The Minister of National Security, in response to the opinion piece in The Jamaica Observer about ethnic stocking, asked where that newspaper's voice was when the PNM practised ethnic stocking. Questioning the Observer in that way does not clear this Government of the accusation. The issues expressed by the writer have not been denied.
It disturbs me when the Government, via its officials, use the PNM-did-it-too defence. When this Government was campaigning for office, they promised to be and do things differently. While Jamaica ranks lower than T&T on the Transparency International Corruption (TIC) Index, it does not mean that the writer is off the mark.
Based on Jamaica's ranking on the TIC Index, I believe that Jamaicans have no ground to pontificate to anybody about the perception of corruption; we in T&T cannot climb on the figurative high horse to do the same.
Mr Warner and others in the Government must respect the right of people to express their opinions and the freedom of the press to broadcast and/or publish these opinions, once they do not infringe on the law, the constitutional rights and the human rights of people. Therefore, Desmond Allen, editor-in-chief of the Observer, has no obligation to reveal the source of the piece, nor is obligated to apologise to the Government of T&T for publishing the piece. Long live press freedom!
Tracy Shields
Wallerfield