UPP Chair asserts that the petition concerning the Antigua Airways saga seeks to unearth the truth into the matter

Chair of the United Progressive Party (UPP) D Gisele Isaac is scoffing at allegations being made by Antigua Labour Party operatives concerning the West Africans who landed in Antigua and Barbuda.

The UPP is leading a charge calling for a public inquiry into the debacle involving hundreds of West Africans who are stranded due to some dubious operations of Antigua Airways.

However, the stranded passengers themselves have indicated in public interviews that they were told that this country would have been used as a trans-shipment point to take them to other destinations, including North and South America.

And now that the UPP is applying pressure on the government calling for an investigation into the situation as they seek to find out how the West Africans ended up here and the parties who were involved.   The Gaston Browne administration had claimed that it was duped and that there were copy-cat flights.

Isaac says that the petition mounted by the UPP is clear its purpose, contrary to the claims of the Labour Party.

She says that the West Africans are the victims in this whole sordid saga.

Isaac says that what she finds strange are claims that the government held stakes in the airline, that they promoted the flights and now have no knowledge of flights outside of the inaugural landing on November 01.

Reports are that government vehicles were seen in December in the wee hours of the morning transporting the Antigua Airways passengers from the airport, which was closed at that time.

According to Isaac, the government seems to want to bury its head in the sand with the hopes that the interest in this saga by members of the public will disappear.

The UPP chairman says that everything about this initiative has changed from what was originally touted including the use of LIAT, the Caribbean Airline to transport them to other regional destinations.

Isaac says that the UPP will not be shamed into abandoning its petition, since the people of Antigua and Barbuda demand to know the truth.