“This is a democratic state and changing constitutional law that will infringe on the human rights of people, is not a decision left in the hands of the government .”
Attorney Brian Baig added, “This can’t happen. We are still a democratic country; we are still a democratic state. We must never forget that we have had countries in the world that trampled on the rights of citizens. And we cannot operate like them. We are still a democratic nation with an elected government. We have a democracy in Trinidad and Tobago. This is not a dictatorship.”
Agreeing that vaccinations are important, Baig said at the same time, the Government should never use its office or power to trample on the civil liberties of society.
“Persons should still be given the right to choose. And where do we go from here? If a person chooses to not take the vaccine, are we going to have to label them as unvaccinated people, as what was done in Germany, where the Jews were made to walk around with the sign on their arms?”
Baig said, “Instead of the Government’s big stick approach with its Vaccinate to Operate policy, it should seek to do consultations with the public, as fear was now gripping citizens who are worried about becoming unemployed if they are not vaccinated. The Government should think long and hard about this. What are you going to do, put people on the breadline because they did not take a vaccine? This is wrong, you can’t do that!”
Making the vaccine mandatory would also infringe on other rights such as medical confidentiality and even one’s right to live.
“Imagine a person who has a medical condition that prevents them from taking the vaccine. What happens there? Are they going to have to walk with a letter everywhere they go saying what’s wrong with them, even if that health issue is a very private one? More importantly, if a person is forced to take a vaccine and something happens to them and they fall ill because of this vaccine, who are we holding liable after that after you force them?”