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Jamaican PM Comments Could Stir More Anti-Gay Violence: Boycott Anyone? |
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Written by David L. Wylie
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 Even though Jamaica has recently experienced an increase in violence and murder against the LGBT Community, the island nation’s Prime Minister continues to spout anti-gay rhetoric. In an interview last week with the BBC, PM Bruce Golding proclaimed that he would never allow gays into his cabinet.
During a visit to Britain last week, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding increased an environment of violence against the island’s homosexual community when he told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he would never allow gay people into his Cabinet.
“That’s a decision that I make. A prime minister must decide what he feels would represent to the Jamaican people a Cabinet of ministers who would be able to discharge their functions without fear, without favor and without intimidation. I’ve made that choice,” Golding proclaimed.
The Prime Minister has always been upfront about his position on homosexuality.
Last year, before his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won the general election that elevated him to office, Golding made it "very clear" that he would not support any change in legislation that would "overturn tradition and culture in the interest of... individual freedoms and to do so at the instance of the homosexual fraternity, which comprises a minority in the population."
Golding’s comments comment on the heels of an increase in violence toward gays in Jamaica. Members of the Jamaican LGBT community have been severely beaten and murdered in recent months.
The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG) criticized Golding's refusal to engage in any dialogue with the local gay community. "We perceive the dragging of this issue into the discussion as a smokescreen that distracts from the real challenges of how as a society we grapple with the violence and hostility that have come to define our engagements around controversial but important sociocultural issues," JFLAG's program manager, Jason McFarlene, said in a statement.
In an exclusive interview with GaySoFla.com back in February, Ricardo Allicock, Jamaica’s Consul General in Miami, stressed that the Jamaican Government is concerned about the increase in violence against homosexuals and is taking measures to address the issue.
“These are heinous and regrettable acts of violence which the government of Jamaica condemns. Please know that the government of Jamaica is making every effort to enforce the law and disperse justice,” said Allicock. The Consul General went on to say that his country had recently appointed Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin as the Country’s Commissioner of Police. “Admiral Hardley is committed to a zero tolerance policy in regards to any human rights violations,” Allicock stated.
It’s apparent that the Jamaican Government is speaking out of both sides of its mouth. While government officials are proclaiming an effort to crack down on anti-gay violence and issuing press releases about how safe the island is for all tourists, the leader of the country fans the flames of violence and discrimination by continuing to spout homophobic rhetoric.
It’s obvious to this editor that there is only one way to spell relief for the LGBT Community of Jamaica and get the attention of the island’s leaders: B-O-Y-C-O-T-T.  David L. Wylie is the Senior Editor of GaySOFLA Magazine. Wylie is passionate about creating an online media outlet that will encourage, entertain and educate the south Florida LGBT Community. Wylie hopes that GaySOFLA serves that purpose. He can be reached at David@gaysofla.com
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