Managing protests in a pandemic

On Wednesday, police officers in Tobago staged an "anti-crime Christmas roadblock" that just happened to be at the same place and on the same day as a planned protest at Grange Bay over beach restrictions.

Only one protester faced down the police presence to display a sign, and was quickly sent on his way by the police.

It's likely that this pre-emptive action was the result of an evaluation of the police engagement at the Savannah that saw 29 protesters detained for breaching the health regulations.

Tobago's police force is to be commended for taking early action to prevent a potential superspreader event among Tobagonian protesters on an island that is struggling with a buckling parallel health sector and frighteningly low vaccine take-up.

THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection, Dr Faith BYisrael warned on Wednesday that the island's parallel health care system is rapidly approaching saturation for critically ill covid19 patients.

One deterred Tobago protester said the potential demonstrators in the group numbered more than 70, and while it wasn't clear how many had agreed to protest, that's an unnerving number in today's circumstances.

But it's also important to acknowledge that the "roadblock" represented a trend to covid-related police action that has a chilling effect on dissent, which isn't healthy for public debate.

When you stop people from voicing their concerns publicly, the dissent doesn't disappear, it simply goes underground, where it ferments out of sight, possibly among potentially larger congregations of people gathering outside police surveillance and control.

New mechanisms are necessary for dealing with these responses to restrictions and other necessary actions taken by the State to manage the country as it reels from widespread covid19 infection.

That response must acknowledge that public disagreement with state policies is an important aspect of a functioning democracy.

In much the same way that politicians courted public endorsement during the general election campaign in August 2020 and police did little to disperse crowds in January’s THA campaign, the State must entertain the public's right to disagree, even if it's not possible to do so safely in a mass assembly.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has promised to ramp up community and individual discussions to engage vaccine hesitancy.

The government should also consider improving its engagement channels to meet other public concerns.

Real communication consisting of responsive dialogue led by calm, reasoned discourse should become part of the national security apparatus to defuse potential incidents of public disorder.

Developing new avenues for civil disagreement and improving existing channels is the only sensible way for the government to become more alert and attentive to sources of possible civil unrest and address them before they flare out of control.

The State cannot infinitely limit civil liberties without exceeding the requirements necessary for covid19 management and perhaps provoking the very kinds of mass gatherings that must be avoided.