Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of National Security Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin failed to give the green light for the United Progressive Party (UPP) to stage its “18 Reasons to March” protest in St. John’s today.
According to the Antigua Observer, Acting Commissioner of Police, Wendel Robinson in a release said he is sending a strong warning that any breach the Public Order Act would not be allowed, and added that inciting is an offence that will not be tolerated.
In the release, the police Strategic Communications Office said that Robinson had informed the organizers that there would be no issue with granting permission for the march to be held on a different day.
The UPP had earlier this week announced plans to stage the protest march as it blamed the Gaston Browne Administration for a number of socio-economic problems facing Antigua and Barbuda and for the Prime Minister’s failure to remove Sports Minister Paul Chet Greene over an alleged scandal involving the sale of Olympics tickets.
But Prime Minister Gaston Browne has already said that the UPP has provided no basis for removing Greene from the Cabinet.
