Police and tassa clash

The Tassa Association of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) is worried about the police order to stop Tassa playing at Labour Day celebrations in South Trinidad on Saturday. Dr Vijay Ramlal, president of the TATT hurriedly dispatched a letter to the Commissioner of Police, seeking a meeting with him to discuss the implications of the police action as far as the mixed culture of Trinidad and Tobago was concerned. The incident took place on Labour Day as the All Trinidad Sugar and Gen-eral Workers’ Trade Union (ATSGWTU) was ap-proaching the Charlie King Junction under the banner of NATUC  when  a senior police officer warned them that they could not beat tassa. They were warned that the president and other members of the union would be arrested.

The senior officer who gave the instruction was reported to have said that he was in charge and would lock up anybody who did not obey him. The senior officer was also reported to have sought the assistance from the Guard and Emergency Grouping of the police force in light of his “no tassa beating” order. However, Rudy Indar-singh, president of the ATSGWTU, raised the matter with Commission-er of Police, Everald Snaggs, who was in Fyzabad at the time, and the CoP was reported to have been surprised at the instructions.

TATT pointed out that in August 2004 a national tassa competition is due to take place and the association would like to clear the air on the future policy of cultural practices in Trinidad and Tobago. Ramlal pointed out that the steelpan and tassa were instruments created in this country and agreed with the President of ATSGWTU (Rudy Indar-singh) that no form of discrimination should be shown when dealing with existing cultural practices.