Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves speaking from Barbados on Friday, said he would tell the nation at a later date whom he holds personally responsible for the attempt upon his life.
Gonsalves said he takes the assault upon him, not just as an injury or an act of battery.
“When you throw a stone or some other projectile at someone with the intention to hit them in their head and given the delicate nature of one’s head, you have in mind the intention to kill”.
“You have the intention to cause serious bodily harm because the object which you are throwing doesn’t have a laser designed to miss me.`The intention was to hit me, and they did. And to cause me severe damage or even loss of life.”
“The statement from the office of the Prime Minister condemned the act of violence against me and that of the individual perpetrator, but equally to be condemned are those who instigated and continue to instigate against my personal life. And the backroom authors of this kind of violence.”
“I’m not just talking about the person who did the direct action, but you will hear me more fully on that when I return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and when I feel, less giddy condition because though I’m discharged, I still have headaches and when I bent my head down, I still have a certain dizziness”.
“I am sure the vast majority of right-thinking persons are revolted as to what occurred, and what I’ve been advised, in my view, which is completely unacceptable, is that some persons stayed on for a while beating drum and celebrating the attack upon me. Well, more will be said about all of those things, and maybe the people will demand certain things to be done.”
“No group of instigators, no handful of provocateurs or those who are instigating violence or offering violence against the person of the Prime Minister and the representative for North Central Windward would be able to subvert the work of parliament or the parliamentary process”.
“It is fair that I say that both St Clair Leacock and Loraine Friday, I’m told, I was told by my security, one of my security officers, that they called to say that they would like me to speak to them. I returned the call to St Clair Leacock, and I had a conversation with him, and I told him much of what I’ve said here. I will not, emphasize not, return a call to Loraine Friday, and if he calls me, I will not speak to him”.
Gonsalves said he wants to clarify that he views the votes from North Central Windward as sacred, which placed him in parliament.
“Those voters have me there overwhelmingly in every election since 1994 and inclusive of the last one in 2020. A parliamentarian and representative must have a right of access to this parliament unhindered and the right of egress unhindered. By all means, exercising our constitutional and lawful right to protest, but that doesn’t give you a right to stop a parliamentarian from entering parliament or to do violence towards him. That is absolutely very clear. I will have more to say about this at a later date”.
Gonsalves, who was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados on Friday, said it was concluded from examination, assessment’s, inquiry and tests, that there are no neurological deficits following injuries sustained on Thursday.
However, Gonsalves said as a result of the concussion which he has suffered; he will have to be monitored over the next four to six weeks.
“In four to six weeks, another series of tests and examination will have to be done to see if any bleeding emerges in the brain as a result of the concussion. I will follow the doctor’s advice to the letter”.
“I want to thank the hundreds of people who have sent text messages to me and Elosie expressing solidarity with me and condemning this senseless act of violence against me. Make no mistake about it, the person who threw the object at me, the projectile that hit me in my head, at the top of the head, if it could easily have come, as the doctors tell me, load onto the temple and where there could have been immediately far more serious damage.”
Gonsalves thanked the members on the government side of parliament for their work on Thursday night.
The Prime Minister said he was advised that parliament finished at 3.30 am and that the entire agenda was concluded.
While speaking from Barbados, Gonsalves also expressed thanks to his personal security and other individual police officers who sought to provide protection for him to have his access to the parliament unhindered.
