John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
'BULBIE'
THE ST. Catherine North police yesterday accused the governing People's National Party (PNP) of being a major supporter of Jamaica's most wanted criminal, Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett, who was shot and killed by law enforcers in Clarendon on Sunday.
Superintendent Kenneth Wade, commanding officer for St. Catherine North, said the support of the PNP has helped fuel the criminality of the 'Clansman' gang, one of the most notorious gangs operating in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, for several years.
"This is a gang that has been supported or get some support from the ruling People's National Party. We can't deny that ... we have persons who are fully elected members supporting the criminal activities of this man," Supt. Wade said during an interview on Power 106's 'Independent Talk' yesterday.
KNOWN SUPPORTERS
In supporting his revelation, the Superintendent explained that those residents who have been demonstrating against the killing of Bulbie are known supporters of the PNP. "It is not all the communities in Spanish Town that are demonstrating, so it must tell you that most of these communities are strongly aligned (to) and (are) supporters of the ruling Government."
According to the police commander, "the kind of support you see coming from the community is not just because of the benevolence or what he (Bulbie) has given to the community."
Bennett, who was the leader of the notorious 'Clansman' gang, was killed in a pre-dawn operation by a joint police/military team in Rock River, Clarendon. At the time of his death, the police said Bennett was wanted in connection with between 80 and 100 murders committed over a two-year period. He had also been linked to several cases of extortion and other serious crimes in Spanish Town, Old Harbour and Portmore in St. Catherine and May Pen in Clarendon.
UNACCEPTABLE
Dr. Peter Phillips, a vice-president of the PNP and Minister of National Security, said it was unacceptable for any member of any political party to be associated with criminals. According to Dr. Phillips, who was speaking in a separate interview on the radio programme, the "problem starts when major criminals take control of communities and therefore many people, politicians, business people and ordinary citizens are forced into sometimes uneasy, sometimes willing embrace of these elements and that is an unacceptable situation for any political organisation or political leader."
