Opposition Leader Jesma Paul Victor said that given the verbal abuse by Attorney General Levi Peter and the silence on the issue by the President-elect who is a Kalinago and also a woman.
“We will continue to work with the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica but, we will not celebrate this inauguration, especially given the fact that the President-Elect herself who is a woman of Kalinago decent, has said nothing in defense of her Kalinago sister against the brutal and insulting attack directed at her,” she said.
She questioned how “are we to move forward as a country and tell our young people, especially young men about respect and value for women.”
“What are we to say to families who have experienced domestic abuse knowing full well that verbal abuse like what was uttered in Parliament is often the issue of Domestic Violence? How are we to pretend that we are truly a nation that cares for our Kalinago people when we humiliate one and celebrate the other in the same breath,” she asked.
“I say the time is now for us to stop the hypocrisy and gain our true consciousness as right-thinking and God-fearing people. I call on every one of us to speak out against this type of abusive and denigrating behavior by people who are supposed to lead and protect this country particularly the most vulnerable among us women and children.
She has issued a call to the churches, the Women’s Bureau, the Youth Division, the Welfare Division, civil society, and all concerned to voice their disapproval of this kind of behavior in the highest office of the land.
“If we continue to tolerate injustice and abuse, we will continue to see the destruction of the fabric of our society, I pray that God gives us the courage to stand for our country and the values so dear to us,” she stated.
Meantime, in a statement to DBS radio Attorney General Peter stated “I meant Mrs. Sanford, no ill in my use of that word, and certainly was not in any way seeking to impugn her character. As it’s clear to anyone who has listened or who listens with an open mind to the entire statement. The statement was not about nor directed against Mrs Sanford but rather was about the process and motivations of others involved in bringing about her candidacy.”
He stressed that the word “drumstick” has universally recognized meanings that are not profane or derogatory. However, he acknowledged that some might associate it with unofficial street meetings, which have unsavory connotations.
“I apologize for any feelings of hurt or injury” that may have been caused by his statement to Mrs. Sanford and anyone else. Over the weekend, Sanford herself spoke out, vehemently denouncing Attorney General Levi Peter’s remarks that referred to her as a “drumstick,” and has labeled these comments as “racist, abusive, and discriminatory on both moral and legal grounds.”
“As an indigenous woman, listening to the Attorney General, I wondered to myself, whether he’s even oriented to the context of the event, and more so, whether I had changed my indigenous Kalinago identity by some miracle,” she said.
“I felt lynched for accepting the nomination…which I have the full right to do so under the constitution of Dominica,” she added.
This woman sat in the House when the statement was made and had no comment. She did not even flinch. None of them did! There was zero indication then that she had reservations about the statement or others criticizing her leadership on the subject. It is clear that she only has voice when she is directed to speak or act by forces who do not have a seat in Parliament. Wat a ting! What a disappointment.