COLE BAY - Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams at a press conference yesterday reacted to some of the statements made by the National Alliance leader William Marlin over the past weeks.Wescot Williams said that even though her timing for speaking out may not be the best she felt it was necessary for her to respond to the statements made by Marlin especially after Friday's Island Council meeting.
The DP leader called the statements made by Marlin as misrepresentations against her party. "Over the past week the National Alliance has been the media almost everyday giving its side of matters after Independent Island Council Member Louie Laveist withdrew his support from the DP Executive Council"
She said that on Friday the NA had an agenda point where they would announce their new government. Also during the same meeting was the resignation letters of the sitting Democratic Party executive council, which were submitted before.
"It is remarkable that at the end of that meeting, after the point requested by the NA was withdrawn by the NA, that the reasons given for withdrawing that point was because the resignation letters of the commissioners had come in."
Wescot-Williams said that the resignation letters of the commissioners, which take effect on June 8, were in nearly one week before the National Alliance called for particular agenda point. She said they were fully aware of the resignation letters and the date on which it would become effective. Therefore, the excuse they have given for the withdrawal of the agenda point is pure baloney.
The DP leader said after the closing of the meeting Marlin had said that the Island Council had accepted the resignations. She said anyone listening to the meeting would realize that when the chairman dealt with agenda points 4, 5, and 6 all of which are the resignations he said he took them as notice.
When it regards to the formation of the national government and with Marlin's insistence that it is the Democratic Party, particularly Wescot Williams had refused or aborted the negotiations, Wescot Williams said those statements were misleading.
"I noticed now that he is also putting some blame with the Dutch Government, in stating that since they said what they said, it gives him even more reason not to join with the DP."
Wescot Williams said in analyzing the statements by the NA leader with respect to the events leading up to the latest botched negotiations, from the point of view of him being right,she said would first grab the account from the point when Laveist dropped his support for her government on May 7.
The DP leader said on May 8 she received a letter from the National Alliance leader who indicated to her his understanding of what had transpired and that he was prepared to form the next government since the DP had lost its majority.
"He got a response from me on that letter and that lead to some communication back and forth with as a result; I invited the leader of the NA to a meeting, which turned out to be the one that was held at the Holland House on May 14."
She said the NA leader clearly outlined at that meeting that he was not interested in negotiating a new government without the resignations of the four sitting DP Commissioners. This is the reason why the resignations followed that Monday.
Wescot Williams on May 19 she met with the leader of the National Alliance and the meeting was a very long one. That meeting you can say took us half way around the island where they discussed issues affecting the island and the possible formation of a new government.
Wescot Williams said they had agreed for leader of the National Alliance to present a written proposal for the formation of the new government but that never happened.
The following day she said when she inquired about the letter, she was told that the NA leader had drafted an agreement and he was presenting it to his faction. This agreement said was based on the discussions they had the previous day.
Days later the NA leader submitted a letter to the Lt. Governor and the media announcing that his party managed to form the next government with the support of the independent island council member Louie Laviest.
The letter that also sent to Wescot Williams, Marlin said his faction was no longer pursuing the negotiations to form a national or broad base government.
Wescot Williams said that NA leader has made a choice. He made a choice on the bases of his reasons, whatever those are, but she will not accept responsibility for not wanting to form a national government.
