Police said two `protesters' were shot dead Wednesday when a mob stormed the Office of the President and others later torched two cars, burnt two stores on Regent Street, looted places and attacked and robbed citizens.

Whenever these `protests' turn violent, the organisers blame the attacks and rampage on `criminal elements infiltrating' the ranks of the organized.

They have also in the past tried to place the blame for the violence on Police action but Wednesday's outrage in the name of protest was unprecedented.

In this regard, we welcome the firm stand Police Commissioner, Mr. Floyd McDonald took yesterday at a news conference following the violent incidents in the city Wednesday.

"We acknowledge the right to protest peacefully, but we cannot and will not condone any conduct deemed at disrupting the activities of this country", he declared.

"That place (the Office of the President) is sacrosanct and should always be protected regardless of the costs. We would not allow that situation to be manifested again.

"The Office of the President must not be regarded as an ordinary office and I consider it an affront to this entire country for those elements to attempt, even attempt, to enter that building", Mr. McDonald told reporters.

He assured that the Police are "well equipped" to deal with any future protests.

The Police Commissioner also announced that the leader of the group of illegal protesters which attacked the Presidential Complex, Mr. Phillip Bynoe, is to be charged.

We have always and will always support the right of groups to protest peacefully within the rule of the law when other options appear not to work but Wednesday's so-called protest was anything but legal and within the confines of the law.

The Police did not grant permission for the march and this is required under the laws of the country.

Those who therefore break the law by staging illegal marches cannot try to forever hide under the `criminal elements' excuse when the protests turn violent as has happened too often in recent years in Georgetown.

This excuse has become overused because those who organise marches are supposed to keep their followers in line and to weed out `criminal elements' from their ranks.

The Police have a duty to protect citizens and their property from attack by criminal elements and deserve support when they move against those who repeatedly try to break the law.