Scores of DLP members quit over ‘inhumane’ treatment at party conference

The internal conflict in the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is far from over. Scores of long-standing members, many of them women, have resigned en masse in protest after being barred from a bruising annual party conference last month.

Former party elder and member of the DLP’s women’s group, Undine Whittaker, announced on Friday that a group of 40 individuals had signed a resignation letter to sever ties with the party. 

At a press conference in Queen’s Park, she condemned the treatment of the members who were attempting to protest the expulsion of former president Dr Ronnie Yearwood and former general secretary Steve Blackett at the George Street base on August 25.

“We are quite unhappy about the inhumane treatment that was meted out to us, and we can no longer remain in our party, a party we have loved and served since the beginning,” Whittaker said. She added that the group’s constitutional right to protest was violated, describing the incident as “unfair” and “unjust”.

She claimed members were even denied access to basic facilities, with one female member forced to relieve herself in public and administer insulin due to being locked out.

“It is with a heavy heart that we do this. It is not being done willy-nilly. It is just that the treatment we cannot accept as a matter of human rights, as a matter of women’s rights, as a matter of rights and dignity,” Whittaker said, emphasising their rejection of the current leadership under Ralph Thorne.

The 69-year-old DLP has been plunged into a fresh crisis following the events of August 25, when scores of members, many supporters of Yearwood and Blackett, were excluded from the conference. In the aftermath, several high-profile women resigned, including former Senator Tricia Watson, former parliamentary candidate Irene Sandiford-Garner, former head of the Young Democrats Tyra Trotman, media relations member Stacia Browne, and Whittaker herself.

Whittaker also revealed that many members who were not locked out of the conference stood in solidarity with those who were. 

“This is the list of the persons who have resigned,” she told journalists, pointing to the resignation letter. “So far, we have 40 along with about 20 who have already resigned and have gone through the process without this sort of mass resignation. 

“Let me also point out that each person here was not necessarily locked out of the DLP, but they stood in solidarity with their members. They felt that it was unjust and although they may have been allowed on the inside because their names were on this list that there was, they felt that they should also stay on the outside.”

Asked about the group’s next steps, Whittaker said they were yet to determine a way forward after submitting the mass resignation letter. About 14 people participated in the press conference.

Women’s rights advocate Wilma Clement, who also spoke at the event, criticised the party’s leadership for their treatment of women. 

“What this also means is that the leadership of the Democratic Party needs to sit up and take note and recognise that the disenfranchisement of women and the disrespect that has been shown to women will not be tolerated,” Clement warned, adding that such behaviour undermined the party’s core membership.

Long-time party member Ricardo Williams expressed disgust at the treatment of the women during the conference. 

He said: “It was one of the most disgusting days ever in the history of Barbados, where you could take people, especially aged people, and treat them in the manner that they treated them. You don’t even treat dead people like that, and they treated these people worse than outcasts. You cannot expect now for these people to come back and embrace you.”

 (SZB)