Na­tion­al Trade Union Cen­tre (NATUC) Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary, Michael An­nisette, has con­demned the ar­rest of ac­tivist Alyssa Phillip dur­ing Fri­day’s Labour Day march in Fyz­abad, de­scrib­ing the po­lice ac­tion as “re­gret­table,” “un­for­tu­nate,” and an af­front to de­mo­c­ra­t­ic free­doms.

Speak­ing yes­ter­day, An­nisette said Phillip had been par­tic­i­pat­ing in the march at his in­vi­ta­tion and was walk­ing di­rect­ly be­hind him while he led the labour move­ment’s demon­stra­tion when po­lice in­ter­vened.

“She was in­vit­ed by the Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary of NATUC, which is me, to par­tic­i­pate in the march. She was with us, right be­hind me, lead­ing the demon­stra­tion when she was ar­rest­ed,” An­nisette said.