Dr. Peter Phillips (left), Minister of National Security and presidential candidate for the People's National Party, converses with Dr. Paul Robertson during a press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, yesterday. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
WITH THE People's National Party's (PNP) leadership campaign threatening to get out of hand, one of its main contenders, Dr. Peter Phillips, is calling for comrades to tone down their campaign rhetoric.
Dr. Phillips, the National Security Minister, made the call two days after the defacing of the constituency office of Dr. Fenton Ferguson in Morant Bay, St. Thomas. Dr. Ferguson is a member of Phillips' campaign team. The act was allegedly committed by supporters of Portia Simpson Miller, Phillips' main rival for the PNP presidency.
"I believe the secretariat of the party and every well-thinking comrade should share the same interest that we share in ensuring that we have a process of election which is free and fair and free from fear," said Dr. Phillips. "We are committing ourselves to behaving in the highest traditions of democracy."
Although Dr. Phillips and his team stressed party unity during a press conference yesterday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, he said he would not condone attacks on his team, or on his opponents. "I think it is very important that the way we in the People's National Party conduct this campaign, we become a leading force for the continued transformation of our political culture into a truly democratic political culture," he said.
