Last Updated on June 24, 2019, 12:49 AM AST by Anthony Morris
St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon Dr Timothy Harris has told Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Hon Gaston Browne, that if one of his ministers who was invited to speak at an opposition event in St Kitts on Saturday does so, “it will be ‘a declaration of war and we would not be able to guarantee his safety.”
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Hon Michael S Browne was invited to speak at Saturday’s introduction of Leon Natta-Nelson, the St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) candidate, who will challenge Prime Minister Harris for the St Christopher 7 seat in the next general election.
Browne, who turned up for the event in Ottley’s Village, part of the constituency in which both Harris and Natta-Nelson live, told a large crowd that Prime Minister Harris telephoned Prime Minister Browne around midnight on Friday.
“The prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis called my Prime Minister and he expressed abhorrence that I am coming to St Kitts to speak at this function…the charge was that my presence here – me coming here to speak – ‘is a declaration of war’. There was abomeranging of thoughts in my mind all morning, while I was on the Strip having breakfast, while I was working the phones including with the good efforts of your comrade leader (Rt Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas), and these were some of the concerns that troubled me coming from a democratic perspective. If Michael Browne speaks, not only will it be a demonstration of a ‘declaration of war,’ but ‘we will not be able to guarantee his safety. If he speaks, not only will we be able to guarantee his safety, but he may not be able to come back to St Kitts’,” said Browne to a shocked crowd assembled at the Ottley’s Playing Field on Saturday.
The official introduction of Natta-Nelson was announced to the public nearly two weeks ago.
On Friday afternoon, a flyer was in circulation announcing a competing function, a stone’s throw from the Nelson-Natta event, raising the question, why would the police grant permission for another event known to be organized by a nephew of prime minister Harris.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
