Protesters call on Rowley to go

SEVERAL dozen pro-opposition and anti-government demonstrators gathered at the entrance to Parliament, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, yesterday, calling for the Prime Minister to resign.

Some in plain clothes and others in marked UNC T-shirts chanted “Rowley must go” and “Call elections now” as MPs were scheduled to enter the House.

One of the protesters handed out flyers highlighting E-mailgate as one of the most crucial issues he said the government should be held to account for.

“This (E-mailgate) is a major topic of discussion, because they (opposition) have been cleared of wrongdoing, and it had the potential to swing the last election tremendously,” said the protester, who asked not to be identified.

He said he is a member of the UNC, but some others present were not, and that the protest was not politically motivated.

“This demonstration is showing the country what is taking place, with the murders and the government not doing anything about it. They are taking a back seat on this issue and playing golf while we’re suffering; people being unemployed, and nothing being done to create jobs, and things like that,” the protester said.

While the protesters voiced their disapproval to a number of MPs who made their way into Parliament, most MPs managed to avoid interacting with the crowd, as they arrived early or through an alternative entrance. The protesters faced opposition of their own in a handful of counter-protesters, who arrived in PNM T-shirts.

One of the counter-protesters shouted: “He’s (Rowley) the best we’ve ever had. All yuh need to go to school.”