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Dominica police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters outside the Parliament building on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, as legislators debate electoral reform legislation. (CMC Photo)
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Serma Dalrymple, Friday said the police acted “reasonably” on March 19 when protestors tried to storm the Parliament building to prevent debate on electoral reform.
At least 25 people, including several opposition figures and at least one attorney, have been charged with “unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembly together to the disturbance of the public”.
Speaking at a news conference here, Dalrymple told reporters that police permission had to be sought for anyone to stage a protest in Dominica and that was not done on March 19.
“The law also makes unlawful assembly an offence. These offences are found in the Riot Act,” she said, adding that the Police Force “is charged with enforcing the law”.
She said that various individuals have also been commenting that it was a peaceful protest and it is the constitutional right of individuals to assemble.
“Undoubtedly, section 11 of the Constitution makes provision for freedom of assembly and for association. However, the right is not absolute. With citizens’ rights come citizens responsibilities and the Constitution recognises this and has placed limitations in respect of these rights.”
She said the Constitution also provides for public safety, public morality, public order or public health.
“It is my opinion, the case right now falls within that subsection of the law. That it is reasonably required for the purpose of protecting the rights of freedom of other persons that it imposes restrictions upon public officers that are reasonably required for proper performance of their functions and except so far that provisions or the case may be the things done under the authority thereof is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.”
Dalrymple making reference to a High Court case here in June last year that dealt with the issue of riot and the Public Order Act, said “sometimes decisions may have to be made under extreme pressure and other times they may remain very difficult notwithstanding time for analysis, there may be a high level of risk that turn out to be wrong.
“The question is always not whether in hindsight the decision was wrong, but whether in all the circumstances it was reasonable. With public order and national security being breached, with the security of Parliament, our symbol of democracy being compromised, based on the legal guidance, the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force acted reasonable,” she told reporters.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Lincoln Corbette, told reporters that the police force is the only agency in the state responsible for maintaining law and order, and on March 19, the authorities had put in place “the usual procedures were put in place for the sitting of Parliament”
He said prior to the parliamentary sitting the Electoral Reform Coalition (ERC) had been advertising a public meeting, demonstration and protest outside Parliament “and invited the public to attend and to participate.
“The main reason as stated was to prevent the passage of the three (Electoral Reform) bills in Parliament. The Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force had not received any request from the ERC or any other group to host the propose event.”
He said that in an effort to ensure that the law was complied with, the police contacted the main organisers ”and warned against hosting of the protest, demonstration on that date.”
He said they were also told of the repercussions of going ahead with the event without police permission.
Corbette said that the police issued a general statement informing the public about the situation and indicating that no permission had been granted for the demonstration and other activities to be held outside the Parliament building.
“We had to resort to using lawful means to prevent the rioters from breaching the barriers and getting to Parliament,” he said, adding “the sole intention of the rioters on that day was to get to Parliament to prevent the business of Parliament going forward and prevent the reading f the three bills on that day.
“The rioters did not disperse fully and remained in the area for over three hours,” Corbette said, adding that all the suspects who have been charged “will face due process of the law”.
He urged citizens to assist the police in “keeping Dominica safe”.
National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore told the news conference that the protest was aimed at overthrowing the Roosevelt Skerrit administration and that it is necessary for a national mobilisation to be undertaken to deal with the “misinformation” in the public domain that is being spread “by people with one agenda, some of them who believe that their ideas and their views are the only ones and everything else are in fact subordinated to those ideas.
“Dominica has emerged over the years…we suppose to be more rationale, but we cannot allow 180 people to continuously take it on their own, to stone when they want and to fight with police when they want.
“This has to stop,” he said, telling reporters “we live in a very small community…we all know each other. We have a right if we believe a government in office, from a policy stand point…to criticise the policies.
“What is happening right now goes beyond criticism of policies. It is a blatant attack to unseat the ruling party.
“If, let us suppose the police were overpowered by that mob can you imagine the crisis that would have unfolded in this country because the intention was to come into Parliament…and we would have had a scenario where the Speaker would have had to run for his life
“You have a right to support the party of your choice, you have a right to disagree with the ruling party, but once it gets to the point of getting into a riot, the police have every right under the law to act and to act reasonably,” Blackmoore told reporters.
