KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness, condemns violence in Jamaica, particularly against women and children, expressing outrage at the display of violence in a video being circulated on social media.
Holness told legislators Tuesday that subsequent allegations that a person captured in the video is a Member of Parliament placed a new disturbing dimension to the issue.
“While every citizen, every one of us has a duty and must play their part and speak loudly and unequivocally against violence, we who sit in this honorable House, elected and appointed to make laws, policies, have a higher duty to exemplify the laws of the land and the policies which we espouse and advocate,” Holness said.
“If we are not seen as exemplifying the law and believing in what we preach, our electorate and the wider society will not take us seriously and, worse, they will not trust us. The allegations made against the Member, though unproven, are serious and have cast unresolved doubt which could impact the Government’s credibility in pursuing our long-established anti-violence strategies and policies, particularly as it relates to gender-based violence,” he added.
Holness told legislators that the Member in question has been separated from the Government Caucus and has taken a leave of absence from the House of Representatives.
“It is time that should be used well to resolve doubts and questions. What must be clear to the public is that the Government doesn’t want its credibility and leadership of the cultural and social revolution that is necessary for rejecting the use of violence as a means of resolving conflict to be impaired,” Prime Minister Holness said.
Earlier this week, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) said it would allow its embattled Central Westmoreland Member of Parliament, George Wright, to take leave from the party and that it had also relieved him of all his party duties.
In a statement, the JLP said that the party’s Operations Council had commenced deliberations last week to consider the issue of Wright’s membership in the ruling party.
Last week, the police said they had ended investigations into a case of alleged assault by Wright,
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has conducted investigations into a physical altercation between Member of Parliament George Wright and Businesswoman Tanisha Singh. Following an exhaustive investigation and interview process that conformed with law enforcement best practices and involved both parties, it is now clear that the investigation into the alleged incident has come to an end at this time,” the police said in a statement.
It said that “the unwillingness of the parties involved and potential witnesses to participate in the investigation, as well as the poor quality of the video, alleged to capture the incident,” led it to take the position to end the probe.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, reading a joint statement from women in Parliament on violence against women, said the group continues to denounce domestic violence in all its forms and regardless of who the perpetrators are or maybe.
“As members of the highest legislative body in the land, we have always committed to ensuring that the rights of every individual in Jamaica are protected. We also continue to conduct the business of our country, respectful of the laws that govern us.
“As such, we seek to guarantee the life, well-being, and happiness of every individual. In this vein, violence, in particular gender-based violence, must at all times be denounced as a threat to the life, well-being, and happiness of our people. We, therefore, have never condoned and will never condone violence in any form, but in particular gender-based violence,” Mrs. Dalrymple-Philibert said.
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