On August 8th, 2021 at 3:00pm, concerned citizens and nationals of Antigua & Barbuda met to express their frustrations with the current policies of the Government being implemented for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations to the population.
The crowd of persons, who wore their masks, peacefully gathered, chanted and sung near the late V.C Bird bust located at Market Square. As expected, the officers of the law were present.
However, The Freedom Fighters of Antigua and Barbuda, after 1 hour into our peaceful protest, were met with conduct by the police that are generally utilized by law enforcement when dealing with ‘riots’, and unruly crowd behaviour.
Tear Gas and rubber bullets were released into the gathering following requests by the police contingent for the persons to leave the area. No justifications were presented to the peaceful protestors when we sought further information on the reasons for requesting our removal.
Upon being met with unreasonable, unlawful and violent acts from the police contingent, individuals were forced to take necessary steps to defend their lives and address their need for their personal security.
We urge the population of Antigua and Barbuda to remember the following Articles, as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are incorporated in sections 12 and 13 of the 1981 Antigua and Barbuda Constitution:
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
Article 20: 1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
With these Articles in mind, we wish to once again state that our intentions are to express our concerns on the discriminative policies being forced upon individuals who are either:
1. Requesting full transparency from the Government of Antigua and Barbuda based on the components of the COVID-19 vaccination or
2. Against the unlawful distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination due to the potential of life- altering health risks to the society.
It is within our rights, to express our concerns for the policies being imposed on the citizens of this country. These protocols are seen to restrict others from one’s right to work, operate their personal affairs as well as restrict access to basic needs and wants within Antigua and Barbuda.
The acts committed upon the people by the police on the directions of the government authorities on the 8th of August 2021 in the city of St John’s were barbaric and in violation of our basic human rights.
We, the members of the Freedom Fighters Association do not consider these acts as either reasonable or acceptable. We are very disappointed by the approach and will not be dissuaded from expressing our rights in a peaceful manner. As citizens of Antigua and Barbuda we will continue to make our voices heard until fair and equal treatment is received by all.
