BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Nyabinghi Theocracy Order (NTO) which is gearing up to march through the streets of Basseterre in protest against the way in which Rastafarians are being treated in the Federation is voicing their displeasure on being denied the opportunity to march in front of Government Headquarters.
The march is expected to take place on Friday, August 17 and the NTO was hoping to march down Church Street in front of Government Headquarters but permission was denied to do this by the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
According to Public Relations Officer of the NTO Ras Dabo Penny, the NTO had applied to march a specific route but a section of the route was changed and they are not happy with that.
"We had applied to march right down Church Street and when we got back our reply we saw that the route had been changed so that when we get to Central Street we would have to turn right and march down behind Government Headquarters instead of marching in front of it.
"We stated clearly when we applied that we would be marching in peace and in an orderly manner. We had no intentions of standing when we reached in front of Government Headquarters and picketing; we were just going to march by, so we find it very strange that the police would take those measures," he explained.
Penny said that the reasons, which were not given directly to the NTO but rather on a radio station, were absurd and that the NTO is being discriminated against.
"Hearing some of the reasons they had given over the radio stations, it makes one think that this is some form of discrimination and they tried to draw something parallel by talking about another group also being denied the right to march down that road recently.
"We really took an issue with that because we do not intend to cause any trouble when we march down there. We described the march as peaceful and orderly and we intend to make sure that those standards are maintained," he said.
On the other hand, Commissioner of Police (CoP) C.G. Walwyn, in a statement sent to a local media house denied any claims of discrimination, stating that “My agency does not support any such acts or actions. We support the lawful expression of religious freedoms commonly accepted and practiced in the Federation.”
Commissioner Walwyn, according to the statement, said that the Police Force is expected to enforce the law without favour and will continue to do so while carrying out its duties, noting that the Force does not have the discretion of deciding which laws to enforce and to ignore.
The Commissioner, according to the publication, stated that NTO is not the only organisation to be denied the right to protest in front of Government Headquarters as Operation Rescue was recently denied that opportunity as well.
“Let me be clear about the route. As Commissioner of Police I have a duty to protect and preserve the peace and safety of the Federation. It is for the peace and safety of the nation that all persons and organizations are denied permission to march or protest in front of Government Headquarters. No organization has been denied permission to march in Basseterre by my office unless there was an imminent or pending security issue,” the CoP was reported as saying.
The march is expected to start East of the Springfield Cemetery proceed on to Cayon Street, right on to Church Street, right on to Central Street, left on to College Street Ghaut, left on to Irish Town Bay Road, left on to Fort Street, right on to Cayon Street, right on to West Independence Square Street, where they would be gathering for a rally from 12 noon to 6:00 p.m.
