Many were shocked yesterday to hear the news coming from the House of Assembly. Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner reared back and slapped Fort Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins in the House. In our modern history, violence has not been a regular part of our parliamentary proceedings.
After the incident, of course, various versions of the event were spun. Butler-Turner said she was "provoked" into slapping Rollins because he embraced her, whispered "horrific" things in her ear and would not let her go. She did not say what "horrific" things he said.
"When he did not remove his arm while saying those things, I slapped him," said Butler-Turner, who is also deputy leader of the Free National Movement.
When he spoke to reporters afterwards, Rollins denied he made disparaging remarks to Butler-Turner and said she "lost her cool". He said he only encouraged her to seek a therapist because of her frequent emotional outbursts in Parliament.
What was just as surprising as the slap, however, was the response of the speaker of the House, Dr. Kendal Major. Major did not make specific reference to the slap when the House resumed shortly after 3 p.m. The incident happened after the lunch break at 1 p.m. Instead, the speaker issued a weak, vague and inadequate statement, saying parliamentarians should not disparage each other during debates. Major did not even make specific reference to the incident when the House resumed after the lunch break.
"If we as honorable men and women are to be calling for reduced violence on our streets and among our people, then we in this House must demonstrate it clearly that we can disagree with each other without being insulting," Major said yesterday.
"Words do hurt, and I've seen it time and again in this place and it's bothersome. In particular words that are spoken from members in apparent security of their seats."
Major missed the moment. As speaker he should have intervened in a stronger and more decisive manner. If a member was holding on to another member and would not let her go when she demanded it, he should be sanctioned. If a member overreacted and slapped another member, she should be sanctioned. Significant punishments should have been leveled against the offending MP or MPs, as the incident occurred in the House.
Major's decision not to speak directly to the issue and not to issue significant sanctions sets the wrong precedent. If other MPs slap each other, will that be fine too? What if an MP punches a colleague, will that be virtually ignored by the speaker?
Major should use this opportunity to set an example for this and future Parliaments. While rigorous debate is good and necessary in Parliament, violence is not acceptable. The Office of Speaker is weakened if the speaker does not speak to this issue in a more forceful manner.
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