ST. LUCIA-Former prime minister condemns murders in Vieux Fort.

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CASTRIES, St.Lucia, CMC – Former prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony Friday condemned the murders of three people in the southern town of Vieux Fort, saying that the killers were “brazen” and “acted with impunity, totally unconcerned by the trauma they unleashed on the community.”

Police have made no arrests in the latest wave of killings in the southern part of the island, and the Ministry of Education closed schools in the area on Friday.

In a statement, Anthony, now the Vieux Fort South’s parliamentary representative, said the unidentified gunmen had “unleashed an unprecedented carnage” in the community causing “considerable pain, sorrow, fear, and anxiety among the citizens of Vieux Fort.

Anthony, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2016, said he is “deeply saddened and distressed” and that “all the victims were personally known to me.”

He said Dylan Bastien, who was 28 years old at the time of his murder, played a crucial role in his campaign in the 2021 general election, while 62-year-old Rufus Stephen, alias “Brico,” was a well-known fisherman who owned several boats.

He said Lorraine Savery, 59 was an employee of the Vieux Fort South Constituency Council and a Town Square caretaker. She is the mother of six children. A nine-year-old boy was also injured during the shootings.

“No words can ever be sufficient to console the victims’ families. It is inconceivable that in a small community like Vieux Fort, the perpetrators of this wave of brutality are unknown. It is unacceptable that the town should be held hostage to gangs.

“Today, schools have been closed. A District Sports Meet has been postponed. Commerce has been affected as persons in nearby communities are fearful of traveling to Vieux Fort to conduct business. Citizens are afraid to walk the streets to visit stores or to engage in social activities. By evening, Vieux Fort has virtually become a ghost town,” Anthony said.

He said despite the engagement of influential individuals in the communities by civil society groups to urge peace and the disarming of gang members, “there has been no respite in the wanton killings.

“There can be no question that the approach to fighting crime in Vieux Fort has to change dramatically. There has to be a complete rethinking of the strategy of fighting crime in Vieux Fort. The current approaches need to be fixed and yield results.

“The citizens of Vieux Fort feel unprotected by those charged with protecting them. This has to change and quickly if the community is to cooperate with law enforcement,” Anthony said.

The latest gun violence upsurge in Vieux Fort has been linked to continuing rival gang activity, and media reports say residents in the southern town are bracing for more violence.

St. Lucia recorded 74 murders last year.

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