Emergency backlash
Published:Thursday | July 22, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
SEVERAL OF the island's top private-sector leaders yesterday flayed the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) for its failure to support the request for the extension of the state of emergency.
Among the critics was Francis Kennedy, acting head of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, who described the action of the Opposition as "irresponsible".
"I believe that what the police have been doing during the state of emergency is building intelligence files with the idea of breaking the criminality problem that we have in Jamaica.
"The security forces should be given an opportunity to finish their jobs," Kennedy told The Gleaner.
He expressed concern that the crime numbers could balloon once the state of emergency is lifted.
"I don't think everything has been cleaned up. We have a long way to go," added Kennedy, as he argued that the security forces should have been granted the additional 30 days and mandated to present a proper anti-crime plan at the end of that period.
Former army man and head of the security committee of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Peter John Thwaites, alleged that political considerations shaped the Opposition's stance in Parliament on Tuesday.
Against security forces
According to Thwaites, it is wrong for politicians to go against the wishes of the persons in charge of the island's security forces.
"I would hold the PNP respon-sible for not supporting the extension," Thwaites told The Gleaner.
It was a similar stance by businessman Omar Azan.
Azan also expressed disappoint-ment with how the matter was handled in Parliament.
"What we need to do is to find a way to forget about the politics and really bring our national crime issues to a point where both sides are sitting down, because no matter if the PNP or the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) is in power, we need to find a way to deal with crime," said Azan, insisting he was not speaking in his capacity as president of the Jamaica Manu-facturers' Association.
Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, also fired a volley.
"They (the Opposition mem-bers) need to significantly review their position that they have taken because the time has come for the country to step away from partisan politics," Cummings told The Gleaner.
Opposition members on Tuesday abstained when the resolution for a monthlong extension of the state of emergency was put to a vote in Parliament.