CASTRIES, St.Lucia CMC– The Opposition United Workers Party (UWP) Thursday fired its first salvo at the newly elected St.Lucia Labour Party (SLP) expressing the hope that the Kenny Anthony administration will refrain from “any form of victimisation whatsoever” of its members and supporters.

UWP leader Stephenson King in a statement noted that his party has agreed on a zero tolerance policy for St Lucia Labour Party victimisation.

“In other words we will not stand idly by and watch the SLP subject any of our members or supporters to loss of employment, deprivation of economic opportunities and other penalties simply because of their political beliefs,” King noted.

He said the party is aware of a number of threats that were made to UWP officials and operatives during the election campaign by members of the top brass of the St Lucia Labour Party.

“The SLP has a long history of using government to destroy the livelihoods of UWP supporters with the most vicious victimisation.

“We therefore urge Dr Anthony to immediately bring an end to the SLP’s unacceptable habit of hounding citizens perceived to be aligned to the UWP out of their jobs and denying them the right to participate in nation building,” King added.

The UWP said that it wants Dr Anthony to give an undertaking that under his watch there will be no state sponsored affirmative action that favours SLP supporters and excludes all other citizens.

Instead, the UWP expects the SLP to be a government for all St Lucia dedicated to securing ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’.

During his swear-in ceremony Wednesday for the third time as the country’s Prime Minister Dr. Anthony called on the UWP to join him is his efforts to rebuilt the country, stating clearly that to resuscitate the country could not be achieved by the governing  party alone.