Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister condemns Independence weekend disorder

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has criticized the state of public behavior in Trinidad and Tobago following violent confrontations during the country’s Independence weekend. The Prime Minister described the nation as a ‘lawless dump’ in response to footage showing disorder at an F-O-C fete in Chaguaramas. The event was shut down by police after congestion caused by invalid digital tickets led to crowds storming the venue, resulting in fights and the throwing of objects.

Persad-Bissessar urged citizens to take greater personal responsibility for their actions, noting that many of the year’s 85 murders resulted from avoidable altercations. She stated that law-abiding citizens should not have to endure public disorder and suggested that those unable to behave properly in public should stay home.

In response to the Prime Minister’s Independence addresses, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles accused Persad-Bissessar of using the national occasion to promote partisan politics. Beckles claimed the Prime Minister presented a distorted account of the country’s history and prioritized addressing supporters of the United National Congress over the nation as a whole.