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- MP calls MMM man a coward
MP calls MMM man a coward
- By Yannick Rivet
- Published 1st May, 2008
- News
- Unrated
Sheila Grenade brutalised, her car smashed
Grenade vehemently criticized Barbier and even called him “a coward who initiated this action” at a meeting with the press, at the MSM headquarters, in Port Louis, on Wednesday.
She also alleged that the MMM activists were heavily armed and were carrying an impressive and frightening amount of weapons. She appealed to the MMM leadership to take action against Barbier.
Grenade said she was with Showkutally Soodhun, an MSM member, and other activists in Cité Vallijee on Tuesday night when her supporters got into a row with ten MMM activists led by Barbier.
“We were calmly sticking posters when the MMM activists, visibly drunk, started insulting me and threatened me with their weapons. They took to their heels when I called out a police vehicle patrolling in the sector,” Grenade said.
“We had spent the last hours sticking posters and after the dispute, we realised that these men had torn off all of our posters and we had to start all over again,”
she added.
Grenade said the same group came back a little later and again brutalised her and her partisans. “They crushed the rear windscreen of my car and kept hitting my car. I was shocked at the number of weapons these men were carrying. They had sabres, knives, sticks and golf clubs,” she said.
According to Grenade, this was not the first time that Jean Claude Barbier attacked her. Last year, at the approach of May Day, he had attacked the Grenade couple and other MSM activists. The dispute had ended with a broken nose for Ruben Grenade, the MP's husband.
For Soodhun, this incident illustrates the fear and worry of the MMM concerning “the massive support gathered by the MSM for May Day meeting in Port Louis”. He condemned the attack, especially on a woman.
Meanwhile, two of the MMM activitists involved in the incident, Thierry Emmanuel Sophie, 41, and Davinson Jasmine, 29, were arrested by the police and appeared before Port Louis court on Wednesday afternoon. They were released after providing a Rs10,000 bail.
She also alleged that the MMM activists were heavily armed and were carrying an impressive and frightening amount of weapons. She appealed to the MMM leadership to take action against Barbier.
Grenade said she was with Showkutally Soodhun, an MSM member, and other activists in Cité Vallijee on Tuesday night when her supporters got into a row with ten MMM activists led by Barbier.
“We were calmly sticking posters when the MMM activists, visibly drunk, started insulting me and threatened me with their weapons. They took to their heels when I called out a police vehicle patrolling in the sector,” Grenade said.
“We had spent the last hours sticking posters and after the dispute, we realised that these men had torn off all of our posters and we had to start all over again,”
Grenade said the same group came back a little later and again brutalised her and her partisans. “They crushed the rear windscreen of my car and kept hitting my car. I was shocked at the number of weapons these men were carrying. They had sabres, knives, sticks and golf clubs,” she said.
According to Grenade, this was not the first time that Jean Claude Barbier attacked her. Last year, at the approach of May Day, he had attacked the Grenade couple and other MSM activists. The dispute had ended with a broken nose for Ruben Grenade, the MP's husband.
For Soodhun, this incident illustrates the fear and worry of the MMM concerning “the massive support gathered by the MSM for May Day meeting in Port Louis”. He condemned the attack, especially on a woman.
Meanwhile, two of the MMM activitists involved in the incident, Thierry Emmanuel Sophie, 41, and Davinson Jasmine, 29, were arrested by the police and appeared before Port Louis court on Wednesday afternoon. They were released after providing a Rs10,000 bail.
