Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has urged the audience at a ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) event to ensure they put Saint Lucians into office.
He prefaced his remarks by emphasising the importance of unity and strength.
“Together, you will advance. Together, you will achieve and together you will ensure that is only people who live in Saint Lucia continue to run Saint Lucia,” he declared.
The remarks drew applause from the audience.
The Grenada Prime Minister revealed that he could have lived in Canada but chose Grenada.
Mitchell said his mother was living in Canada and he has a brother living there.
“But I chose Grenada. So, I want all Saint Lucians to hear me. When the time come, make sure that is Saint Lucians who you putting into office,” he said to applause from the SLP delegates conference in Babonneau.
“Make sure that is people who like the Caribbean, who like Caribbean institutions, who are proud of our culture and our heritage because that is what we have – Saint Lucianess and that is what you need to embrace,” the leader of Grenada’s ruling National Democratic Congress declared.
Almost simultaneously on Sunday, Saint Lucia’s opposition United Workers Party (UWP) said the SLP was planning to use its parliamentary majority to ensure only a Saint Lucia-born individual could become Prime Minister of this country.
Public Relations Officer Lenard ‘Spider’ Montoute addressed the issue at a public meeting in Castries South East.
He said the only way the SLP could stop UWP leader Allen Chastanet from becoming Prime Minister, was by changing the constitution.
“So when Richard Frederick comes out and says that they are going to change the constitution to ensure that nobody who is not born in Saint Lucia cannot be Prime Minister, you have to take a stand against that,” Montoute asserted.
He said it was an attack to ensure Chastanet did not inevitably become the next PM.
But Montoute explained that many children of Saint Lucians were born overseas for various reasons, including medical situations.
“A child does not make the decision as to where he or she is born. But he makes a decision as to which country he or she is going to adopt and become a citizen of,” the former Gros Islet MP declared.
He said Allen Chastanet, born in Martinique for medical reasons, decided Saint Lucia is his country, having lived and grown up here.
“His heart is Saint Lucian,” Montoute noted, adding that Saint Lucia has no second-class citizens.
In an address to a UWP Town Hall meeting in Soufriere this September, Chastanet told supporters he sees himself as a Saint Lucian who is not better than anyone else.
“I don’t see myself as white, people. I see myself as a Saint Lucian and a Saint Lucian who is willing to do everything that anybody else is willing to do,” the former Prime Minister declared.
Chastanet, educated in Canada, was responding criticism that he is a foreigner who could not relate to Saint Lucians.
He once asserted that he was a ‘product of Canada’, prompting strident criticism from the SLP.
Tell the pm of 🇬🇩 Grenada comes out with racism speach first I would tell him mind his business..our country has divided us so badly I’m ashamed to say I’m a st Lucian.. out of order I’m very disappointed in him.
Montoute when the master is sick, the house negro says ‘massa, we sick’. The house negro sees himself as the extension of his master. He has no sense of self-worth, self-responsibility and self-value. He is fiercely loyal to his master to the detriment of his life and freedom. He loves his master and is willing to kill his own to protect his master. Montoute keep twerking for your Massa Allen Michael Chastanet
What mud sluggery is this? Isn’t it law that anyone who wants to be in government and have dual citizenship have to give up their citizenship of the other country to be in government in Saint Lucia?…. beware of those who want to change the constitution for their own political gains .. who does SLP think they are…to tamper with the constitution of the People of Saint Lucia just to score political points?…it’s reprehensible just to think of doing such nonsense…you don’t tamper with the sacred constitution of the people for your malicious political machinations….yet I suspect they just mudslinging to get a reaction from others….you are not going to change the constitution of the people without a referendum and a referendum must be approved by law once the law has agreed a referendum is needed to change the constitution….so SLP, stop your nonsense….not all Saint Lucians are idiots..you may have hoodwinked your die hard follows but there are those who a apolitical….mwen faché…
G f off to Canada then
Montoute there’s no need to change the constitution Allen Michael Chastanet will NEVER be PM of St Lucia again.
The Prime Minister of Grenada is a complete jack ass. Such Idiots should never be let out of their stalls.
Spare me the piffle… it’s only Monday. A citizen who is physically born within the country’s border is referred to as Jus Soli. The world has generally has moved from that position in setting requirements for leadership. Most countries allow children (born outside the country) of their citizens to qualify for head of state. The two main reasons (1) that there may be legitimate circumstances that prevents a child from birthing in the parent(s) country. (2) a child born outside the country (jus Sanguinis) may one day have skills that are beneficial to the country.
There is further thought that a citizen born outside the country has to be first elected. They are not being coronated.
andrew magloire the last person who called people jack*** lost 15 2. Deal with it.
Again … What mackackery is all this?
@C-Wiz – I support your comments. intelligent and articulate.
I think the PM of Grenada put his foot in his mouth! Not even his “ad-verbatim” comments speak intelligence (bad English!).
This shows how much of an experienced leader this dude from Grenada is. He might be promising but he is not there yet. I am sure Ralph from SVG was given the same bait but he never took it. This shows experience in the business’ of leadership.
Race has always been a hot contested topic in the western world and I have also heard about it in places like Trinidad and Guyana. Never in the history of SLU has this been an issue and everyone has always lived in peace and harmony regardless of the color of your skin or the way you look.
Today we have none effective government which will go to any length to protect the victory and ensure they win the next election. They have compromised the guy from Grenada to get their message across. Lucians can be fooled and they have been fooled. Let me remind SLP that they can fool some people some times but they cannot fool all the people all the time. We have seen you and we will not unsee you now and until the election. You were given a mandate to make the people better but all indicators show you have not achieved the goal. Yes, you make lots of donations, however, Lucians wants to see economic activities so they control their own destiny.
Ok, The lil boy made a Ridiculous statement but the issue here for me is that Those “Lucians” dressed in red Applauded. Gosh Man. Can’t believe we stooping sooo low. The guy did not even say don’t let drug dealers and murderers lead your country but he attacking my son who was born overseas. SMH. I wonder if i had a family member applauded this Nonsensical statement. Anyways I didn’t expect anything different. Those guys are showing us their racists, victimization self.
To all of you self-hating St. Lucians, can you really articulate what is inherently wrong with Prime Minister Mitchell’s statement? Is loving yourself, your people and your country racist? You are using the word racist like a buffoon. Surprisingly, a Black person CANNOT be a racist. To be a racist you must have enormous power coupled with a deep-seated hatred or prejudice for another racial group. Do Black people fit this description? Some of you are so brainless that all you do is repeat the mantra of the white man by calling your fellow brothers and sisters racist. It is so sickening to see how quickly you all will come to Chastanet’s defense but ready to literally and metaphorically gun down your brothers and sisters. Lots of you have no sense of history or self. As someone clearly stated, we love the master more than we love ourselves. It is no surprise that our homicide rate is one of the highest in the world. St. Lucia is like the murder capital of the world. And all this stems from backward, reactionary thinking and self-hatred.
Prime Minister Mitchell’s polemic should be critiqued but not be used as cannon fodder by the dimwits who are hasty to jump to conclusions by quickly shouting “racist.”
What kind of racism comment Dickon Mitchell is practicing in that already hatred and divided country st lucia is pa pa God..what message is that man go back to your country with that nonsense
@uh huh and Ras Biko (and all the other race baiters).. At what point do we stop blaming slavery? How is it the some black people can overcome adversities to become the best in their fields yet some sit back and blame the white man.
It’s about time we break free from this victim mentality, that’s your real oppressor not the white man.
You hate a man because of his colour or race? YOU ARE RACIST! Put that in your pipe and smoke it. If you didn’t know you were, now you do.
If Chastanet was a St Lucian he would never, never give away so much of our money to other people. He would tell us the amount of passports he sold during his tenure. So I support the pm from Grenada.
NO MORE FOREIGNERS TO BE ST. LUCIAN PM.
Change the laws quickly.
We need to introduce Critical thinking in our school programme.
@ Sumo, no disrespect but you sound like someone with a colonized mind. It is a fact that slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism did irreparable harm to people of African descent yet some of us have succeeded against all odds. It’s a fact of life, no matter how brutal or oppressive a society may become some people shall always succeed. Similarly, some people of African descent have succeeded and shall continue to succeed no matter the barbarity of the white man. Mind you, pointing out the evils of white supremacy is in no way playing victim just as European Jews constantly condemning Nazism for its atrocities is playing victim. In both instances, the oppressed group is stating a fact.
I think you are engaged in broad generalization and should examine the problem with an open mind rather than a stereotypic or superficial overview.
Well we should have stringent laws against this. I think our ports are too porous.
Lydia you sound so ignorant your black pm can’t pay medicine at the hospital the people are suffering..some of you all are full of hate go and find peace in your heart our great sir John was a foreigner and st LUCIANS love him stop letting RF fool you all the wrath of god will surely reach you