PM cautions Barbuda Council over threats of civil unrest

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has issued a stern warning to the Barbuda Council
that threats of possible civil unrest on the island over the government’s proposals
to sell lands in Barbuda, will not be counternanced.
Council member, Devon Warner spoke on a local radio station recently, where he
openly issued a threat to the prime minister warning that any attempts to disrupt
the practice of communal land ownership on the island would be met with civil
unrest.
“I want to put this to the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda that the Barbuda
Council will be prepared whenever he tries to implement the sale of lands in
Barbuda, and the Barbuda people are waiting. I however, want to warn the prime
minister; I want to put him on call (notice) today, for he seems to want to agitate
things that might not be in the best interest of Antigua and Barbuda. I want to ask
this question as I know he probably has some high-paid adviser on his team, is
there anyone willing to tell the prime minister that this could be rather dangerous,”
Warner exclaimed.According to Warner, the road the prime minister plans to take on this issue is ‘a
very dangerous one’.
“This could cause civil unrest within the state of Antigua and Barbuda. He needs to
rethink what he is doing and to rethink it seriously,” Warner warned.
He called for the practices that have been in place on Barbuda ‘for hundreds of
years’ to continue.
In response, the prime minister again reiterated that the land issue on Barbuda is a
‘settled matter’ and that the lands are vested in the crown (the Cabinet) which has
the authority to determine how lands on the island are to be handled.
“Let me speak on the issue of the law and lawlessness; one thing I can assure
Devon Warner et al, there shall be no lawlessness in Barbuda under the leadership
of Gaston Browne and the Labour Party. So those of you who want to incite
violence and anarchy within Barbuda, be careful what you wish for because there
shall be no lawlessness n Barbuda; that much I can assure you. And that’s a
promise,” he emphasized.