Political exorcism badly needed
FIRST, there were the damaging allegations by Mr Ian Robinson about threats on his life. Now, it’s Mr Noel Donaldson making similar claims about threats on his life.
Whether that dramatic claim made by Mr Donaldson that there is a plan to kill him because of his support for Dr Christopher Tufton is true or not, it has again highlighted an aspect of our politics which we need to exorcise if we are to move forward as a civilised country.
For just the mere thought that people are not free to choose without fearing that their choice will trigger violent reactions from others who differ, runs counter to the concept of democracy which — despite what some may describe as imperfections — is still, we believe, the best form of government that exists.
We note that at least two senior officials of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) — General Secretary Karl Samuda and former deputy leader Dr Horace Chang — have so far said that Mr Donaldson’s claim is unsubstantiated.
Dr Chang’s response is most significant, given that the alleged threat to kill Mr Donaldson — a senior member of the party and former general election candidate — supposedly came from angry supporters of Dr Chang who lost Sunday’s election for a deputy leader post in the party to Dr Tufton.
We are in no position to judge the veracity of Mr Donaldson’s claim, neither are we naive to the reality of the nasty underbelly of Jamaican politics. Afterall, we have experienced more than enough of the madness that passes for political engagement in this country, particularly during election campaigns.
And that, we reiterate, is what has clearly been demonstrated by this sordid episode, which is certainly not the first time that supporters of either the JLP or the People’s National Party (PNP) have internalised their fanaticism to the point of violence or claims of violence.
This intolerance of opposing views was largely nurtured and encouraged many years ago by politicians, some of whom are still practising today and who continue to foist their negative influence on their supporters.
Thankfully, there are a few politicians who have seen the need for change and have been trying to effect that change, albeit slowly. Their task, we acknowledge, is extremely difficult, given that the culture of intolerance is so ingrained.
However, they cannot give up, and all well-thinking Jamaicans should give them support, as that support will factor greatly in whether they are successful or not.
During the 2007 election campaign we saw a few commendable efforts from both sides at educating voters on the need to respect the views of others. However, since then, very little has been done by the politicians in this regard.
That, we believe, forms a large part of the problem, because a message of such importance to the country’s development needs to be sustained.
Yes, there have been a few public education campaigns encouraging, as our National Anthem says, “true respect for all”. However, we maintain that those campaigns would have had more impact had our major political parties — which still command significant influence over large portions of the population — fully embraced and pushed that kind of thinking.
It is not too late for them to do so. In fact, with the next general election due in just two years, now would be the perfect time to start encouraging that cultural shift.