Hilaire Says Carnival No Excuse For Licentious Behaviour

Creative Industries and Culture Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire has urged responsible behaviour as Saint Lucia enters the final stretch of the Carnival season. At the same time, Hilaire, whose responsibilities include tourism, acknowledged that there could be no Carnival without ‘some bacchanal’. “The bam bam wall will surface again. A lot of those issues will confront us once again as a society,” the Minister told reporters. Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire had penned a review of last year’s Carnival expressing shock at the ‘absolute vulgarity’ on display in many street bands and the ‘bam bam wall’. Citing the scriptures, he declared that anything demeaning to the dignity of the human person is unworthy of public display. According to the clergyman, Carnival or any human celebration should not be an excuse for any form of licentiousness. In a similar vein, Dr. Hilaire urged restraint. “I need to take this opportunity to appeal to all Saint Lucians to be responsible in their behaviour. In what they drink and their conduct on the roads and of course to ensure that we do not have any acts of indiscipline or violence or crime,” the Minister said. “Carnival is not an excuse for any licentious behaviour, any...