By Garwin Davis and Lynford Simpson, Gleaner WritersAFTER A routine swearing-in ceremony for the new session of Parliament yesterday afternoon, supporters of the PNP and the JLP flung bottles and stones at each other outside Gordon House.
The melee, which followed the ceremony, forced politicians and dignitaries trying to exit the House of Parliament, to go back inside. Even members of the security forces scampered for cover.
The incident started after supporters of both the People's National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party, who had been hurling insults at each other all day, broke down the barriers that were placed to keep them apart. The police were unable to keep the supporters in check and the situation deteriorated.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson exited the building, while the verbal sparring was going on. Despite the presence of his bodyguards, he was soon to be lost in the arms of several PNP supporters who had crowded the area south of the House amid a chorus of boos from the larger JLP crowd to the north.
Mr. Patterson's security detail tried to usher him into his waiting vehicle but, in defiance, he turned to the hecklers and waved his four fingers, the PNP's fourth term signal. This led to louder jeers from the JLP crowd. He repeated the gesture until his bodyguards eventually ushered him into the car and sped away.
Following the Prime Minister's departure, the crowd got even more incensed and, before long, the verbal barbs were replaced with bottles and stones, hurled from both directions. Several police officers were hit while trying to quell the situation; others retreated to the safe confines of Gordon House. There were no reports of serious injury to any of the officers, however.
"I gave specific instructions that nobody should be allowed through the barriers," said an irate Senior Supt. Donald Pusey, whose Area Four team was primarily responsible for manning security outside Gordon House. Large numbers of people were allowed to enter the precincts of Gordon House during the swearing-in ceremony.
"I knew that once this happened we would have a difficult time controlling the crowd. This is a rather unfortunate incident," SSP Pusey said.
Derrick Smith, JLP Spokesman on National Security, said it was the first time he could recall such an incident ever happening in front of Gordon House.
"We have had many such ceremonies, but never anything like this," he said. "There is no way this should ever have been allowed to happen and is clearly a breakdown of security detail."
The police, with assistance from political leaders from both sides, eventually brought the situation under control so that visitors and others could move freely to their vehicles.
