THE EDITOR, Sir:
YOUR STRONG and well-intentioned editorial of today's date (July 8) unfortunately missed a very important distinction which needs to be pointed out.
The Government led by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has never failed to recognise and to take action related to the serious impact of murders and major crimes on the life of our people. The Prime Minister personally and at all times chairs the National Security Council (NSC), which is the body dealing with the issue of major crimes and national security. It is out of those high level meetings that national strategies have been developed and monitored, leading to recent critical developments in the international drug trade and the arrest of certain key figures on the police most wanted list. There are also other developments not now available for public information.
The Public Order Committee, which is a sub-committee of Cabinet, meets regularly and deals with public order issues, such as squatting, illegal quarrying, road traffic management, violence in schools and other matters which impact on the conduct of the nation's business. Such matters affect the ability of the police to create a zero tolerance approach to law infringements of a general character. This area of the Cabinet's monitoring and oversight work does support the overall public order and crime prevention interventions of the security forces, but must not be confused with the role of the NSC as described above.
It is because the Prime Minister attaches so much importance to the prevailing order in its totality that he instructed Minister Phillips to convene a meeting of the sub-committee on Monday, June 28, taking advantage of the fact that no Cabinet meeting was scheduled on that day. He also requested that the report be sent for early consideration by the Cabinet.
If the juxtaposition of my recent references to arrest persons, the caution against thoughtless engagements in deliberately organised public disorder and the special meeting of the Public Order Committee in the Prime Minister's absence on official business misled you, or unfairly guided the thinking which led to the editorial, I take responsibility for it and regret that the incorrect inferences were drawn.
You can be assured that the Prime Minister continues to lead the process in the Government for tackling the issues of serious crime, and has supported the efforts of the Minister responsible, the security forces and civil society in effecting those medium and long-term changes which we expect to continue bearing fruit.
I am, etc.,
BURCHELL WHITEMAN
Minister of Information
