Senior Reporter
Minister in the Ministry of Housing Phillip Alexander has defended law enforcement officers, amid growing criticism over the arrest of Alyssa Phillip and her mother during Labour Day celebrations in Fyzabad last Friday, while condemning what he described as efforts by some protesters to deliberately provoke confrontations with police.
Alexander said yesterday that while he remained a strong supporter of free speech, the current controversy extends beyond issues of freedom of expression.
“The situation with this particular issue that is troubling is the overt provocation of police, including threats against the lives of officers, and a willingness to bolt what is still a police and now a court matter to a government that has absolutely no jurisdiction or authority over any police action whatsoever,” he said.
Phillip and her mother Camille Caresquero were arrested by police and later charged with being part of an illegal march and failing to call on participants to disperse, disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.
The arrests have sparked criticism from trade unions and activists, who indicated Phillip was invited to participate in the event. The National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) is also seeking legal advice on possible action.
However, Alexander questioned the conduct of some protesters involved in demonstrations linked to the death of Joshua Samaroo and the subsequent arrest of his girlfriend Kaia Sealy.
“Reading the signs, listening to the rhetoric, it is difficult to get in between this, especially understanding all that has already happened. The reasons for the protests are not lining up with the actions of some of the protesters,” he said, adding he believes intentionally seek to be arrested to attract public attention.
While acknowledging calls for improvements within law enforcement, Alexander maintained that threatening police and engaging in disorderly conduct were not appropriate avenues for achieving reform.
“The TTPS has a role in society, and while we all want systemic improvements, I do not think rioting and threatening the lives of police officers are the way to go about getting that, especially in an environment where both crime and police abuse are significantly down,” he said.
Despite attempts to reach several Government minister on the matter, Alexander was the only one to weigh in on the development up to press time last evening.
