Seaga accused of ignoring PNP supporters

Seaga

REPRESENTATIVES AND supporters of the governing People's National Party (PNP) have accused Opposition Leader Edward Seaga of turning his back on supporters of the PNP who live in his West Kingston constituency who have become victims of the ongoing violence sweeping the area.

The criticism came out of a meeting on Tuesday involving the PNP's Region Three, its West Kingston constituency organisation and a gathering of representatives from the Party's strongholds of Hannah Town and Orange Villa.

In a statement late Tuesday night, the Party's Region Three said that since the violence started the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader had not visited Hannah Town or Orange Villa, where a number of residents have either been killed or burnt out of their houses by attacking gunmen.

"Mr. Seaga has not visited either of the communities, any of the gunshots victims, none of the families of the several persons killed in the conflict or offered any sympathy or assistance to the many victims," the statement said.

The West Kingston violence, over the last four months, has led to the deaths of several residents, while many others have fled their homes. Mr. Seaga has since visited victims of the violence in the communities of Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town, both of which are intensely loyal to the JLP.

The PNP group which condemned the violence taking place in the general area, specifically singled out the fire-bombing of houses in the Fletcher's Land community earlier this week. The statement went on to say that the representatives accepted that the 'tit for tat' and 'last lick' mentality could not bring about peace in the area.

"The representatives...have further assured the Party that if any person from their community is involved in an attack against any other community, the residents will give the names of those persons to the police and will actively co-operate with the police to apprehend those responsible for promoting the violence," the statement said.

Coming out of the meeting, the representatives said they will be working with local churches to set up a committee to offer help to victims of communities in West Kingston as well as Wilton Gardens (Rema), which falls in the adjacent South St. Andrew constituency of Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies.

Back to News