New York, New York (TDN) Saturday June 27, 2015 will herald an unprecedented event in Dominica and United States history when scores of Dominicans residing in the US are expected to converge in protest action at the UN Headquarters in New York.
In what is being dubbed an anti-corruption protest set for 9 A.M to 1:00 P.M, organisers say they want to draw international attention to the widespread corruption and human rights violations against the people of Dominica by the Roosevel Skerrit led administration.
Of grave concern to organisers has been the recent indiscriminate use of expired tear gas and live rounds of ammunition fired by Police acting on the orders of the Skerrit regime against innocent protestors in Salisbury, a small agriculture community on the Western Coast of the island.
They have also decried the indiscriminate arrest of individuals’ weeks after the protest, and the continuing threat that more arrests may be eminent.
Even as word of the pending protest spread, social media ignited with persons displaying various posters and solidarity messages with the people of Salisbury.
Organisers say they expect protestors to come from as far away as Houston. California and Miami to protest for among other things an end to the government’s militaristic responses to citizens’ concerns; transparency and accountability in the sale of Dominican passports, the freedom of assembly and protest in Dominica, and a more vigorous approach by government on the issue of protecting children against sexual violence.
Saturday’s protest is just the latest in a growing chorus of unease leveled by the people of Dominica against a Skerrit regime that is becoming increasingly distanced from the populace.
There is growing concern that the administration has used resources from the sale of passports to enrich people within the government, at the expense of development. Just last month, a public servant who is not authorized to sell passports attempted to bring $1.5 million into the country. So far the authorities have refused to investigate the matter.
Opponents to the government highlight the fact that high ranking supporters of the government appear to be untroubled by the legal system while the government is applying the squeeze on innocent people who are simply protesting for their rights to earn a living by working the land.
Police reacted violently against peaceful protestors on May 11, 2015 in Salisbury when they attempted to draw government’s attention to rebuilding their farm access roads, which have been completely neglected over 15 years of the current government’s rule.
Organisers while appealing to the large Diaspora population to show up in their numbers say they “hope that this protest will prompt the government of Dominica to adopt policies that promote peace, dialogue, and transparency for the progress and prosperity of the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
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