Police Ban LALIT demonstration against Princess Anne
02.12.2010
LALIT's planned demonstration, during Princess Anne's visit, has been prohibited by the Commissioner of Police. The demonstration was to have protested against the autocratic Royal "decrees", an anachronistic and undemocratic form of feudal "law", used in order to break up the country before Independence and in order to banish the Chagossians in 2004 after they won the right to return. This demonstration follows the LALIT Conference on Diego Garcia and Chagos held one month ago. The demonstration came just as the Wikileaks site published damning evidence of the British State and the US Administration having cynically used British environmentalists in order to create a pretext to assure that the Chagossians do not return to live on Chagos and to assure that the Mauritian State, so far known for its docility, does not take the matter to the UN. LALIT's open letter to Greenpeace, signed by Ram Seegobin, had already warned them of their being used by the militarists for their war strategies. It has now become public that the whole of the area is open to military waste, and that the Marine Protected Area is just a trick designed to keep the people of Mauritius and Chagos out. Funds were even given to another environmentalist organization, according to Wikileaks, in order to promote the infamous "Marine Protected Area".
At the same time, Princess Anne is in Mauritius for the bi-centenary of the British taking Mauritius over from the French, and a commemorative "ball" is to be held to reproduce the famous Lady Gomm ball, for which occasion the Governor's wife sent out invitations, the only mail using the famous "Blue Penny Stamp". The ball is to be held tonight, 3 December, and the protest was to have been on the same day.
The Police have banned the demonstration under the Public Gathering Act which stipulates that the Police Commissioner has to give written authorization for any demonstration held in Port Louis on any day that Parliament meets. It was decided yesterday during debates on the Budget that the National Assembly will meet today. The Police Commissioner used his discretion to object to the holding of the demonstration.
