The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard said his party will not tolerate “blatant disrespect” or any other form of aggression after a Free National Movement Meritorious Council Member was assaulted by another party member at a meeting earlier this week.

The attacker is said to be a supporter of former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Discussions on whether to ban the member from future meetings were expected to be raised at the FNM’s executive committee and the central council’s end of month meeting yesterday.

The incident occurred at the FNM’s Golden Isles Constituency Association meeting at Gerald Cash Primary School on Tuesday.

FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands said the man who was assaulted required medical attention due to “significant” injuries that included a fractured jaw. He added the matter is under investigation by the police. He said an internal party review is being conducted to ensure they do not come to any “premature conclusions.”

For his part, Mr Pintard said the Free National Movement is a “microcosm of society”, so it faces many of the same challenges.

 “And so we have been sharing consistently the message we have to build relationships that are healthy and wholesome and we ought to communicate with each other in a way that we are able to resolve any differences we may have in a peaceful and amicable way,” he told The Tribune.

 “So wherever there is aggression whether in speech or otherwise we condemn it. We want all of our people broadly in this society, in our organisation to lower the temperature. To manage responsibly any anger they may be experiencing and to deal with each other with respect. Again, this recent event is no different. We want persons to know that we will not tolerate blatant disrespect - or any other aggression towards each other,” Mr Pintard said.

 In a separate interview, Dr Sands also condemned the assault.

 “This took place in the margins of an FNM meeting and we do not condone violence of any kind for any reason and so this was a most distasteful display of a lack of impulse control,” he said.

 The former Elizabeth MP said a report has been filed with police. However, the FNM also has a disciplinary process that undergirds the order and discipline of their meetings and organisation.

 “For us to be engaged in a ‘Stop the Violence, Each One Reach One’ initiative and to see something like this take place, albeit at the conclusion of a regularly scheduled FNM meeting is something that we do not take lightly. It is not tolerated, will not be tolerated, and we will do whatever we can to prevent any such thing from happening again.”

 Asked if the attacker will be banned from meetings until the completion of the investigation, he answered: “There is a meeting of the executive committee and the central council this evening and this matter will be raised at those meetings.”

 According to reports, the FNM member was attacked after he made negative comments about Dr Minnis at Tuesday’s meeting. The attack took place in the school’s parking lot.

 The FNM is battling the public perception of a rift inside the party between those who support Mr Pintard and those who support Dr Minnis.