The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT) is deeply concerned about the wellbeing of pannists, regardless of colour, age, gender or social
status, following the reported police brawl at the end of the Tribe event in the wee hours of Sunday morning at the Queens Park Savannah. We note, with regret, that once again it is reported that members of the TTPS have displayed a use of force policy that is totally disproportionate to what may have been required to address the situation. Members of the society are asking why the police didn’t do the responsible thing by approaching the Band Management or the Promoters of the event to secure the desired outcome of not having the band perform.
People are also questioning why would the Anti-Gang Unit of the TTPS, if that is who the non-uniformed officers were, need to be thrown into action when a small number
of members of a Steel Orchestra, that certainly do not fit the definition of a gang, need to be stopped from performing at what has been described by the promoters of
the evening as a joyful and peaceful event. The series of actions which are reported to have occurred between the members of Silver Stars Steel Orchestra and members of the TTPS at the end of Tribe Band Launch in the QPS on Saturday 4th July 2026, is deplorable and has not occurred in Trinidad and Tobago since the violent days of the 1960’s, leaving the population stunned and asking why is the society being pushed into those extreme times once
again. People, wearily, are saying enough is enough.
We at the ESCTT stand in solidarity with the members of Silver Stars Steel Orchestra and Pan Trinbago in their response to the treatment meted out to their members as
we did with the labour unions on Labour Day. The steel pan, national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, born out of the resistance and resilience of our African brothers and sisters and our pannists must be treated with the respect deserved.
We once again call on the Commissioner of Police, in this racially charged society, as an arm of the state, to please let cooler heads prevail and take the level of police use of force against non-violent civilians down.