Police question Dookeran at POS meeting

A police officer interrupted a meeting of the Congress of the People (COP) in Port of Spain Sunday to find out whether the part had sought permission to gather at the Queen's Park Savannah.

COP Leader Winston Dookeran had gathered opposite President's House with some supporters, including prospective constituency candidate Anil Roberts and former national security minister Joseph Toney, to speak out against crime.

According to a report in the Trinidad Express, the COP supporters had put up 509 red cardboard images representing the persons who were murdered last year.

The paper reported that a police officer, whose name tag read ’Anthony Nesbitt’, identified himself as being from the Belmont Police Station and asked Dookeran what he was doing there and whether he had permission.

"Nesbitt asked when the symbolic figures would be removed and Dookeran replied by 2 p.m. However, Nesbitt insisted that the figures be laid on the floor," the Express reported.

"The Express asked if the party was breaking the law, to which Nesbitt replied, ’Have a nice day.’ The officer told Dookeran that a report was made to the police station that no permission was sought," the report stated.

The paper said Dookeran and his supporters left soon afterwards.

In brief remarks before the police arrived Dookeran told supporters people are fed up of the crime. He noted that the manning administration continues to ask the population to be patient, promising to have faith in the government.

"Today we can all agree that we can no longer have faith, we can no longer base our future on false promises," he said.

Dookeran promised that a new unity government would immediately get to work tackling the problem. She spoke of a three-pronged approach to dealing with crime.
He pledged that the new government would:

• stop the growth of the criminal industry by introducing appropriate legislation to deal with criminal gangs
• make education a priority and the new government and improve social services and family life
• provide the Police Service with all the necessary crime fighting resources and make the police accountable to the Parliament