A UNITED States Congressman has called for a retraction of a story, aired on an affiliate of the ABC network, which claimed that Jamaica had an active underground slave trade.
Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (11th District, New Jersey) said in a letter yesterday that the news report which centred on the disappearance of missing travel writer, Claudia Kirschhoch was inaccurate and that he would be seeking to have the television station correct the story.
Mr. Frelinghuysen's letter was sent to Minister of National Security and Justice, K.D. Knight; Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke; and Police Commissioner, Francis Forbes. A copy was also sent to the press.
The letter also praised the Jamaican government and the police force for their assistance and co-operation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the search for the writer who went missing on May 28 this year while staying at Beaches Resort Hotel in Negril.
"I share in the Kirschhoch's appreciation and gratitude for all of the assistance and co-operation we have received from your government," the letter said.
Meanwhile, a release on Tuesday from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport said Mr. Kirschhoch had stated that neither he nor any member of his family had given a statement to the press from which the news report could have been based.
"Mr. Kirschhoch further states that he has been in contact with the News Director of the (station) and has received his undertaking to take a statement from Mr. Kirschhoch which will result in a retraction of the allegations," the release said.
Two days ago a local television station broadcast a news report from WTVD television, an affiliate of ABC network in North Carolina, alleging that Ms. Kirschhoch was likely to have been taken away in a flourishing slave trade which exists in the island. The report has sparked anger in many sections of the society. Yesterday, attempts to get a comment from Rob Elmare, the News Director of the station, were unsuccessful as he was said to be out of office.
The government is also seeking, through the Jamaican embassy in Washington, to have the station correct the report.
An official in the embassy confirmed yesterday that the they had received instructions from the Jamaican government to have the matter addressed and that efforts to do so have already begun.
