PR – On Friday, January 14th police arrested persons for exercising their constitutional and democratic rights through a peaceful protest in Kingstown outside the parliament.
We in the New Democratic Party condemn these unlawful arrests and consider this an attack on and an attempt to curtail the basic constitutional and democratic rights of Vincentians.
Evidently, this is another example of an unpopular government, that has lost touch with the people, using state power to stifle democracy.
What is of great concern is that these arrests come in the wake of similar charges being recently thrown out of court. This new round of arrest suggests that the ULP government want to instil fear in the people to prevent them from exercising their democratic and constitutional rights.
All around the world, the strongest democracies see protests on a daily basis, as people take to the public spaces to demand and promote their rights. There is nothing wrong or bad about peaceful protest; in fact, social protest is essential to fostering a vibrant, strong democracy.
The NDP call on the government to release all persons arrested immediately without charge and to stop this wanton abuse of state power against Vincentians that chose to exercise their rights through peaceful protest.