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11 January, 2010
The ICEM condemns the police violence taken against Trinidad and Tobago trade union leader David Abdullah and others on 18 December. Abdullah was one of the organisers of a peaceful protest outside Parliament. He was detained by riot police and charged with “obstruction of free passageway.” The protest was part of the campaign against a proposed Property Bill in the Caribbean islands nation.
A number of other demonstrators, including members of ICEM affiliate Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), suffered injuries during the mid-December demonstration, as police attacked with batons.
The movement opposing the property tax bill, called People’s Democracy, is an umbrella group of trade unions, NGOs, and others in civil society. It organised the 18 December protest outside Parliament to coincide with deliberations on the bill inside the Lower House. OWTU President-General Ancel Roget also participated in the organization of the protest.
David Abdullah centre (Photo T&T Newsday)
Several international groups have also condemned the unprovoked police attacks and arrest of Abdullah. UK Trades Union Congress General Secretary Brendan Barber, in a letter to the country’s authorities, urged that “the charges against Mr. Abdullah are dropped and that all citizens are allowed the free exercise of their democratic rights without interference from the State.”
Roget told police, who demanded the manifestation stop any noise making, that they were doing nothing illegal. It was then that police became violent, using batons against protestors holding only placards. Abdullah complained about the violence and was thrown into a police vehicle, while government police beat OWTU members who tried to follow.
Following Abdullah’s arrest on 18 December, four members of the opposition in Parliament came out and joined the march around the Parliament.
Upon release, Abdullah said, “This will further strengthen the resolve of those who are interested in (our country’s) future because we saw physical evidence today of the dictatorship in Trinidad and Tobago. The right to peaceful picketing is a right we will never, ever give up. We have not and will not engage in anything illegal. And even the police could not tell us that we were violating any law by communicating our message by singing, chanting, and clapping our hands.”
Ancel Roget
Roget accused the government of beating citizens into submission.
Court action against David Abdullah will continue on 13 January and People’s Democracy members intend to turn out at the court proceedings in support of their leader. The movement picketed the offices of Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Thursday, 7 January.
The campaign against the Property Tax, seen as an ill-advised national policy to offset government shortfalls and wasteful spending, will continue. The campaign can be viewed here.