NIA CHARLESTIOWN NEVIS (May 16, 2013) –In an impassioned plea to the people of Nevis, in particular the youths, Premier of Nevis and Minister responsible for Security in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Hon. Vance Amory, urged them to desist from criminal activity which if allowed to continue,could threaten the island’s stability and security.
Mr. Amory was at the time delivering a statement onNTv 8 on May 16, 2013, on the heels of the shooting death of a Pond Hill village youth Mr. Kishmoy Challenger, while he was on his job in Cades Bay early Monday morning.
“I speak to you at this time with a really, very heavy heart…It is not one of those things I am happy to report but I really want to appeal to all the people of Nevis that we cannot sustain this type of anti-social and criminal activity. Not only are we creating and causing hurt to the family of those who are injured or was killed in this case but the whole country suffers as a result of this type of illegal criminal violence…
“I want to appeal to all the people of Nevis, especially our young people, our young men, that you desist from becoming involved in criminal activity, whether it be gang related or whether it be as an individual.This kind of behaviour, this criminal activity, is a threat to our stability and our security. It does no one any good. It in fact creates difficulty for all of us because our future depends on the stability and the peace and the security of our country,” he said.
Mr. Amory frowned on a number of anti-social behaviours which he said should not be tolerated and urged persons with any information on those crimes to report them to the authorities.
“We have had a spate of robberies; loss of property; threats to human life; violation of people’s sanctity of their homes and these things are really anti-social and ought not to be engaged in… I want each one of you who may have any information in respect of any of these crimes to share this information with the Police.
“If you are afraid of speaking to the Police, share it with someone whom you trust, share it with your minister of religion, share it with your mother, share it with someone whom you know is going to treat the information with confidentiality but above all, let us see that each one of us is responsible for the security and the protection of our country. In that regard, if each one decides that we or he or she will not engage in violent or criminal activity then that will inure to the benefit and the good of our country,” he said.
Meantime, Premier Amory also had some advice for those who encouraged criminal activity and benefited financially from it.
“Those of you who may be encouraging this kind of activity I ask you to desist because even if you are now able to live comfortably; even if you are now able because of ill-gotten gains through the perpetration of crime to live comfortably,if we do not deal with the issue of crime and stamp it out, eradicate it, you, yourself as a perpetrator, will not be able to enjoy the benefits of your ill-gotten gains,” he said, adding that he had opted to speak to the matter because it was a troubling one and he wished to enlist the support of each person on Nevis.
He also noted that he had already spoken to the Police in respect to the latest shooting incidents and they were rallying together to stamp out crime.
I have already spoken to the Police in respect of the two latest shootings…and they are clearly getting their act together to help to reduce and remove crime from our midst. I can only ask each one of us and enlist each one of you to be part of this fight… This is our responsibility; this country is ours. This country cannot survive if we do not do something to eradicate crime…
“This Party, of which I am a member and leader, has adopted a zero tolerance to crime and we will certainly double our efforts to support our Police and all citizens of good will, to get crime out of our countries. I thank you but let us make this our commitment to fight crime and restore civility to our country,” he said.