Picket will continue until Friday, Symister says, while noting that one KC’s opinion was based on erroneous premise
As the picketing of Government House ran into its second consecutive day, Wednesday, May 31, attorney Leon Chaku Symister made the call for more residents to join the action.
The Concerned Citizens commenced the protest action on Tuesday, after receiving from the Governor-General a series of opinions on his powers to convene a commission of inquiry.
While Sir Rodney Williams left the country on Monday, May 29 – possibly to avoid what he allegedly described as the United Progressive Party’s “nonsense” – Symister is resolved that the protest will continue until Friday, June 2. After that, he says, a decision will be taken on the way forward.
Symister notes that one of the legal opinions that Sir Rodney received reminded him of the consequences of going against the Cabinet.
The King’s Counsel reminded the head of State that he had been appointed by the Monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister – and he could also be dis-appointed on the PM’s advice.
Meanwhile, Symister says that – based on one King’s Counsel response to the governor-general – it appears that he was given the wrong information on which to base his opinion.
For example, the legal expert refers to a March 2023 date for the arrival of hundreds of West Africans and accords them the status of “refugees.”
On May 17, a group headed by Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle met with Sir Rodney. They delivered a letter of request for a public inquiry into the genesis of Antigua Airways and the stranding of hundreds of West Africans here. That request was accompanied by a petition with over 8,500 signatures supporting the call.
