Stop political quarrel over murder of MP, prime minister appeals

While lamenting that the scourge of crime and violence has reached the country’s parliament, Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday called on people associated with both major political parties to refrain from trying to politicize the murder of Dr Lyndale Bloomfield, Portland East Member of Parliament.

“…Don’t make his death a political issue; don’t bring it down to the lowest denominator of political discourse,” the prime minister said while lawmakers paid tribute to Dr Bloomfield, whose nude body with several stab wounds was found in the bedroom of his Portland home on Saturday, February 2.

Prime Minister Holness said he has found it necessary to make the appeal in response to comments on social media and elsewhere.

“In paying tribute to Dr Bloomfield, I call upon the supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party; I call upon supporters of the PNP (People’s National Party) that there need not be any quarrel between us over the death of someone who gave his life representing the people of Jamaica,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness noted that, as the crime rate rises, more people are experiencing loss – not only hearing about it.

“That it has reached the House of Representatives should in some way spark us to dig deeper to find the solution. I think what we could do in honour of our colleague is to reaffirm coorporation in the fight against crime,” added Prime Minister Holness.

Dr Bloomfield, in the meantime, is the second Member of Parliament to be murdered on the island. The other, Roy McGann, was shot dead while he sought re-election for the People’s National Party in the 1980 general election. He was Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural.

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