Media entrepreneur and founder of Link Magazine, Parry Bellot, has vowed to institute legal action against top executives of the Dominica Freedom Party – notably DFP Leader Kent Vital and DFP President Johnson Boston. Bellot said he is sueing the DFP executives for defamation of character when they claimed on live radio that he received $3,500 monthly from PM Roosevelt Skerrit to promote his political agenda.
Bellot said the incident happened three months ago and that he had called in to the radio DFP programme to correct the assumption that PM Skerrit him to promote his political propaganda. And that the radio hosts had thereafter allowed other callers to criticize him and label him a dishonest individual who gained from political handouts.
He said Kent Vital then addressed him on the radio programme to deny if Skerrit does not give him $3,500 monthly. He said Vital addressed him and asked on radio after he had ealier called in, “Mr. Bellot, I know you’re listening. I want to ask you this question. Is it not true that Mr. Skerrit is giving you $3,500 every month to do his propaganda?”
Bellot said other callers attacked his integrity and the radio programme hosts fed fat on the criticisms.
“It really got bad when the party people, the party leaders started criticizing me and accusing me of not being an honest person – I’m a bourgeoisie; I don’t care for poor people,” Bellot stated. “Really attacking me. So, I am announcing here that I am suing both Mr. Vital and Mr. Johnson Boston of the Freedom Party.”
The veteran journalist made it clear that “I’m not getting a cent from Mr. Skerrit” and that the DFP leaders did not give him the radio opportunity to defend himself against his accusers.
Vital however dismissed Bellot’s claims, saying the magazine owner only wants public attention which he is not ready to give. He dared Bellot to head to the courts if he is certain that he has a case to prove.
“On the Parry matter, we really don’t have anything to say on this to Parry,” Vital stated. “Parry apparently wants attention. So if he wants to do what he wants to do and he thinks he has a case to make, let him make his case. But we asked him to inform the public on a certain matter so he is free to inform the public or not. He is free to try to sue us if he wants to, so let him do just that. I don’t have much attention to pay to Parry.”
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