KINGSTON, Jamaica – Parliamentarians yesterday took issue with the private sector’s request that they sign a document promising to dissociate themselves from criminals.
Richard Azan, MP for North West Clarendon, declared in Parliament that he would not be signing any such document.
“I never give a man a gun and I never associate myself with any criminal and, therefore, I won’t sign anything,” Mr. Azan, a cousin of murdered businessman Maurice Azan, told Parliament during his contribution to the 2005/2006 Sectoral Debate.
Mr. Azan’s comments came less than 24 hours after government and opposition leaders agreed that politicians would sign the proposed document.
Mr. Azan was also critical of last week’s private sector protest against crime, which was in part triggered by the murder of his cousin.
“If we are going to do something, let us do it right,” he said to thunderous desk thumping from both sides of the Chamber.
“If we are going to sacrifice something, let us sacrifice for a day. Don’t come with face card that you going close and you close the same time that you used to close,” Mr. Azan said in reference to the closure of businesses at 1:00 p.m. last Wednesday.
Businesses, especially those in the downtown Kingston, area are only open for half the business day on a Wednesday.
Mr. Azan also demanded that private-sector organisations publish the names of all persons they themselves pay extortion, arguing that they were in part responsible for crime in the country.
“Some of us go around like we don’t know what is happening when some private-sector people put money together and say they want to support don and they want to tear down other people business and when it start to lick on them they running for cover now,” Azan said.
On the motion for adjournment after the conclusion of Mr. Azan’s presentation, Errol Ennis, State Minister for Agriculture, said he believed all players in the society had to bear some of the blame for the surging crime and violence.
Mr. Ennis stressed that he and several political colleagues had lost relatives to crime.
“We are not immune. I do not want to be singled out. Everybody should be engaged in this exercise,” he said.
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