Phillips agrees to meet with Holness over impending end of States of Public Emergency

The parliamentary Opposition has agreed to meet with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his team to discuss the impending expiration of the states of public emergency.

Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips indicated his willingness in a letter to Holness after the Prime Minister wrote to him calling for unity on the matter.

Holness argued that both the general public and stakeholders share similar views that the government should use measures beyond the capacity of normal law enforcement in an effort to control crime in Jamaica.

"I am concerned that once again Jamaica will be denied the opportunity to bring crime under control, and the current political disunity will only embolden criminals," Holness wrote in a letter to Phillips that the Prime Minister also posted on his social media pages.

IN PHOTO: The letter written to Phillips by Holness which was posted to the Prime Minister's Twitter page

While expressing a willingness to meet with the Prime Minister, Phillips noted with surprise Holness' decision to make public the correspondence before he had the chance to reply.

IN PHOTO: Prime Minister Andrew Holness

Meanwhile, Phillips said he and his team have met with numerous stakeholders including private sector leaders, small business operators, church leaders, attorneys from Western Jamaica and civil society groups and none has expressed the view that the only way to control criminal activities is through emergency powers.

Phillips added that several constitutional experts have advised him that any extension of the States of Emergency will be illegal and unconstitutional in the current circumstances.

IN PHOTO: The letter written to Holness by Phillips which was posted to the Opposition Leader's Twitter page

“We have always been of the view that effective crime control would benefit from a national consensus and have consistently indicated that. We, therefore, remain willing to meet with you, preferably along with your stakeholders to be agreed, to have discussions and to reach a consensus as to solutions to control the monster of crime within the boundaries of our Constitution," Phillips wrote.

Last week the Opposition voted against extensions of the three States of Public Emergency in Kingston, St Catherine North and St James.

The measures will end next month.

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