Local broadcaster, Timothy Poleon, has come under heavy scrutiny for comments made during his talk show programme. In a widely circulated audio recording making the rounds in the OECS, a commentator demands that Poleon apologise for his comments.

The comments in question include Poleon stating that Haitians should “kill [each other]”.

On Monday, he doubled down on his statements, adding that he doesn’t owe an apology to the Haitian people. The broadcaster contends that Haiti’s issues are of its own making.

“I might sound harsh, but let the Haitians kill each other. I mean, you can't blame all the time. You're blaming outside forces. You're blaming Canada…You're blaming the United States,” Poleon said during his programme.

Prime Minister Pierre, on the other hand, says Saint Lucians should not adopt an anti-Haiti stance.

The Prime Minister adds that Haiti is not the only country in the world that has faced unrest.

“We've forgotten there have been massacres in Europe. I'm not supporting it. I'm not saying it's right. But I'm saying let's not pretend that Haiti is the first place in the world that has gone into such a tumour. Not the first place.”

He urges the public to remember Haiti’s importance in securing the freedom of enslaved peoples.

He says Saint Lucians and West Indians have a responsibility to help restore order to Haiti.

“When Haiti was liberated, a decree was passed that said any slave, from any part of the world, once he set foot in Haiti, he was a free man. This is historic. It's historic. It's unfortunate that Haiti is going through what it's going through now, but Haiti is part of history. And it's our duty to support Haiti,” Pierre said.

Haiti was forced to pay France for 122 years to secure its independence or suffer the consequences. The amount paid is estimated at $30 billion in today’s value. This extortion, coupled with deep political and economic destabilisation continues to plague the resource-wealthy nation of Haiti.