‘Prepared to die for peace’

Members of the Jamaican clergy say they are willing to lead negotiations with warring gangsters in a bid to bring an end to deadly feuds.

The pronouncement comes on the heels of a controversy sparked recently by State Minister Homer Davis, who suggested the holding of peace talks between criminals and the police.

The suggestion seemed to have gained some support from Justice Minister Delroy Chuck but was quickly shot down by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, and Fitz Bailey, deputy commissioner of police in charge of the crime and security portfolio.

The comments also come as a state of emergency (SOE) was declared in the parish of St Catherine on Friday following an upsurge in violent activity.

Bishop Rowan Edwards, chairman of the Ten Thousand Men and Family Movement in Jamaica and head of the Light House Ministries in Jamaica, told The Sunday Gleaner that he was willing to sit with gangsters to broker peace in troubled communities.

“The Church is ready to negotiate. This is what we have done many times. We have gone in and negotiated with the guys and tell them this isn't the way to go, you are destroying our nation. We have to have negotiations. There are respectable pastors around who these guys will listen to,” said Edwards, who is also a member of the Spanish Town Ministers' Fraternal in St Catherine.

“I have a church in the One Order area and one in the Clansman area. I talk to these guys. They still respect the Church. The Church christens their babies, bury their dead and they still confide in some of the pastors. We are having a meeting very soon and that will be coming out where we will look at a strategic approach,” said Edwards.

The Reverend Paul Mason, president of the Spanish Town Ministers' Fraternal, told The Sunday Gleaner that he, too, would be willing to negotiate with gangsters to lay down their illegal weapons and secure peace in troubled communities.

“Indeed. And to a certain extent, that has been happening in Spanish Town. We don't only believe that we can have a great impact. We commend and endorse the Government's position about not negotiating with criminals, but the Church is prepared to do that,” said Mason.

The matter of the Church mediating in the bitter gang conflicts in a number of communities across the country is to be raised at a meeting of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches.

In the meantime, Mason said he was in support of the declaration of the SOE in St Catherine.

“I absolutely support it. But that's like a Band-Aid; you have to get to the root. The gangs are at the root and the organised way in which they operate. We are going for the fruit and shoot and not the root,” said Mason.

He added: “The prime minister has said that he gave the hardware and the software to the police but it is the 'heartware' that he is not able to do anything about. That is where the Church has to step in.”

According to Mason, people, including members of the clergy, must be prepared to put their lives on the line for peace.

“This is anarchy that we are facing. There is melee and murder. Persons will have to be prepared to die for peace and to return to some semblance of decency and order,” he said.

When asked if the church he pastors, or any other church pastored by a member of the Spanish Town Ministers' Fraternal, has ever been the victims of extortion at the hands of the criminal gangs that operate in the space, the man of the cloth was firm in his belief.

“I am prepared to tell my congregation and those who are a part of the fraternal that it would have to be over my dead body,” he declared.

Mason is convinced that law and order can be returned to Spanish Town. He advanced that the crime problem plaguing the Old Capital has not been solved largely because of an implementation deficit.

“There has been a lot of talk but the follow-up in terms of implementation hasn't been there,” he said.

'BEST MOVE'

Edwards also threw his support behind the declaration of the SOE in the parish.

“It is the best move the prime minister could have made for St Catherine right now because things are out of control. Curtailing movement will curtail business, but life is most important,” the clergyman reasoned.

Edwards also had strong words for the Opposition should the Government seek an extension of the enhanced security measure, which is allowed an initial 14 days under the Emergency Powers Regulations.

“Tell the Opposition that they shouldn't oppose anything the prime minister is doing to deal with crime and violence in Jamaica. The leader of the Opposition should cooperate. They really should be knocking heads together to figure out how to deal with the crime monster,” he stated, adding that a long-term solution to the crime problem must also involve the Church and the business community.

In August 2011, Edwards made a strong declaration that he was given a divine 16-point plan of action to rescue the afflicted Spanish Town area from the clutches of hell. Among other things, the bishop said his vision included uniting the Church; the remodelling of Spanish Town; the removal of the prison; the transformation of Prison Oval into a mini-stadium or arena; the buildout of tourism and removal of shacks and vendors; the promotion of farming on the outskirts of the area; a gun amnesty; churches adopting schools; the installing of bright lights across the Old Capital; and the development of more play areas for children. At that time, the clergyman said the beheading of two of “God's children” served as a wake-up call for him.

Spanish Town, which was once the pride and joy of Jamaica, being the country's second capital, has long degenerated into a metropolis of crime, fear, and degradation.

Edwards is still hopeful that the divine vision will be actualised, restoring Spanish Town to its former glory.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com