MSJ: Government must not use police as weapon against citizens

COMMENTING on what it termed the unnecessary used of tear gas on a crowd of demonstrators last Sunday, the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) says the police must not be used as a weapon against citizens in the interest of any government.

MSJ leader David Abdulah, said he is disturbed this was a crowd-control measure after protesters at the Queen’s Park Savannah started chanting, “Rowley must go.”

“We call on the acting CoP to explain his position and that of his senior officers. We call on the Law Association and other civic bodies to issue statements on this matter. Silence is not an option,” Abdulah said in a statement.

“We have listened to the statements made by senior officers of the TTPS, including that by the actingCoP, McDonald Jacob, in media interviews, as well as by those who were part of and/or led the demonstration.

“It is our considered view that the firing of tear gas into the demonstrators was unnecessary and an abuse of power and we condemn it.”

He said also of extreme concern was the statement more than one senior police officer, including Jacob, that the tear gas was used shortly after protesters started chanting, “Rowley must go.”

“Mr Jacob surmised that this chant could have been the precursor to some other kind of actions that were riotous. This assertion would be deemed totally absurd if it was made by a supporter of the ruling party, but coming from the hierarchy of the TTPS, it is downright dangerous.”

Abdulah said the MSJ's position is very clear.

“We support and will defend the right of citizens to exercise their ‘freedom of thought and expression, freedom of association and assembly; freedom of conscience and the right to express political views' – all of which are expressly established in the Constitution of TT. These are part of the bedrock of a democratic society.

“We also recognise that some of these rights have been very severely restricted by law, especially the Summary Offences Act, which originated as an old colonial law designed by the British to keep the working classes repressed and 'under manners.'"

He said since Independence, governments have strengthened the provisions of this colonial law, and these amendments have further undermined citizens’ constitutional rights.

“Freedom of expression and of assembly are examples of this curtailment, as ‘permission’ is required to hold a public march. Over time the TTPS has also wrongfully included pickets and other protests in their definition of what requires their 'permission.’

“For the TTPS to now take the position that citizens expressing their political views (Rowley must go) is a threat to public order and requiring the use of tear gas is taking us down the slippery slope of a police state where the coercive arm of the State is used to put down – violently if they deem it necessary – any protest against the government in office.

“The TTPS must not be used as a weapon against citizens in the interest of any government.”