Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
The police in Yallahs, St. Thomas, clear a roadblock in the town yesterday mounted by residents protesting against price increases. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
OCHO RIOS, St. Ann
THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP)-led protest against high prices yesterday resulted in blocked roads, skirmishes between police and demonstrators and the arrests of at least five persons in St. Ann, among them Sydney Stewart, deputy mayor of St. Ann's Bay and councillor for the Bamboo division.
The deputy mayor's arrest sparked the first of three clashes between police and demonstrators. The clash occurred a little after 8:00 a.m. when protesters tried to prevent the police from arresting the deputy mayor and another man called 'Marcus'. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Anthony Castell, who made the arrest, said Councillor Stewart was charged with obstructing the police and inciting persons to block roads. But Councillor for the St. Ann's Bay division, Dalas Dickenson, said Stewart was wrongly arrested because he had not breached the law.
Another clash between police and demonstrators took place shortly after 10:00 a.m. when a group of protesters made another attempt to block the road. Police fired tear gas wildly into the crowd. Canisters ended up in nearby homes, including that of 72-year-old retired post mistress Victoria Thomas. She was overcome by the smoke from the tear gas and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
The tear gas also affected students at the Priory Primary School. Principal Barbara Black said she instructed students to place wet rags and handkerchiefs over their noses after they began to cough and complain about burning eyes and noses.
JLP Member of Parliament for North East, St. Ann, Shahine Robinson, who was on the scene, criticised the police's actions which affected Priory. Mrs. Robinson told The Gleaner that what she had witnessed was clearly caused by excessive action on the part of the police.
Meanwhile, Councillor Dickenson complained that one wing of the St. Ann Infirmary had to be closed because of the tear gas effects.
A third clash occurred around noon between police and protesters at Content Gardens after three residents from the area were arrested. The police came under a hail of stones and had to respond by firing several shots in the air and by using tear gas.
IMPACT ON TOURISM
The protests also affected tourism in St. Ann. The estimated 5,000 tourists on two cruise ships, the Imagination and the Navigator of the Seas, which docked yesterday, did not get to see Jamaica's attractions because blocked roads forced several tours buses to curtail their journeys.
There were several road blocks across the parish, including the Harrison Town/Fern Gully main road in North East St. Ann. Up to noon yesterday, persons could not enter or leave Ocho Rios. Roadblocks were also seen along the Ocho Rios main road near Content Gardens.
The main road to Exchange was blocked by trees, large stones and logs. There were blocked roads in Lime Hall, in Salem, Runaway Bay and Priory. In addition, several sections of the Stewart Town main road between Oracabessa, St. Mary and Ocho Rios, St. Ann were also blocked.
