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Crime worry justified – Atherley

by Anesta Henry
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Former Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley is insisting that Barbadians have all right to be and should be concerned about the gun violence in the country, regardless of what Attorney General Dale Marshall says.

He told Barbados TODAY he was taken aback that Marshall said at a press conference last Friday that followed four fatal shootings in the space of 48 hours, that Barbadians were generally safe since the recent incidents were a result of conflict between rival groups.

The leader of the Alliance Party for Progress (APP) was adamant that the public could not be asked to find comfort in that, especially as the shootings were occurring in populated areas, including neighbourhoods, and innocent people were therefore at risk of injury or death.

“The kind of recklessness that is associated with it – whether it is gang related or otherwise – will cause that fear, and the truth is that the risks to innocent people are real and are high,” he insisted.

“So, this is good cause for people to be afraid. I mean, this thing is happening almost daily now. We tend to focus on the deaths but people are being injured who are not necessarily dying. This is gunplay and the type of gun fire that is being described suggests certain types of weapons being used.

“And this is playing out in communities across Barbados and we have had instances where innocent people have been hurt. So you can’t comfort yourself with the view that this is just violence among viral gangs or whatever. No, we have bigger issues to treat to and to understand and to respond to,” Bishop Atherley added.

He also expressed concern about the seemingly easy access to illegal firearms.

“You have to look at the context in which the violence is being perpetrated and you have to look at the fact that these guns are seemingly very easily and readily available to those who are bent on using them,” the APP leader lamented.

He said the powers that be must tackle the issue as a matter of urgency, and contended that law enforcement agencies and other relevant authorities have not been effective in clamping down on the infiltration of illegal guns on the streets.

“Because these guns aren’t coming into this country imported by a fella from Black Rock or Bank Hall, or Bayfield, or wherever. So the question is, why can’t we put our hands upon those who are behind this type of activity? They are breaching our laws, they are endangering our lives, they are threatening the peace and stability of this land,” Bishop Atherley said.

He added: “I have said before, more than once, that when these guys are tired of training their guns on each other they will then train them on the police authority, the law enforcement and when they get past that, it is just but another step to train them upon the governmental and the political authorities. So, this is a real thing that we have to wrestle to the ground. We can’t come with any casual laissez-faire approach, and I am not suggesting that police are doing that or any government is doing that.”

The outspoken former Member of Parliament for St Michael West argued that Barbadians have worked too hard to build a democratic society characterised by tranquillity and social cohesiveness to have it eroded by crime and violence which could also spoil the country’s reputation on the international stage.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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