The subject of this month’s clash between police and protesters heated up at the final sitting of the Senate yesterday.

While Opposition senate leader Renee Ming said the peaceful protests were a result of a failure to listen to the people, OBA senate leader Michael Fahy said there were some in the protest who acted as “agitants”.

Noting that before pepper spray was deployed, an officer was taken to hospital after being beaten with a stick, Mr Fahy said: “I accept that there were a number of people in the protest that had a peaceful intent, but there were also agitants in the crowd.”

He also claimed that during the protests in March over the proposed Pathways to Status legislation, an unknown protester had nailed the doors to the House of Assembly shut.

While many have compared the protests to those that occurred in 1977, Mr Fahy said the comparison does a disservice to those who took part in the 1977 demonstrations to advance civil rights to compare their struggles to a dispute over an airport. The comments came during the Senate’s motion to adjourn, where PLP senator Tinee Furbert quoted the lyrics to the Marvin Gaye song What’s Going On before expressing her concern about the altercation involving demonstrators and police.

“The public have a right to exercise peaceful protest,” she said. “We have had many civil disobedience acts throughout our history.

“If these acts didn’t occur, then we wouldn’t be able to participate in things like being able to sit where we want on a bus or in a theatre.

“While we are making decisions for Bermuda or the people of Bermuda, it’s important that we address people’s concerns before we get to this state.”

Jeff Baron, the Minister of National Security, however, pointed the finger at divisive politics, saying: “We really need to take a good look at where we are as leaders in this country. It’s no wonder right now that when people are polled, there are 30 per cent of people that don’t want to vote for anyone.

“This is happening because of politics. Why is the community divided? Politics.”

Ms Ming, however, said the “unprecedented civil unrest” experienced was not simply a matter of politics, but rather that a percentage of the population do not feel that they are being listened to or respected. “It all boils down to respect,” she said. “It’s not politics. It’s disrespect and not listening to the people.”

She joined with other PLP senators in calling for an investigation into how the clash between protesters and police came to pass, questioning if this was going to be the new normal for Bermuda.

She asked: “Can we expect that now moving forward, that our peaceful protesters are going to be treated like that?”

Closing the debate, Mr Fahy said that representatives from both sides have already publicly called for an investigation into the incident, saying he and the OBA fully support the right of members of the public to peacefully protest and demonstrate.

However, he objected to the notion that the Government was not listening to the people on the subject of the airport, saying that there had been numerous meetings and information sessions on the project.

“Some people will not support this Bill,” he said. “That is the risk the government takes by presenting some legislation that is not popular, but it is absolutely wrong to suggest that the Government doesn’t care.”