ANARCHY CRIPPLED Spanish Town on Monday in a frightening episode of disorder sparked by the killing of a wanted criminal. The aftermath of the death of Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett triggered attacks on the police, halted sittings of the Circuit and Resident Magsitrate Courts, closed business places and schools.
All this amounted to some level of popular support for the criminal elements exacting reprisal for a gang leader reputedly at large for more than a decade in a nefarious career which, according to police, involved extortion and multiple murders.
Even more alarming, is the allegation of a senior police officer that Bulbie and his gang had support from the ruling People's National Party. This raises once again the bogey of the links between politics and crime - a link which has been conceded in Parliament itself. Indeed, the very political code of conduct so recently affirmed in Gordon House would not have been necessary in a vacuum of squeaky-clean political behaviour.
Even more troubling is the probability that among the populace of Spanish Town and elsewhere, there are supporters on both sides of the political divide who benefit from the proceeds of criminal gangs.
The seven-bedroom house which was raided by the security forces to get Bulbie, was said to be only one of seven other properties he owned in St. Catherine and Kingston. This suggests that he was a man of means and therefore a source of benefit to the communities in which he held criminal sway.
It is clear that the Old Capital has become the captive territory of major criminal enterprise. If indeed rival gangs claiming rival political allegiance get actual or theoretical support, the political leadership at the highest level must declare where they stand. The heritage of strong-arm activists defending the source of scarce benefits must surely be behind us. Sticks and stones have been supplanted by guns and ammunition, some corruptly pilfered from official armouries or smuggled in through illicit means.
All of this adds up to a major challenge to the Government with ultimate responsibility for the security of the nation. The anarchy which has overtaken Spanish Town must not prevail.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
