Last night when we started the newscast uniformed police personnel wielding their guns had just cleared Albert Street in front of our studio chasing down the remnants of a group that had been protesting at the foot of the Swing Bridge for two hours. Tonight, though, the street is calm as Alfonso Noble told us last night, the flare-up at the bridge foot was caused first, when teachers and communication workers went to try and get UB President Moses Sulph out of detention. Of course, he was not detained until this morning. The crowd, by that time filled out with assorted city residents then seized on the fact that the Prime Minister and other high ranking members of the PUP government were at a meeting at party headquarters right next to the police station. That caused a tense two hour standoff at the center of the city. Yesterday we only had that basic outline, but today Alfonso has put together the story from beginning to end and here it is.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
It began on Queen Street in front of the police station after teachers and BTL workers along with others gathered to demand that Moses Sulph be released following rumors of his detention. Within minutes of the gathering uniformed policemen began to contain the crowd by diverting any more traffic from entering Queen Street. Meanwhile union leader George Frazer went in to verify and was informed that Sulph was not in the station and had not been detained by police anywhere.
George Frazer,
[Addressing Crowd] "They are saying it is not true, he is not held here and there is no record of police holding him."
After informing the crowd, there were a few seconds of hesitation. Finally they were satisfied, but only about Sulph. Soon enough the PUP party headquarters was sighted just a few hundred feet away and then they began to gather in front of the PUP headquarters where there was a meeting taking place. Within minutes the crowd was being asked to leave. The tense atmosphere had Angelus Press close down and employees had an early day. But the crowd was not militant and soon enough uniformed officers and riot squad personnel drive them to the corner of North Front Street and Queen Street. They stood there waiting for those in the meeting to come out. While they waited there was a lot of activity in front of the party headquarters with organizers trying to strategize on how to take out their leaders.
By 5 the crowd had grown in numbers workers, had their workday come to an end, and they joined in to become spectators of the standoff on Queen Street. Shortly thereafter a desperate George Frazer tried to chase down a police vehicle in which union leader Charles Sawyers was. His desperate chase was to no avail. He did not give in however and tried to make his way past the police officers who would simply not let him or anyone else in.
At around 5:10 a man who was on his bicycle looking and talking at the policemen was simply picked off his bike, dragged behind the riot squad, and shoved into a prison bus to be detained. The commotion allowed for those in Independence Hall to clear out.
Shortly thereafter this was the scene as more riot squad personnel dressed in brand new equipment poured out a BDF truck. Then those at the frontline began to drive the crowd over the bridge into Albert Street while the new set of suits brought up the rear. With a few minutes the crowd had been driven back but not before having some strongly disagreement with what was taking place.
The crowd was driven back as far as Prince Street when some officers broke off chasing some young men, guns in hand. As it turned out that was the most that would be as officers secured the commercial center of the manning the bridges along East Canal. Aside from the harsh words and few rocks stoned, by 6:30 the Alberts was cleared and secured.
All those persons who were arrested in various illegal protests yesterday, were released last night without being charged. This includes the three BTL workers we told you about.
