Fellow citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, wake up! This is not protection. This is outright tyranny. Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Curt Simon casually announced on national television that 15 key locations across our nation have been designated as "no-protest zones" under Legal Notice No. 40 of 2026 – the so-called "Emergency Powers (Prohibition of Public Protest and Demonstrations) Order 2026."
Under the guise of a State of Emergency, the TTPS has now banned peaceful assembly within 500 meters of critical public institutions. This is a flagrant violation of our constitutional rights under the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Section 4 guarantees every citizen the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of movement. Section 5 further protects these from arbitrary state overreach.
You cannot simply erase the right to protest – the lifeblood of democracy – by drawing arbitrary circles on a map and calling it "public safety." This isn't about protecting "public spaces" or "citizenry at large," as Simon claimed. This is a preemptive gag order on dissent. It follows clashes during demonstrations (like the recent Kaia Sealy case) and effectively turns our government buildings, airports, and ports into no-go zones for citizens exercising their democratic voice.
"Protesting is not a polite request for permission — it is, by its very nature, an act of civil disobedience against power that has grown arrogant and deaf to the people’s voice. When a government draws 500-metre exclusion zones around every institution it controls, it is daring citizens to submit, to stay silent, to accept that their constitutional rights are now subject to police convenience.
But here is the naked truth the authorities hope you never whisper aloud: Trinidad and Tobago has barely 600 jail beds in the entire country. They cannot lock up everyone. They do not have the cells, the officers, or the legitimacy to cage an entire awakened population.
Every time we obediently stay behind their imaginary red lines, we are not being “responsible citizens” — we are doing exactly what this fearful regime wants us to do: shrink, comply, and disappear. The moment we refuse to obey an unjust order is the moment their power begins to crack. Disobey lawfully, disobey massively, and watch the system tremble.."
Where exactly are we supposed to protest? In a field somewhere far from power? This is the behavior of an authoritarian regime, not a democracy.
The police themselves admit they don't foresee any "threat" requiring extra patrols. So why the blanket ban? It's intimidation, pure and simple – a chilling message that your right to assemble and speak truth to power ends where the state's comfort zone begins.
The 15 Banned No-Protest Zones
Here is the complete list of the 15 banned no-protest zones (each with a 500-meter radius prohibition around the premises and curtilage, as per the order):
- Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Red House, Port of Spain)
- Office of the President of Trinidad and Tobago (President's House, St. Ann's/Port of Spain area)
- Office of the Prime Minister (Port of Spain)
- Diplomatic Center (St. Ann's/Port of Spain)
- Office of the Attorney General (Port of Spain)
- Ministry of Finance (Port of Spain)
- Ministry of Defense (Port of Spain area)
- Ministry of Homeland Security (Port of Spain area)
- Headquarters of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (Police Administration Building, Port of Spain)
- Headquarters of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service (Port of Spain)
- Headquarters of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (likely Chaguaramas or Port of Spain)
- Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Port of Spain)
- Piarco International Airport (Piarco, Trinidad)
- A.N.R. Robinson International Airport (Crown Point, Tobago)
- Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain)
Visualizing the Suppression: Map of the 15 No-Protest Zones with 500m Radii
Interactive Threat Map
Imagine the map of Trinidad and Tobago: a standard outline of our twin-island nation, with red circles (500m radius each – about the size of a large city block) marking the epicenters of these banned zones. The vast majority cluster in and around Port of Spain, blanketing the heart of government power. Separate circles cover the two international airports (one in Trinidad, one in Tobago) and the main port – critical infrastructure where citizens might otherwise gather to demand accountability.
- Port of Spain cluster (zones 1–12, 15): A dense web of overlapping 500m exclusion zones covering the entire central government district. Protest here? Arrested on sight.
- Piarco International Airport: A 500m bubble around the main terminal and runways in central Trinidad.
- A.N.R. Robinson International Airport: Isolated 500m zone in Tobago.
- Port Authority: Another 500m lockdown at the waterfront.
These tiny radii might seem small on a national map, but they surgically carve out every meaningful place where citizens could peacefully assemble near the seats of power. The rest of the country? Technically open – but who can afford to march in the middle of nowhere?
This is not democracy. This is a police state in the making. The Constitution does not allow the executive or police to unilaterally suspend core rights via a "legal notice" during a State of Emergency without strict justification and parliamentary oversight. Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago – demand answers! Contact your MPs, organize legally where possible, and fight this erosion of our freedoms before it's too late.
The right to protest is not a privilege granted by the police. It is a constitutional birthright. Stand up, speak out – before the circles grow larger.
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