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PLP Press Release

28th July, 2024

National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP), Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris, under whose leadership the highly successful PEACE Program was initiated, has condemned the recent attack by current Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew on the program’s participants—the vast majority of whom utilised the technical and financial resources as part of the initiative to engage in productive and promising business ventures.Dr. Drew, in a cowardly and dishonest attempt to shift the blame for the spiraling crime problem the country now faces, baselessly and shamefully accused the young men of using finances gained through the program “to buy influence, and dangerous sophisticated guns, which are used to carry out heinous acts.”Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris said in a national statement on 28th July that, “The Peace Program, though new and imperfect, worked and delivered unprecedented peace and tranquility across all communities.”Rather than accepting responsibility as the Minister of National Security for the worsening crime situation, Dr. Drew instead launched an attack on the participants of the PEACE Program, seemingly using them as a scapegoat for his administration’s failure to keep its citizens and residents safe.Dr. Harris further questioned how the prime minister can baselessly claim that the participants in the Peace Program use money to buy illegal weapons while his own administration continues to pay them, without a work program for the said participants.“Had he evidence of the purchase of arms, he should have passed this to the police for appropriate action. He disrespected the participants on the PEACE Program, yet they are the key players in any resolution of the dangerous crime situation in our country,” said Dr. Harris.The PLP leader reminded that it was under his leadership as third Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis that the federation experienced unprecedented levels of peace and security, with crimes—particularly gun crimes—at an all-time low.He said, “Our young people were able to roam all over the country anytime of the day or night without fear. And this wasn’t because no guns were out there. Yes, some still possessed weapons but there was no reason to move with them nor to use them. Hence we introduced a successful gun amnesty programme, and shared the results of these programmes with the public in a timely manner. The success of the PEACE Program created this environment.”Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris strongly urged the government to consider more creative, non-traditional methods “in the effort to resolve the chaos it has unleashed.”

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