ROSEAU, Dominica--Dominica’s Opposition United Workers Party (UWP) is crying foul after being denied permission to stage a march as part of its efforts to pressure Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and his Cabinet to step down.
Police Commissioner Daniel Carbon turned down the request for today’s march, made on March 15, in the interest of “public safety and national security.”
Party leader Lennox Linton blasted the decision, describing it as “dictatorial” and “brutal” in a post on Facebook.
He charged that police were in “combat mode” with Dominicans, saying he was “surprised at the tone of the letter” from the nation’s crime chief.
The refusal by the police comes a month after an approved opposition march and rally in the capital was followed by violence and vandalism. Several businesses were looted and damaged.
“The letter from the Commissioner of Police suggests that police [are – Ed.] in combat mode with the people of Dominica who are protesting for their rights in a democracy. This comes after weeks of persecution of members of the leadership of the United Workers Party and the Dominica Freedom Party,” Linton said.
He maintains the party was seeking to have a peaceful, law-abiding activity in protest of Skerrit’s refusal to step down. And he announced that the UWP would host two public meetings today instead.
“We are going to do it peacefully, we are going to do it very orderly. We are not in any confrontation mode, we are simply saying in a loud voice with the sons and daughters from all across Dominica that Skerrit must go,” Linton stressed. ~ Caribbean360 ~
