A St. Lucia senior government minister has expressed concern that a person appeared on a stage armed with a gun during a concert with dancehall artiste Skillibeng over the weekend.
“We need to ask some serious questions. As far as I knew, the police took a position that they were not approving the show because the individual in question is someone who has been involved in singing and promoting music that glorifies crime and gun violence. And I know because I was in discussion with the police force,” said Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information Minister, Dr. Ernst Hilaire.
“The police were very clear that they were not going to approve it on the grounds of national security and events security,’ he told reporters, adding that the police had regarded the event last Saturday night as a threat to the fight against gang crime.
He said the police also regarded it as a threat to the event itself because they were not satisfied that security was fully in place.
Hilaire said the police position was known late Friday and despite that, somebody gave approval for the concert at the Darren Sammy Grounds, which featured Skillibeng, as well as several leading local artistes.
“We need to know who is that somebody and under what circumstances they approved it,” Hilaire said, adding “what assurances were given to that individual to make that decision?”
Hilaire said the promoters of the Onyx concert will have to account for the person carrying an open-carry firearm on stage. Images of the gun-toting man have been circulating on social media and the organizers have since apologized.
Hilaire told reporters the gun was not an ordinary firearm, and he had no information regarding whether the weapon had been authorized.
Hilaire said the police have established that once someone promotes or signs songs glorifying violence, they will not be allowed to perform in St. Lucia, noting that the island’s creative space cannot have individuals with open-carry firearms on stage.
He said if a promoter misled the police, there will be a need for a serious discussion regarding that promoter’s role within St. Lucia’s creative space.
“To say to me as the promoters did, it was incident free – so what is incident free? You mean there was no shoot-out, and therefore, it was a success?” Hilaire told reporters, adding that someone on stage with an open-carry firearm constitutes an incident.
“It was pointed at the crowd. What if people had rushed the stage what would have happened? Would you have shot the crowd?” Why was it necessary for an open-carry firearm on stage?” Hilaire said, adding somebody needs to account for that.
“The promoters who were involved in this will have to account,” Hilaire declared.
CMC/
