Antigua Labour Party says Opposition Leader "may be living on another planet"

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

ST JOHN'S, Antigua: According to a statement released by the Antigua Labour Party, the Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) Mr Baldwin Spencer insulted the people of Antigua and Barbuda in his weekly broadcast on Sunday by suggesting that they were little better than Haitians.

"This was an odious comparison given the tradition of democracy, respect for human rights and the relatively high standard of living that the vast majority of our people enjoy", the Labour Party said.

Amongst the things that Mr Spencer claimed is that "with the possible exception of the Haitian people, the people of Antigua and Barbuda have endured more this year than those of any other Caribbean country".

The Antigua Labour Party said this wild claim by Mr Spencer does not stand-up to scrutiny and is an insult to the people of Antigua and Barbuda for which he should apologise.

"The people of Antigua and Barbuda have the second highest income per person in the Caribbean Community and Common Market including oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago; we also have the lowest unemployment figures in the Region which means more of our people are employed than others in the Caribbean; in some countries of the Caribbean the murder rate and the number of kidnappings runs into hundreds, in Antigua and Barbuda we barely reach double digit figures; the savings of our people in the banks are greater than any other people in the OECS countries; our people own more property per capita than any others in the Region", the Antigua Labour Party asserted.

The Labour Party continued, "What is more, we uphold freedom of the media with the UPP owning and controlling its own Radio station, the Crusader, that does nothing but broadcast its own propaganda. In addition, the Observer Radio and Newspaper, whose owners have stated time and again that their purpose is to get rid of the Labour Party Government also publish and broadcast without let or hindrance".

"The reality is that Antigua and Barbuda performed well this year with economic growth of almost 4 per cent, low unemployment, relatively high wages, low inflation and a stable and democratic environment with lower crime than elsewhere in the Caribbean", the Labour Party said.

And, it concluded, "Mr Spencer may be living on another planet, but the people of Antigua and Barbuda live in this country. They are perfectly well aware of the quality of life they enjoy, and no lies from Mr Spencer can alter the truth. He should apologise yet again for his offensive statements about our country". 

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