A public dispute has erupted between environmental advocate Eli Fuller and Prime Minister Gaston Browne over access to South Beach at Jolly Harbour and Peace Beach, with the two exchanging pointed remarks on social media amid a petition demanding improved public access.
Fuller has been promoting a petition reportedly signed by 3,860 people calling for greater public access to the beach.
In a Facebook post, Fuller accused the authorities of restricting access by removing parking and leaving what he described as a narrow, three-foot pathway to one of Antigua’s largest beaches.
He also alleged that the changes had increased the value and privacy of property belonging to the prime minister.
Fuller further claimed that two truckloads of armed Special Branch officers arrived at the beach on Wednesday and intimidated people who had gathered to discuss the access issue.
Those allegations have not been independently verified.
The dispute intensified after Fuller responded to Browne for threatening to burn a petition connected to a Peace beach access campaign.
In a strongly worded Facebook response addressed to Fuller, Browne said he supported greater public access to beaches and had no objection to the general petition.
“I support greater beach access and I have no problem with the general petition for increased beach access,” Browne wrote.
However, the prime minister drew a distinction between that petition and what he described as a separate, personally directed Peace Beach petition.
He said the latter would be “contemptuously burnt to ashes.”
Fuller responded by encouraging supporters to circulate his post, accusing the prime minister of dismissing the concerns of thousands of petition signatories.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to public beach access in Antigua and Barbuda, particularly around Jolly Harbour, where residents and beachgoers have raised concerns about access routes and parking.
The petition displayed in Fuller’s post bears the message “The People Have Spoken” and calls for the protection of public access to Jolly Harbour.
The central disagreement now extends beyond the physical access arrangements to the nature of the petition itself, with Browne maintaining that he supports the general demand for increased access while rejecting what he considers a personally directed campaign.
The petition, organised by the Antigua Conservation Society, calls for the preservation of practical public parking and convenient access to Jolly Harbour Beach. Fuller has also announced plans to deliver the signatures personally to Browne.
The latest exchange leaves unresolved whether the prime minister will receive the general petition and what action, if any, the government intends to take to address the concerns raised by residents and beachgoers.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: War of Words Erupts Between Eli Fuller and PM Gaston Browne Over Beach Access.