00:00The police service has referred to a recent High Court ruling that there is a clear and unambiguous prohibition against
00:07public marches unless permission is granted.
00:10Movement for Social Justice political leader David Abdullah spoke with TV6 News on the matter via telephone, recalling planning for
00:17Labor Day before he retired from the OWTU just over 10 years ago.
00:22I organized very many of the June 19th demonstrations and rallies in Faisabad, going back perhaps to the late 1970s
00:33all the way through to certainly around the time I retired I was involved in one way or the other
00:40in organizing or I was part of making the arrangements for the rally and the speakers and so on.
00:47And I could say categorically that at no point in time is there ever a requirement by the trade unions
00:54to have any organization that wish to come down in Faisabad to do so.
01:00As for the permit granted by the police?
01:03The permit is the trade union, whichever trade union applies for the permission to march because under the summary of
01:10French's yes you need to apply for permission for a public march.
01:13They apply, they give the route and the time of assembly, where they are assembling, time of assembly, time of
01:22departure and so on and where the end point of the march is, that is what is in the permit.
01:29Michael Anasset who leads the Seaman and Waterfront Workers Trade Union and is also the General Secretary of the National
01:35Trade Union Centre says he was part of the organizing committee for Labor Day 2026.
01:40We never had any objections or say that any activists or anybody cannot partake, but they have to partake in
01:51a meaningful way, one, and in a respectful way, two.
01:56And that has been a historical factor in Labor Day, which all kinds of activist movements participate in Labor Day.
02:05The police service quoted Police Commissioner Alistair Govaro as having said, quote,
02:10The TTPS respects the rights of all citizens to assemble and express their views.
02:15However, these rights must be exercised within the framework of the law.
02:19Officers acted with restraint, clarity, and professionalism.
02:22It is regrettable that enforcement became necessary, but the sanctity of the Labor Day procession should never be compromised by
02:30persons seeking to attach unrelated agendas to a permitted national event, end quote.
02:36Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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