File spoon-archives/aut-op-sy.archive/aut-op-sy_1997/aut-op-sy.9708, message 197


Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 10:51:13 -0500
From: Michael Novick <mnovick-AT-laedu.lalc.k12.ca.us>
Subject: AUT: Rebelliousness in Monserrat against British, police attack


International: Governor appeals for calm after volcano isle riot
>
>     THE voluntary evacuation of Montserrat will begin today amid
>  mounting signs that the tiny Caribbean island, which has endured
>  two years of volcanic eruptions, is starting to come apart at the
>  seams.
>  
>     While the volcano in the Soufriere Hills is going through a
>  period of relatively benign behaviour after a savage eruption a
>  fortnight ago, the frustration of the 4,000 people crammed in the
>  northern "safe zone" of the 39-square-mile island is boiling over.
>  
>     On Thursday night, after noisy and unprecedented demonstrations
>  against the local and British governments, Bertrand Osborne, the
>  Chief Minister, resigned, saying he could no longer command the
>  support of his cabinet and parliament (a total of six other
>  people).
>  
>     Frank Savage, the Governor, then went on radio to appeal for
>  calm after police in riot gear clashed with 20 young Rastafarians
>  in the town of Salem. There were some minor injuries and four
>  protesters were temporarily arrested before the police chief
>  intervened to calm his officers and the demonstrators with some
>  straight, sensible talking.
>  
>     Still, the "riot" shocked a community unfamiliar with such
>  events and the island - or the few square miles still inhabitable
>  - remains an uneasy place.
>  
>     It is not the fear of the volcano, which so rudely ended the
>  tranquility of the "Emerald Isle" as an exclusive, upmarket holiday
>  haven, but the feeling that nobody cares much about the people's
>  worsening plight.
>  
>     Little things only reinforce the feeling: locals are furious
>  that when Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, was
>  interviewed on local radio, she referred to the terrible things
>  that had happened because of "the earthquake". It was a slip of the
>  tongue, but it only served to inflame. Meanwhile, more significant
>  events add to the unease: the announcement that Barclays is to
>  close its branch, leaving only one other international bank with a
>  presence here, and the imminent announcement that the inadequate
>  hospital, housed in a school, is to close, heighten the belief that
>  Montserrat life is being allowed to wither away.
>  
>     The catalyst for the discontent was the eruption in early August
>  that resulted in the boundary of the "safe zone" being moved
>  further north.
>  
>     It meant that Salem, the largest inhabitable area since the
>  evacuation and subsequent destruction of the capital, Plymouth, was
>  placed off limits at night.
>  
>     Mr Savage conceded that those evacuations resulted in the
>  northern end of the island becoming "overcrowded to the point where
>  it is now unbearable and unacceptable for people to live".
>  
>     He added: "The demonstrations are the natural expression of the
>  frustrations pent up over two years. The final turn of the screw by
>  the volcano has proved too much for us."
>  
>     The remaining 4,000 - about a third of the population in early
>  1995 - do not know what to do. While they dismiss as inadequate the
>  pounds 2,400-a-head offer from the British Government as a
>  relocation grant for those wanting to move to other Caribbean
>  islands, many cannot make up their minds whether they should stay
>  or go. There are fears that London's oft-expressed commitment to
>  develop the northern end of the island may be nothing more than
>  words, while rumours persist, despite repeated denials, that the
>  British Government may be about to order a mandatory evacuation of
>  everyone and that there is a contingent of Royal Marines on
>  Antigua, 26 miles away, ready to impose martial law.
>  
>     For all that, life goes on in a very abnormal way. Women go
>  shopping as usual, except that they carry blue hard hats and dust
>  masks lest an eruption occur.
>  
>     Government offices continue to function, except now they conduct
>  their business from villas on the northern coast.
>  
>  (1997 (c) The Telegraph plc, London)
>  
>                      _____via IntellX_____
>  {A2:DailyTelegraphLondon-0826.00082}    8/26/97
>
>
>
>

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