'Stop disrespect the people' Hundreds march against corruption in Cross Roads

Hundreds of Jamaicans flooded Cross Roads in Kingston on Tuesday morning, sending a strong message to the Government as they marched and rallied against what they described as growing corruption, a lack of transparency, and a crisis in moral and ethical leadership.

Urged to wear yellow, the most pressing concern among the wide cross section of individuals who gathered from before 7:00 a.m. was the Government's response, which protesters described as incoherent, two weeks after THE STAR first reported that Jamaica had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accept the "worst of the worst" individuals being removed from the United States as part of US President Donald Trump's immigration clean-up to make America great again.

Participant after participant said they believed their own Government had disrespected them by failing to respond to questions about the details of the MOU.

That issue, as well as the ethical dilemma facing Minister Andrew Wheatley, who is on the receiving end of an indicative ruling from the Director of Investigation of the Integrity Commission recommending that he be charged with illicit enrichment following his failure to account for more than $160 million in the space of a year, dominated the demonstration.

The Commission's ruling said Wheatley could not account for the variance between his declared earnings and his net worth.

The third issue raised was the Government's continued reluctance to spend money collected on behalf of Jamaicans who suffered as a result of Hurricane Melissa.

Organiser Kay Osbourne said she was very pleased with the turnout, noting that the rally brought together various groups, individuals and members of the political class.

"We invited everybody. We invited the two political parties, and we than them for coming. This is about a Jamaica for all of us. This is not a country being run by a king, and where after the King speaks nobody else can. We are in a moral and ethical crisis and that is why we were here this morning because somebody has to take a stand…" Osbourne told THE STAR inter alia.

She said the Jamaican people deserved better and deserved more, and argued that the Government's behaviour to date meant it could not be trusted in a democracy.

Osbourne said the organisers would have a post mortem, but today's actions would not be the last.

Scores of demonstrators carried placards bearing messages including "Stand Up for Jamaica," "Stop disrespect the people," "Spend Melissa money," "We do not want no TCN's here," "Freedom Come," and "Andrew Wheatley must go."

Political representatives were present at the scene, but none spoke from the podium.

Among those in attendance were retired professionals who said they were grandparents wanting a better Jamaica for their grandchildren.

They said they were there to support the organisers, stand in solidarity with the issues being raised, and voice their concern over what they described as the Government's failure to respond.

A heavy police presence was observed from a distance, with officers assisting people to safely cross the road to the platform beneath the Clock Tower.

At exactly 9:29 a.m., one minute before the scheduled end of the event, the National Anthem was played.

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