‘If you live inna glass house don’t throw stones’
JLP says PNP equally guilty of making racist, demeaning remarks; says party ready to lead national discussion
Published:Saturday | November 30, 2024 | 12:09 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Chairman, Robert Montague, yesterday shied away from stating whether the party believes controversial Member of Parliament (MP) Everald Warmington should apologise for comments deemed racist, calling instead for a national conversation on race, ethnicity and class.
Warmington’s comments during a recent political meeting were directed at Opposition Leader Mark Golding, a white Jamaican who inherited British citizenship through his father.
Montague said the discussion should be led by the governing party.
“I believe we should segue into a national conversation about race, ethnicity and class in Jamaica. Our motto, ‘Out of many one people’, should just be that and it should not be that somebody takes offence when you speak about one,” said Montague when asked about the apology.
Warmington has, not for the first time, been condemned by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, which said his comments were inflammatory and represent a dangerous and deliberate attempt to inject racial division into Jamaica’s political discourse.
“These statements are particularly alarming as they threaten to resurrect one of the darkest chapters in Jamaica’s political history,” said the organisation in a recent statement.
The St Catherine South Western MP also faced heat from governance watchdog the National Integrity Action which said politicians who incite racism – or any other form of discrimination – should be unequivocally condemned.
“Their actions undermine social cohesion, fuel division and perpetuate harmful stereotypes,” the body said.
Warmington, during a political meeting at the Tivoli Gardens High School in Kingston last week, declared that he “would rather die than be led by a white, British man,” referring to Golding.
He further suggested that Golding, the president of the People’s National Party, should “seek office in Britain, where I believe he would be more comfortable”.
‘GOLDING HAS NOT APOLOGISED’
On Friday, Montague, who was speaking at a JLP post annual conference media briefing, said he, too, has been belittled more than once by members of the opposition party.
He also made reference to former JLP leader and Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, who, he indicated, was racially targeted. Seaga was born in the United States to mixed-race Jamaican parents. He came to Jamaica when he was three months old.
Montague said he has been referred to as the leader of the black section of the JLP and has been referred to as “likkle bwoy” by Golding who, he said, has not apologised.
“I remember clearly the political ombudsman making a ruling that the leader of opposition should apologise for referring to me as a likkle bwoy and I must say that the children and the parents at the Hartland Infant School are still waiting on the $20,000-donation that she then ruled that he should pay,” he said.
“So, I believe that it is time for this national conversation and the Jamaica Labour Party is the institution best suited to lead this national conversation because we’re a ‘big tent’ party. We accommodate all views and all people. So, we will lead on this conversation.”
Portland Western MP Daryl Vaz, who called the furore “hypocrisy”, said both he and his wife, Portland Eastern MP Ann-Marie Vaz, have been vilified by political opponents in the past.
He said both the JLP and the PNP are mature political parties that are capable of discontinuing the mudslinging without the political ombudsman (Electoral Commission of Jamaica) refereeing.
“Decency, morality, integrity should be used between the both parties to come up with a code of conduct and anybody who breaches that code of conduct on either side, there are sanctions which are not just a slap on the wrist,” said Vaz.
“So, the time has come. The fact of the matter is I don’t support it and I’ve never supported it but the truth of the matter is if you live inna glass house don’t throw stones. If you give it, you must take it. If you take it, you have the option to give it. In my case, I have not exercised that option.”