Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair will meet with representatives of South East St. Andrew early next week to address the latest outbreak of violence, which left four Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters nursing gunshot wounds in Woodford Park, on Thursday night.

Bishop Blair told The Gleaner yesterday that he was unable to arrange a meeting before the end of the week as he was out of town. However, the political ombudsman described the latest incident as "unfortunate".

The political unrest comes two weeks after Bishop Blair met with the party representatives of South East St. Andrew to quell tensions in the constituency after another shooting incident.

JLP general secretary Karl Samuda called the act "reprehensible" and suggested it was politically-motivated.

In a letter to the political ombudsman yesterday, Mr. Samuda said the attack on JLP supporters "reflects the determination of the PNP (People's National Party) to remain in power at any cost".

He called for an emergency meeting with Bishop Blair and the PNP representative to restore calm to the constituency.

But PNP general secretary Donald Buchanan said his party was not connected to and would not condone any form of violence in the political campaign leading up to the general election.

He said: "The People's National Party is well on their way to victory, and the public opinion polls indicate that we are opening up a larger lead over the JLP. Why would we want to engage in any form of political violence?"

The police reported yesterday that four persons - two women and two men - were shot in Woodford Park in Kingston. One of the injured remains in hospital, while the others have been treated and released.

JLP supporters

Reports also indicate that the four were among JLP supporters who were travelling in a bus to a rally being held by the party, when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle.

The sitting Member of Parliament for South East St. Andrew, Maxine Henry-Wilson and the JLP's firebrand candidate, Joan Gordon-Webley, are in a close race to win the hearts and minds of the constituents in the upcoming election.

In a release yesterday, Mrs. Henry-Wilson condemned the incident, saying: "We abhorall acts of violence and regret that persons were injured in the incident."

She urged the police to conduct a speedy investigation, noting that there were conflicting versions of how the incident unfolded. The MP cautioned against arriving at conclusions before the investigation was completed.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com