Chastanet Laments Treatment Of Opposition Leaders

Saint Lucia opposition leader Allen Chastanet has expressed concern over the treatment faced by his counterparts in the Caribbean. The United Workers Party (UWP) leader declared that his party was trying to play a role in government. The Micoud South MP said that’s why he met opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar when he visited Trinidad and Tobago recently. “We had a discussion. We said ‘All around the Caribbean the leaders of the opposition are being made enemies of the State’,” Chastanet recalled. After the visit with Persad-Bissessar, the Saint Lucia opposition leader came under fire from T&T Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley. Rowley, declaring “No thanks, Tropical Trump”, dismissed Chastanet’s recommendations on crime-fighting, delivered at an opposition United National Congress (UNC) Town Hall meeting. Rowley later referred to the Saint Lucia politician as a ‘loser’. However, Chastanet observed that the constitution provides for an opposition leader. Chastanet said the State pays for his office and staff. According to the UWP leader, as Prime Minister, he regularly communicated with the then-leader of the opposition. “When there were international issues, regional issues, local issues that I thought were warranted, I never let him read about it in the newspapers. That’s the relationship that...