Mayhem at DLP conference
Utter chaos engulfed the second day of the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Annual Conference yesterday forcing a premature end to it and the calling in of the Barbados Police Service to restore order.
The source of the commotion was a controversial motion from the floor, seeking to reinstate former president Dr Ronnie Yearwood and former general secretary Steve Blackett who were expelled on August 15.
The disruption began almost immediately after the conference was called to order under the chairmanship of Acting President Andre Worrell, with Pedro Shepherd serving as interim General Secretary.
A party member introduced a motion for Walter Maloney to chair the conference, a move that was voted on by a portion of those present. This was swiftly followed by a vote to reinstate Yearwood and Blackett, leading to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Errol Walton Barrow Auditorium of the party’s headquarters in George Street, Belleville, St Michael. Neither Yearwood nor Blackett was present when the proceedings started but appeared after calls informing them they had been reinstated with Blackett arriving first and Yearwood about two hours after him.
Despite the interim leadership’s efforts to maintain order, the situation deteriorated rapidly, prompting the party to seek intervention from the police. Attempts to restart the conference were made at least three times, each ending in failure and at one point, a standoff occurred at the head table, with Yearwood and Maloney refusing to yield to Shepherd and Worrell.
This confrontation resulted in both factions of the party claiming legitimacy over the leadership.
Approximately a dozen police officers were dispatched to the scene as the situation threatened to spiral out
of control. The officers remained on the premises from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., conducting investigations until the event was ultimately suspended. Outside several arguments ensued between members as the blame was tossed around as to who was responsible for the chaotic state of affairs.
Blackett was the first to arrive on the party’s premises, greeted by a group of cheering supporters and expressed gratitude to those who stood by him, stating: “The people have turned up for us, and therefore I am absolutely thankful to them. They have my gratitude in the depths of my heart. I will be forever grateful to them.”
Yearwood, speaking to his supporters at the conclusion of the disrupted meeting, echoed Blackett’s sentiments.
“You saw the young people for the first time in a long time in charge of the Democratic Labour Party. That is a sign of progress. Why would you want to snuff that out? Why would you want to stamp it out? And the only reason, the only conclusion I could come to is that you have lost something in your own life that you’re trying to regain, but you will not regain it on the back of the Democratic Labour Party or the people of this country,” Yearwood declared.
He vowed to stand by his supporters.
“It shall not happen and I tell you today that I will stand with you. I will not stand in front of you. I will not be behind you. We will do this together because what you have shown me today is that I will never walk alone.”
Tougher stance
Shepherd promised to take a tougher stance to address the administrative and legal challenges facing the party.
“I will seek to ensure . . . whatever has to be done to ensure that those two persons are not allowed on this compound to disrupt the business of the Democratic Labour Party. We have also had some situations in recent times where members of the Democratic Labour Party, influenced by other persons, refused to act, refused to carry out the directives of the General Council of this party,” Shepherd stated.
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