The issue of LIAT’s liquidation appears to be turning into a war of words and accusations between at least two leaders of the shareholder governments: Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
Since last week Browne has been giving the impression that he was unaware the airline would be proceeding into liquidation, and has announced tentative plans to save it. Most recently, he called for a meeting today, July 10, with Dr. Gonsalves and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados to discuss plans for salvaging the airline.
However, in a television interview in his native St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Gonsalves painted a different picture:
He says that all four shareholder governments –Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent & The Grenadines – were at the June 27 shareholders meeting, and they considered a number of recommendations made by LIAT’s board of directors, including closing down the airline.
Dr. Gonsalves insists that all the shareholders agreed to the liquidation.
Now, in his customary undiplomatic rant, Prime Minister Browne has accused his colleague of being a liar.
On his Facebook page, Browne wrote, “Ralph: Out of respect and deference for you as a senior Caribbean Statesman, I will not venture to call you a notorious liar, but I must signal my disappointment with your deception.”
Browne is accusing the St. Vincent Prime Minister of twisting the truth for his own personal benefit. He says Gonsalves’ narrative of what transpired was only part of a story “to suit a recriminatory narrative [that] could never be considered as the truth.”
He says that Dr. Gonsalves is “fully aware” that he would never “support the liquidation without the creation of a new LIAT.”
While hurling insults at PM Gonsalves, however, Browne is also calling for unity in order to reorganize a flagging LIAT for the benefit of the Caribbean people.
In a very pointed omission, however, Browne does not refute Gonsalves’ claim that Antigua & Barbuda was represented at the June 27 meeting. And no official word has been heard from any of the local directors, which include Ministers Sir Robin Yearwood and Lennox Weston, that would indicate Gonsalves lied.
Meanwhile, persons reacting to PM Browne’s Facebook post have expressed horror at his undiplomatic language, with some saying that he has pounded the last nail in LIAT’s coffin.
On the other hand, PM Gonsalves has been described as being very diplomatic and statesmanlike during his interview, in which he expressed a liking for PM Browne and called him a friend.
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I’m with you PM Browne, afterall you have a responsibility to the people of Antigua and Barbuda, a responsibility I see you take very Seriously… Ralph has his agenda and it doesn’t include Antigua and Barbuda…..
Liars accusing each other.
CALLED A LIAR? NO! NEVER! NA-A-AH!
PM Browne did not call the Vincentian PM a ‘liar.’
The quote is;
‘…I will not venture to call you a notorious liar…’ [Paragraph 7].
Read news story again.
Too many ‘Antigua Citizen’ (s) never bother to read the “news story”, Mr Pompey. We simply pollute the reading environment hoping that some other sucker out there would bite the bait. Sadly, there are often many hungry biters.
Just take a good look at ralph face all when he dont have too much longer to live the evil in his face still dey wtf is up with the white head mother fuckers h old ralph give it up u soon dead and still wicked so
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