Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has labelled statements made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with respect to a call by activists for country-wide shutdown today as a “threat”.

Speaking at the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) candlelight vigil in Defence of Democracy and Freedom in San Juan on Wednesday, Beckles cited a call by activist Alyssa Phillip for the country to stay home and reflect in the aftermath of the police shooting of Joshua Phillip and a decision to lay charges against his common-law wife Kaia Sealy, who was also shot and is now partially paralysed.

She criticised Persad-Bissessar’s response, stating, “If you read the Express today (Wednesday), Kamla Persad-Bissessar is saying to all that want to protest...protest. You want to shut down the country...shut down the country. But remember, at the end of your month, you have bills to pay. What is she really telling you? It’s more than that. It’s more than that. It is a threat,” said Beckles.