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ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Mar 2, (CMC) – Supporters of the main opposition, United Progressive Party (UPP), today, staged a protest outside the offices of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), demanding that the authorities lower the price of oil and gas products as a result of the decline in prices on the world market.
But UPP public relations officer, Damani Tabor, told reporters, that they were surprised that armed police officers had turned up at the event, describing their presence as “excessive”.
“Actually they (the protestors) are shouting, hands up don’t shoot, since the arrival of all these officers. We deem that to be somewhat excessive what are they trying to guard against,” he asked.
“I find it really and truly ridiculous, and it is akin to the two trucks of riot police we had when we picketed the police station,” Tabor said.
The UPP is protesting the Gaston Browne government’s refusal to lower gas prices and electricity rates.
UPP spokesman on legal affairs, Leon Chaku Symister, said, the lawmen tried to re-locate those protesting to another venue.
“We decided we are going to picket in front of APUA. We were not going to obstruct vehicular traffic, we were not going to obstruct pedestrian traffic, we were not going to interfere with the access to and from the building so, on that basis, we insisted that we had a constitutional right to exercise the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression”.
