Golding says ‘time come’ for foreign affairs minister to go
Published:Tuesday | November 7, 2023 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
OPPOSITION LEADER and People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding is backing calls for Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith to resign from her post, following Jamaica’s failure to cast a vote on a humanitarian truce resolution regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
During his main address at a PNP meeting held at the St Elizabeth Technical High School on Sunday, Golding referenced a call made last Wednesday by Lisa Hanna, the opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, for Johnson Smith to step down from her post in light of the controversy.
“We have a situation where there was a vote in the United Nations that was calling for a humanitarian pause in the hostilities [in Gaza] because the people of Palestine are suffering in a wicked way. That is not to say that what Hamas did in Israel was right, as we do not support it and we condemn it to the utmost. But two wrongs do not make a right,” said Golding.
“Over 3,000 children have died in Palestine because of the bombing and the blockade and the withholding of basic necessities of life from the people, and the Jamaican Government refused to vote on that in accordance with what CARICOM decided to do [as well as] the vast majority of countries in the world,” he said.
“I say it is a disgrace, and Comrade Lisa Hanna has called for the resignation of the minister of foreign affairs for what has happened in this instance, and I say, ‘time come’ for that too,” Golding added, quoting the PNP’s recurring political mantra.
Golding’s declaration came one week after Prime Minister Andrew Holness sought to give reassurance that Jamaica wishes to see the human rights of all people respected.
On October 27, Jamaica failed to cast a vote on the resolution which was proposed by Jordan at the United Nations General Assembly. Twelve CARICOM countries voted in favour of the resolution, with 120 global nations voting in favour of it, 14 against, and 45 abstaining.
Following backlash over Jamaica’s failure to vote, Johnson-Smith explained in a media release that the consultations did not finish in time for Jamaica to participate.
But veteran PNP member K.D. Knight, addressing Sunday’s meeting, declared that Jamaica’s failure to vote on the resolution reflected a lack of understanding of Jamaica’s international brand.
“You must have been hearing about the fact that they had a big vote taking place in the United Nations and Jamaica did not participate. When the news came out, in my sleep I heard Michael Manley [former prime minister and PNP leader] groaning that we, who he helped to put on the international arena, did not vote in a sensitive matter like that,” Knight told the meeting’s attendees.
“Why? Because they do not understand Jamaica’s international and regional image and about leadership, but ‘Marky G’ [Golding] understands it. So I’m not calling on them to say they must resign; I want you to call on them, because you don’t like it,” Knight added.