UPP calls for ‘conversation and not confrontation’on Barbuda

UPP calls for ‘conversation and not confrontation’on Barbuda 

The United Progressive Party (UPP) is calling on the Gaston Browne Administration to make every effort to de-escalate the current situation on Barbuda by calling off the Riot Squad that was deployed to the sister-island yesterday, January 24.

“There never was a good war or a bad peace,” reminds Political Leader Jamale Pringle.  Now, more than ever, Pringle says,“dialogue with the Barbudans and sensitivity to their feelings and their lifestyle are needed, instead of a show of force.”

It appears to the UPP that the Administration is intent on ignoring not only the wishes of the people but the lawful authority of the Barbuda Council to administer the island.

Government has an overarching obligation to protect the rights of citizens and residents – above the personal ambitions of its ministers and the business interests of investors.  Therefore, it cannot be right for the Browne Administration to arbitrarily displace Barbudans – and, especially, to bulldoze their farmlands – to create a housing project that brings no benefit to them.  

Accordingly, we call on Prime Minister Browne and Public Safety Minister Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin to stop the aggression that now threatens the lives and livelihood of our Barbudan brothers and sisters and to respect their human rights and traditions.

No good – locally or internationally – can come from a situation in which a government declares war on its own people.  Stop the confrontation and start a conversation now.

In the meantime, the UPP stands with the Barbuda Council and the People of Barbuda in defense of their land rights and traditions, as was codified in the Barbuda Land Act, 2007, and it calls on all patriotic Antiguans to do the same.

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