A month after vaccine mandate protests, opposition figures arrested in St Vincent & the Grenadines · Global Voices
<PERSON>, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, addresses the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda on September 25, 2015. Photo by UN Photo/<PERSON> on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
After St. Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister <PERSON> was hit in the head—allegedly when a protestor hurled a stone at him during an August 5 protest against making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory in the Caribbean territory—it didn't take law enforcement long to make an arrest. <PERSON> was charged with wounding the prime minister the weekend following the incident, at which time government minister <PERSON> warned that more arrests might be imminent.
The protest was allegedly undertaken without police permission—a requirement for public gatherings under St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ law—and the act of violence was roundly criticised, including by the country's opposition and regional voices. However, Prime Minister <PERSON> has gone on record as saying he holds opposition leader <PERSON> personally responsible, albeit not criminally liable, for his injury.
The protest action, which was reportedly organised by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) and the country's public service and teachers’ unions, was prompted by the government's proposal to remove word “voluntary” before “immunisation” in the Public Health Act, as well as by concerns about the exemption process regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The rate of fully vaccinated people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is currently estimated to be at just over 12 per cent of the population. 892
As at September 1, the country's health ministry reported 38 active cases of COVID-19, with 12 deaths in total.
On August 6, the day after Prime Minister <PERSON> was injured, the government pushed the public health amendments through parliament, making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for certain categories of frontline workers. The parameters of the new arrangements are still to be laid out by the Cabinet.
The August 13 arrests, however, of opposition activists <PERSON> and <PERSON>, have fanned the flame of discussion over whether or not Vincentians’ constitutional right to protest is being targeted by the authorities. The <PERSON> were each charged with four counts of breaching the public order linked to their alleged roles in organising and participating in the public demonstration on August 5.
The country's constitution states that “every person in Saint Vincent is entitled to […] fundamental rights and freedoms” that include “freedom of conscience, of expressions and of assembly and association.”
In 2016, the government adopted controversial cybercrime legislation that the International Press Institute (IPI) and other rights organisations called “a serious threat to freedom of the press, the free flow of online information, and public debate.” The new law extended the reach of previous defamation provisions to include online expression, loosely defined as “cyber-harassment” and “cyber-bullying.”
The <PERSON>’ legal team, led by <PERSON>, a member of the opposition NDP, took to Facebook on September 1 to alert social media users to the arrests of two further individuals: opposition radio talk show host <PERSON>, and NDP secretary-general <PERSON>. Both <PERSON> and <PERSON> were charged with the same four counts of breaching the public order as the <PERSON>.
Calling the arrests “an abomination,” <PERSON> said that three additional arrests would likely take place on or before September 3, adding:
It is against what the United Nations and the OAS has said about protests and upholding human rights. […] I condemn it, and I am calling on our prime minister <PERSON>, who is a lawyer, who represents St. Vincent on the UN Security Council, to come out and condemn it […] speak up for the rights of Vincentians.
The opposition has also reported alleged incidents of heavily armed, “Black Squad” police officers raiding protestors’ homes, a claim the prime minister says he has referred to his lawyers.
As at the time of publishing, <PERSON> post garnered close to 200 comments on the issue, with Facebook user <PERSON> commenting:
Abuse of process! These charges are frivolous and vexatious and certainly NOT in the public interest: to charge citizens for exercising their constitutional rights is ridiculous! Political victimisation is what it looks like to me!
<PERSON> called the developments a “new low”:
This is human rights abuse on steroids in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. […] Nothing should stop Vincentians to peacefully and rightfully protest. 892