Photo of 86-year-old Lincoln George Cooper was very emotional during the interview (Spokesman Snap)
By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts– An emotional 86-year-old man named Lincoln George Cooper, during an exclusive interview with this media house on Monday 14th August, claimed that he was verbally threatened that day after he made a party-politics statement in response to a series of back and forth having visited Warner Park to buy cricket match tickets.
“This thing couldn’t happen under the Labour Party,” was what he allegedly said to a particular male who in turn allegedly threatened to punch him.
“I’m upset at how I was treated to get my tickets. I’m upset! I’m very upset! To me this is like intimidation. He must be represent some part of the government because he wouldn’t get so angry because I said to him under Labour this couldn’t happen,” Cooper who was sporting a St.Kitts-Nevis Patriots cap said.
He showed this reporter the four tickets he bought for the four scheduled matches featuring the home team the St.Kitts-Nevis Patriots, starting this weekend.
He explained that initially, he had called to find out about buying tickets and was told that tickets would be sold on the internet.
Online ticket was not convenient for the elderly man who said: “In my whole life, I never book up no ticket on no internet.”
He highlighted that since last week he has been going the park and that nobody knew the timeframe for tickets to be sold.
Cooper informed that somebody told him that tickets would have been sold at telecommunication firm Digicel and so he came into Basseterre early that morning.
“I come down early Monday morning to pick up my tickets. When I go there, they tell me 10 O’ clock; the tickets gone back in the park so I went up the park to get my tickets. When I go a man was there …and said ‘come, come with me and I’ll show you where you could get tickets.’ So he carry to show me where to get the tickets and when he go down there no tickets there.”
He informed that the man told him to come back at 10 O’ clock.
Cooper continued: “So I told him, this thing couldn’t happen under Labour. You know what he tell me?! He tell me he would box me down! De man tell me because I tell him what he do there this morning couldn’t happen under Labour and the man threaten to box me down! God is my judge!”
As understood, the exchange of words between him and that man, happened outside of the office he visited.
“He come outside and I was talking about getting the tickets and so, and I told him if the Labour Party was in power, this thing wouldn’t happen like that and he say he going box me down but I’m 86 years old; he ain’t know in England I used to work for a security company…I can defend myself!”
Asked what his response to the alleged verbal threat was, Cooper commented: “I swear at him! I told him to F@#k off! I said ‘You can’t do me nothing. I am a Kittitian and for 15 years (after my retirement) my money come straight from England to St.Kitts bank.”
He went on further to say that after returning to the park to buy his tickets, the same man interrupted the handing over of the items.
“When the girl was giving me the tickets, he tell the girl stop and phone up some place like to stop me from getting the tickets. I don’t know who he phone up. Whoever he phone up, they must be say he can’t stop me from getting my tickets.”
Cooper applauded the work of the former Labour Party administration, led by immediate former Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, for upgrading of the Warner Park sports facility.
“I like cricket. Every time it got cricket in St.Kitts I go because I used to play cricket in the park myself for years. I had six brothers (and) we had our own cricket team. I grow up on Church Street and I never dreamed to see that St.Kitts got cricket in the park and with flood lights. You know who made that possible? Douglas! I remember all of my life as a child, (there were criticism that) St.Kitts (is) too small.”
He added: “I support the Labour Party because they do good for the country and that is the reason I support the party; not for myself, I’m ok. I ain’t owe nobody nothing in this world; no bank, no hire purchase …but the reason I support the Labour Party is because they help everybody.”