Raymond Pryce, Contributor

Pryce

The recent statements by the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) with respect of the stockpiling of weapons and ammunition to be used in the imminent general election must have unsettled every well-thinking citizen of our beloved country. A nation such as ours with the unresolved experiences of the October 1980 General Election and the period leading up to those elections cannot take such a report lightly.

Especially in the light of the resurgence in violent crimes in areas of St. James and Kingston and St. Andrew, in particular towards the close of 2006, the PMI's statement is even more worrisome. Just this week, the Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas provided further context to the growing concerns in his address at the Jamaica Constabulary Force's annual devotion on January 3.

The statement given by the general secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party - that the JLP will reject and decry any acts of political violence that is used to interfere with the elections and the election campaign must be acknow-ledged. That statement echoes a series of previous comments by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and other spokespersons in the People's National Party. Though appropriate and well expressed, they are collectively insufficient to comfort the mind when compared with the awesomeness of the information revealed by the PMI and the Police Commissioner.

POLICE RESPONSE

We must be very appreciative of the commissioner's commitment when he stated that the JCF "will police effectively and not play politics". The ongoing professionalism and objectivity of the police is an important element and our nation's constabulary must be applauded for this even as gruesome murders of their members impact morale. When juxtaposed with statements made in December by Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields that every day in Jamaica several illegal guns and rounds of ammunition of various types are retrieved by the security forces, no one should be in doubt of the clear and present danger with which we may be faced. Though as a nation we applaud every illegal gun and bullet retrieved by our security forces, one must also question whether we will ever be fully able to understand and monitor the various sources and loopholes through which these weapons of mass destruction enter our island.

Trans-National efforts

Perhaps there is greater solution that could come from further strategic and collaborative trans-national efforts between our Government and the governments of the originating countries. Are there any further sanctions that can be applied on the side of the source as we struggle to improve surveillance on our side? Of certainty, these are avenues that are vigorously pursued by the National Security Ministry, as we acknowledge the successes that have been achieved with respect of the ongoing campaign against crime and criminality that has been engineered over the years by that ministry and its global partners.

We must all ask ourselves whose interests a bloodbath at elections will serve. Certainly, the governing People's National Party would not be helped by supporting or causing any such outcome. In so far as there have been undeniable accomplishments of successive PNP administrations that have provided a platform from which Jamaica's development may continue, the PNP would be indescribably foolish to want violent elections. On the other side, the Jamaica Labour Party must know that in a modern global community any country that appends violence and mayhem to the formation of a government is frowned upon among the lawful and democratic nations of the world. And further that it is easier for a country and an economy to recover from a Category 5 Hurricane or other natural catastrophes, than it is to recover from home-grown civil violence. So certainly, it could not be in their sensible interest either to propagate any kind of violence leading up to or during the elections.

Since neither party - if they truly have the nation's interest at heart and mind would benefit from such an outcome, one may then ask: Is either the PMI or the Police Commissioner being mischievous? Yet everyone with whom I have spoken since the PMI's report was publicised on December 5 has recorded their anxieties and fears for the worse. It therefore becomes the prerogative and responsibility of all well- thinking citizens and members of both political parties to ensure that Jamaica wins the next elections.

HIGH STAKES

We all acknowledge that the stakes are very high. The honour and privilege to lead our great nation rightfully generates keen interest and contests. The PNP is anxious to continue its record breaking tenure as the Party that forms the Government. The new party leader is understandably anxious to extend her own tenure as Jamaica's first female Prime Minister. The JLP quite understandably wants to end their tenure as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and prevent a nearly quarter century absence from the 'wicket' and the Leader of the Opposition is understandably anxious to stamp his own brand among Jamaica's leaders. But all that comes to naught should one Jamaican die as a result of this 'projected' or 'looming' war.

As a young Jamaican professional that expects to continue to live, grow and earn in Jamaica, and speaking on behalf of all such persons in my generation, we will not and must not tolerate any diversion from the principles of democracy. Let us lead from the front in unison as the constituency of well-thinking young adults and young professionals to audit the behaviour of political activists and the tenor of political activity leading up to and beyond the next general elections. The world is not very accepting of political refugees and we must not ever allow the violence driven mass exodus and brain drain that resulted in the late '70s to the early '80s to ever be repeated in our country. Let us also call upon corporate Jamaica, communities, civil society and the media to revive Jamaica's civic codes and ensure the sincere rejection of political violence and criminal behaviour in particular. Let the outcome of the next round of elections be determined only by the ballot and by the ballot alone. This is the sole requirement of a mature, civilised and democratic society such as Jamaica yearns to be.

Raymond Pryce is chairman of the PNP Patriots.