Cover Up not possible – Time for the truth
The Barbados news media has been full of coy references to an “alleged” incident where it is “rumoured” that Government Minister of Economic Affairs David Estwick threatened Opposition member Dale Marshall with a gun in Parliament.
Or so we’ve heard. Sort of.
No one, including Dale Marshall, will directly say what happened.
Opposition leader Mia Mottley is calling for a gun policy for Parliament, but won’t say why it’s needed. She says she won’t be in Parliament after April 20th if the government doesn’t implement a gun policy for members. (Nation: Gun Stand)
Some Government members privately say they are confused because they don’t think Mottley has ever seen a gun before and wouldn’t know what one looked like even if she held it in her hands.
Lawyer and journalist Stephen Alleyne skillfully wrote hundreds of words on the subject without mentioning the subject. (Barbados Advocate: Under Scrutiny: Over to you, Mr. Speaker!)
Similarly, Dale Marshall gave a press conference stating that democracy is at risk, but won’t say what happened to put democracy at risk.
“No member of Parliament should fear for his life and his safety when he is in Parliament doing the people’s business,” the former Attorney General said.
… from the Nation article Democracy at risk warns Marshall
OK… so what happened?
As Stephen Alleyne pointed out in his article, Parliament has always be a sacred place where the peoples’ representatives can often push the limits without being arrested to interfered with. But there are limits.
Was Estwick carrying a concealed handgun in Parliament? Why?
Did he threaten Dale Marshall with it? Did Estwick pull out his gun and shove it in Marshall’s face? (That would be a sight!)
Or… were they having an argument where there was no reference to a gun but Marshall saw that Estwick was carrying a handgun (or already knew he habitually carried a weapon) and decided to make something of it by making up a story?
We, the public, deserve an answer and we’re not going to put up with another protracted “investigation” that fades off to nothing in six months.
Mia Mottley says she’ll pull out of Parliament if the government doesn’t put in place a gun policy by April 20th.
That is a dishonest position on her part. Dishonest because she hasn’t the courage to let the truth be told – whatever it is. Mottley and Marshall are throwing innuendo at the public for political purposes.
If Estwick actually threatened Marshall with a gun in Parliament – that is the peoples’ business. We deserve a full explanation from everyone involved.
So far all we have is innuendo. We the people deserve more respect from Mottley and Marshall.
Barbados Free Press 
You should remember that public statements can bring lawsuits in our society, so they have to be careful how they word things until it is resolved in parliament or in the law courts.
Why would Mia push so hard on something like this?
How do propose an opposition party press home their point, when they have no power to back it up?
“….So far all we have is innuendo. We the people deserve more respect from Mottley and Marshall”
after years of innuendo and vague smears by DLP operatives on BFP, they now call for clarity. Why not just hang a shingle out for the DLP press office?
How can blame be leveled towards the youth when this happens between men chosen to represent the people and in the halls of Parliament. Where are we as a nation going.
Why was this matter ignored on the CBC news last night, particularly since the Opposition is threatening to boycott Parliament over it? And, to add insult to injury, they led off the newscast with a minor item featuring the Minister at the center of the firestorm. The Advocate rubbed more salt in the wound this morning carrying a photo of the said Minister taking up half of its frontpage. It is as if the powers that be are giving us all who are offended over this issue the proverbial finger.
because CBC and the Advocate are creatures of the DLP…… so much for freedom of the press.
Another very cogent article presented by BFP….kudos to you.
Now to the matter at hand, how could lying Dale Marshall tell anybody that Dr. David Estwick threatened him with a gun…when in fact such a thing never took place ?
Lying Dale Marshall knows full well that Dr. Estwick never threatened him with a gun and cannot claim such…..because whatever Dr. David Estwick told him WAS SAID outside the Halls of Parliament……and Lying Dale Marshall knows full well that any UNTRUTHS he ( Lying Dale Marshall ) says in that regard would find its way into a court of LAW !
IMAGINE THE BLP FOLLY ON THIS ONE :
Hundreds of Barbadians were summoned to Heroes Square on Sunday night to hear for themselves what happened in the yard of Parliament on the 19th March 2010….and the man at the centre of the Bruhah…Lying Dale Marshall even at the insistence of the crowd ….REFUSED TO STATE WHAT HAPPENED..!
If Lying Dale Marshall and the other BLP clowns are so convinced that rules of Parliament were broken and lives were threatened tell the public….HOW ??
They should take a cue from DRUNKING Owen Arthur ( after being misled about what happened that night….because he is hardly in Parliament…NOTICE he is no longer following the issue )
Readers must go back and look at the faces and names of those BLP clowns who visited the Opposition Leader’s Office to vent on this issue as reported in the press a few days ago……ask yourself why was the vociferous Owen Arthur missing !!
Owen now realised Mia and her minnions are trying to deflect attention from the real reason she is WORRIED……that is the imminent return of Owen Arthur as leader of the BLP !
In such scheme of things…..Lying Dale Marshall will no longer parade as a DEPUTY to the mighty Owen Arthur….THINK ABOUT IT FOLKS !
I think the Opposition Leader is being disingenuous here, for political purposes (surprise, surprise) in calling for a firearm policy in Parliament without a public explanation for why, but which clearly is related to the recent alleged incident between Dale Marshall and David Estwick in the yard of the Parliament buildings. An incident which occurred in the environs of Parliament which is supposed to be investigated by the Speaker of the House.
Why doesn’t the Leader of the Opposition wait for the results of the investigation, including whatever recommendations may come out of it before calling for changes in Parliamentary policies? Perhaps she suspects that the matter may be dealt with in a partisan political fashion and swept under the carpet. And the whole truth of the “incident” may then not be known, including whether a firearm or firearms played any role in the matter.
Since Ms. Mottley has seemingly put into the public domain the idea that a firearm was in fact involved, it will be interesting to see whether this affects what the Speaker of the House reports and decrees regarding this incident. And that is probably what the Leader of the Opposition is trying to achieve in the first place-trying to influence the results on the investigation!
I was telling him not to take his gun to town,
‘E nevah stop ‘e nevah listen….
With the public “up in arms” (pun intended) over the dancehall duo, I though this ole time sometin was very apt for the discussion.
Maybe we need to examine whether MPs having unlimited access to alcohol in Parliament is a good ting…
I was telling him not to take his gun to town,
This story of yours contains some inflammatory stuff, what with Estwick allegedly showing his gun and possibly ‘shove it in Marshall’s face’ and ‘Mottley says she’ll pull out ‘.
What exactly was going on???
Why must you always take swipes at Mia’s (supposed) sexual orientation? It is just tacky. Can you not just write the story without throwing in some irrelevant, rumour mongering comment?
Walking down the road with a pistol in yuh waist, Estwick too bad, whoo oh oh
Walking down the road with a pistol in yuh waist, Estwick too bad, whoo oh oh
Got mia running and a ducking and a thumping, Estwick yuh too bad, too bad
got marshall running and a ducking and a thumping, Estwick yuh too bad, too bad
One of these days when de speaker say “come”, who you gonna run to? whoo oh oh
One of these days when de speaker say “come”, who you gonna run to? whoo oh oh
You gonna run for a rock, but in de parking lot there will be no rock, no rock
You gonna run for a rock, but in de parking lot there will be no rock, no rock
repeats…
Is it merely coincidental that Spice & Co has just resurrected and one of their theme songs was Guns? Could someone be taking this song literally?
Hi Maguffy
We’d really like to know what went on. If it happened in Parliament, why can’t we be told about it? If it happened outside of Parliament, why aren’t the police involved?
And why does Estwick carry a gun anyway? What he think this is, Jamaica?
BFP as DLP? Ha! That’s a good one.
Many years ago there was a rumour involving Billie Miller Lindsay Bolden and a gun. Nothing came of it. Anyone remember that?
We see hartley “Love” is on the attack. Dr Estwick the screamer, has made a fatal error…it will be interesting to see how Big David washes his hands of this.
DEMS better check and make sure that no one takes a gun to cabinet meetings. Sometimes men get real angry and tempers rage. Down with guns.
Has anyone heard David Estwick speak about what allegedly happened?
Love this article!.
Rude boy a loot an’ a shoot an’ a wail.
Rude boy loot an’ a shoot an’ a wail.
Dippy dippy dooey. Dippy dippy dooey.
Double oh seven is back on the scene.
Double oh seven is back on the scene.
Dippy dippy dooey.
Dippy dippy dooey.
Dear Love,
Your emotional statement clearly portrays a passionate love affair with your party of preference.Where there is smoke, there usually is FIRE…. I am liken unto lyrics of the Great Robert N Marley….Who the cap fits let them wear it……. Unfortunately we are in times of such challenging changes ,declarations,Autocratic Mismanagement,Deja Vu govertment,, and the whole mire of deliberate ostrichisation,,,,that nought will come to any utterances from any source whatever that could cause but a shadow to fall on the present state of questionable propiety in this our blessed Island BARBADOS.
PROPRIETY is actually the correct spelling ,,,tooo fast typing…
Hello BFP,
In the interest of balance and fairness , I am inviting you to ban from this site all BLP supporters , sympathisers and well wishers….until they declare to Barbadians what it is they are claiming Dr. David Estwick said / did to Mr. Dale Marshall.
This would be inkeeping with the well nurtured maxim…” He who alleges must prove “
Hello BFP,
A developing story that could not have come at a worst time for the Baldwin Spencer Administration in Antigua.
Given the fallout from the Allen Stanford fiasco / IMF Programme / Global recession / and an intensified Antigua Labour Party……it would be interesting days ahead to see how PM Spencer deal with this situation.
http://winnfm.com/news2.asp?NewsID=4400
In the interest of balance and fairness , I am inviting you to ban from this site all BLP supporters , sympathisers and well wishers
………………………………………………………………………………….BFP
In the interest of balance and fairness it would be fair and democratic to allow the Bees, Dees, PDC’s, PIP’s and the HBP (Hypocritical Bias Party) with candidates like “Love” to enlightened the country about things happening in our country.
To “love”
Dear Love,
We thought you said that you were finished with BFP? We weren’t useful anymore?
We now return to our regular programme.
Do you think that our PM – Tompy – may just be afraid of David Estwick? Do you think that Estwick could pull the sme stunt on Thomp as he pull on Marshall? I nominate Estwick as our most ignorant politician that has ever been elected to parliament. Given a chance this !@#$%^&* may even pull a gun on himself.
emmm…
nice article…..
I guess “Love” would like BFP to operate like CBC TV8, the news starts and finishes with an item concerning a government minister/senator/lacky/yardfowl; or the Barbados Advocate, pictures and stories about the DLP from cover to back page.
Judging from the passion with which “Love” writes his/her comments he/she either has to be a politician ingognito, or a bloody idiot. Why would a sane person be so wrapped up in politics in such a way that he/she could launch such vicious attacks on persons who contribute to this blog. Maybe he/she really is Hartley Henry.
Can “Love” remember lying David Thompson calling everyone to a mass meeting to reveal that the opposition BLP at the time that they had a secret deal with the IMF; lo and behold, he could not produce any evidence to substantiate his allegations. Was it not alleged that Drunken David Thompson broke his leg at the St. Philip carnival after falling from a truck under the influence of Old Brigand rum.
Stick to the issues and stop the fanatical, political “yardfowlism”.
I understand Tompy’s Combemere friends that he is terrified of frogs…. I always thought Estwick behaved like a Bull frog
I think the ( BLP ) is smoking screens and pipe dreams
if you think OWING arthur looted millions just let Mia get her hands on the national treasury ( Central Bank funds) She will rob us blind she will be saying let them eat cake.!
I think the ( BLP ) is smoking screens and pipe dreams
if you think OWING arthur looted millions just let Mia get her hands on the national treasury ( ) She will rob us blind she will be saying let them eat cake.!
Was it not alleged that Drunken David Thompson broke his leg at the St. Philip carnival after falling from a truck under the influence of Old Brigand rum.
****************************************
Josquin Desprez….before I pay attention to the crap you have written……I am going to call the police and immigration for your @ss !
Somehow people like you feel Owen Arthur still around to allow refugees like you take up residence in this blessed land . Where you can seek to pontificate on the affairs of this fair land.
Well there is a new sherriff in town….Barbados is for Barbadians FIRST & FOREMOST !
This story like it has died. Why hasn’t the speaker said anything in public?
Love:
Call the police and immigration for me, in fact call them for all foreingers who live in Barbados; and don’t forget to include in your list: Thompson (Englishman), his wife (St. Lucian); Frank Dasilva (Trinidadian); Taan Abed (Arab).
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Since Dale Marshall said the whole incident between he and David Estwick might have been recorded by the cameras in Parliament, can anyone tell me if it is available for public viewing on YouTube? Or, do I have to go to the Drive-in or Olympus Theatres to see it?