But Josie has always been about Josie. Who can forget his betrayal of George when he agreed to serve in the Cenac administration on condition that Cenac gave him all of George’s portfolios? It wasn’t enough that he had betrayed George. He wanted to rub salt into the wound by taking on his portfolios. Agriculture was no longer good enough for him. No, now he was Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism minister. He was shaking hands with Alexander Haig and not some lowly agriculture guy.
Josie’s history is for another time though. For now, let us return to his threats which the UWP would have us believe were misconstrued words. The thing is Josie truly believes what he said. He did not misspeak. And these words were in violation of several sections of the Criminal Code for which he should be charged. Let us consider section 359 of the Criminal Code which states:
- Public incitement of hatred
(1) Every one who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace commits an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for 15 years.
“Hatred against an identifiable group”. SLP and its ministers is that identifiable group. He said so in the most direct way possible. He even identified the SLP is his statement.
“Where such hatred is likely to lead a breach of the peace”. Josie went further. He invited people to murder. Yes, murder. Josie said the young men of Vieux Fort should stop killing each other and instead kill Labour politicians.
At the SLP’s victory celebration rally Sunday past, Kenny Anthony laid down in its barest detail, the dangers of Josie’s statement. But for one sentence I endorse Anthony’s analysis and his call for Josie’s arrest. Where I part company with Anthony is in his suggestion that Josie’s statement were directed at him alone. No doc, you are not “Labour politicians” which is what Josie said. You may have been the one who sent him to the political cemetery but he meant Philip Pierre, Ernest Hilaire, Shawn Edward, Alva Baptiste and yes, you too.
The police cannot continue to hold their hands on this. In our current climate, to simply let things slide is to give the green light to all thugs that it is okay to call for the elimination of others.
I end, though, with a question. Is it that the police want to act but are being held back by a higher authority, say the DPP?