By Duggie Joseph
Caribbean Net News St Vincent Correspondent
Email: duggie@caribbeannetnews.com
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: Supporters of the parliamentary opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) came out Friday to stage a protest at the Grenadines Wharf in St Vincent and the Grenadines' capital city Kingstown.
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| New Democratic Party protesters. Photo by Duggie Joseph |
The protest was aimed at having the government remove the EC$1 user fee persons have to pay when traveling to the Grenadines by sea.
NDP Leader, Arnhim Eustace, says the charge is "discriminatory" and his Party would not stop until it is removed.
"It is an unfair tax," Eustace said.
He made the point that the EC$1 charge only applies when persons are travelling to the Grenadines by boat and said "the NDP will do anything it can to remove it."
"The government should not impose a tax on one part of the state; it is unfair," Eustace said.
Private entrepreneurs operate a ferry service between the Grenadine islands and mainland St Vincent and on April 16 this year, government introduced the user-fee charge of EC$1, making payment mandatory for persons using the facilities at the Port when they depart for the Grenadines.
The protest was not without its physical encounters, after some of the protesters tried to enter the compound without paying the EC$1 fee.
The protesters charged a gate that was opened to allow a vehicle entry and some persons claim they were hit by the police.
Opposition Senator, Daniel Cummings, said an officer hit him in the face while he was at the gate and admitted in a television interview he retaliated by hitting the officer.
Chief of Port Police, Cornelius Charles, said he was present and saw the Opposition Senator "box" the police officer in his face.
Parliamentary Representative for the Northern Grenadines, where most of the protesters came from, lawyer Dr Godwin Friday, also said in a television interview he was "grabbed and roughed up" by the police, even though he offered no resistance.
Friday said he knelt down in submission, but was not arrested.
Vice President of the NDP, Senator Major St Claire Leacock, said one woman was "kicked in the belly" by a security officer and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment after complaining about having stomach pain.
"There was no need for that," Eustace said in a television interview.
He said the action of the police "only makes the matter worse" and his NDP was now more bent on stepping up the pressure to have the EC$1 user fee removed.
The NDP protest took place while the tourist liner, the 'Maasdam' from the Holland-American cruise line, was making its maiden voyage to St Vincent.
Minister of Tourism, Glen Beache, said he was not against the NDP making its protest, stating, "They could have choose another day."
Beache said he met with the ship's captain and the crew inquired if it was safe for the passengers to leave the ship.
"Some of the passengers were asking if the protest was against them coming into the country," Beache said.
Beache said he was disappointed when "one radio personality", who was part of the protest, commented on a megaphone that working on a cruise ship was like going back to slavery.
"This was said in the presence of the Opposition Leader and other parliamentarians like Dr Friday who did not do anything," Beache said.
A large number of Vincentians have found gainful employment on cruise liners throughout the world.
One of the tourists who left the boat expressed amazement that persons were protesting over the payment of "less than a US dollar." |
