados Police Service had betrayed the SLP, arguing that the police had failed to fulfil their duty to protect the SLP’s right to peaceful assembly. “We feel betrayed. We are not conspirators. We will not be discouraged. We want this annual conference to go ahead,” Thorne affirmed, stressing that the party would continue to do its work with or without police protection.
Thorne urged the SLP faithful and the public at large to attend more meetings on Sunday. “We know we have the support of the people of Barbados. We know the voice of the people of Barbados is the voice of God,” he said. (RG)
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