By PRIOR BEHARRY, http://www.trinidadexpress.com/

Opposition MPs Manohar Ramsaran and Dr Hamza Rafeeq were yesterday pulled off the pavement on Main Road Chaguanas, arrested and placed in a marked police van by heavily armed police officers.

In a show of solidarity, all the United National Congress MPs went to the Chaguanas Police Station and none attended the Budget presentation delivered by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Patrick Manning yesterday.

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, who arrived around 12.55 p.m., said the Budget pales in comparison to the rights of people and described the use of force by the police yesterday on the streets of Chaguanas as “obscene”.

Just before 10.30 a.m., Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP) Oswyn Allard said, “I had enough,” and grabbed Ramsaran by his arm, pulling him off the pavement and pushing him into the van. Ramsaran’s colleague, Rafeeq, was then placed next to him. Seven other men were arrested and later charged, including political analyst and Express columnist Dr Kirk Meighoo.

All eight, except Ramsaran, were charged with taking part in a public march without the permission of the Commissioner of Police. Ramsaran was charged with inciting people to take part in a public march without the permission of the Police Commissioner.

When the nine men appeared before Magistrate Margaret Alert in the Chaguanas Third Magistrate’s Court, they were granted their own bail in the sum of $750 each and the matter was adjourned to October 13.

The other men charged were American citizen Boysie Oudit-Roy, Abdul Jabbroj, Pundit Bisram Siewdath, Geewan Lutchman, Bissondath Ramkissoon and Mukijal Abdullah.

They all appeared in court after spending about four hours in the Chaguanas Police Station.

The drama began when Ramsaran, Rafeeq, as well as the Chaguanas Mayor Dr Suruj Rambachan, were leading the march along the southern pavement of the Chaguanas Main Road to protest the increase in crime. The marchers, numbering more than 500 were heading west and traveling in pairs on the pavement. When they arrived at the market, Allard, who was in charge of the strong police contingent told the marchers to “cease and desist”, words which acting Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs used to advise protesters who wanted to take part in demonstrations yesterday (Budget Day) against the increase in criminal activities in the country.

Ramsaran insisted that it was a peaceful march and after two confrontations, Allard said, “I had enough,” and he arrested Ramsaran. Meighoo, who was one of the first to be arrested, began shouting from the back of the police van, “What is the charge! What charge!”

The other marchers were stopped from following their MPs to the Chaguanas Police Station. While at the station, the UNC MPs started arriving one by one. First was Chief Whip Ganga Singh who visited the arrested men and was then told by Allard that he was being obstructionist. Police officers using batons formed a barricade to clear the street in front of the police station. The marchers then gathered in a nearby car park and Allard again threatened to lock them up. He gave them a two-minute warning, but he never returned although the van used to transport the nine were parked in front of the hundreds who had by this time left the Chaguanas Main Road to lend support to the arrested men.

As a national security helicopter flew overhead, all the people who had gathered waved to it. It circled the police station twice and then disappeared.

While the two MPs and the other seven men were being escorted to the courthouse, Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a former attorney general, said she was “man-handled” and pushed in her chest by a police officer.

Persad-Bissessar told Magistrate Alert before the case of the MPs were called, that her incident was an assault right outside the courtroom. She said when she protested to the policeman, who shoved her in her chest, she was threatened. She said she was pushed so hard that radio host Sadro Mohammed, who was behind her had to break her fall. When Magistrate Alert called for the policeman he was not there.

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