Hathaway
(SNO) — Minister in the Ministry of Tourism, Fortuna Belrose, is of the opinion that the death of a British national here in Saint Lucia will not affect the diplomatic relations between the island and the United Kingdom.
Belrose was questioned on the death of longtime Saint Lucia resident, Robert ‘Bob’ Hathaway, whose body was discovered with “apparent wounds” recently and whether it would affect the relationship between the two countries.
But according to her, crime happens everywhere in the world and it is important to maintain dialogue and diplomacy.
“I think in the age of diplomacy and dialogue, that’s what really matters, the constant engagement, getting people on all side to understand the issues that prevail because crime happens everywhere, anywhere in the world crime happens,” she stated. “And so it is important that we continue to dialogue and maintain our relations.”
Belrose did admit the incident could affect how Saint Lucia looks as a nation.
“I think any death in any society will affect the society at large and when it happens to somebody who’s been in Saint Lucia for a number of years, whether they were German, English, you name it, it would affect anything, it would affect how we look as a nation,” she stated.
She however said the important thing is how well Saint Lucia responds as a country.
“I think the important thing is how well we respond as a country to those issues, how well we resolve the crime and I think with our government, what we are attempting to do is to ensure that we provide the attention that is necessary to deal and address the issues that plague us,” she noted.
Belrose pointed out that it is up to all Saint Lucians to make sure that incidents, such as the one involving Hathaway, don’t happen again.
“The case of Bob Hathaway is one of many that we have to resolve as a country and I think the onus is on all of us as citizens to ensure that we rally and try to make sure that such situations do not happen,” she remarked. “And this is where we are, trying to solve the problem as opposed to propelling it into the international arena.”
Last week the main opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party said the killing of Hathaway will place the island’s justice system under by microscope by the British government.
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