Jamaican businesses shut down to protest crime

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Businesses across Jamaica have shut their doors to protest the rapid rise in crime and violence in the Caribbean nation.

The protest, organised by the powerful Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, drew support from all 14 parishes, although there were notable opponents to the move.

All banks, most supermarkets, petrol stations, restaurants and stores closed early and protesters held a mass rally in the heart of the capital to read the names of more than 650 people murdered since the start of the year.

Government agencies remained open, while schools operated as normal, police said.

The shutdown was also evident in the tourist areas of Montego Bay and Negril in the west and Ocho Rios in the northeast. But resort operators said hotel occupancy and tour operations were unaffected and there was no shortage of supplies to tourists.

The Jamaica government, which has said that it was doing all it could to curb crime, said it supported the initiative.

"People will express themselves and we are hopeful that this action will result in creating a collective awareness of what we want to achieve and that is a reduction in crime," said Information Minister Burchell Whiteman.

The protests were driven by the murders last week of businessmen Maurice Azan and Lloyd Phang, who were shot to death by robbers in the central parish of Clarendon. The Azan family is one of the wealthiest in Jamaica.

The illegal drug trade, organised crime and gangs are key factors in the surge in crime, said National Security Minister Peter Phillips

"Our protest is part of a process to raise the consciousness of the people for them to see what crime is doing to us all," said Noel DaCosta, president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce. "We are all affected by crime and violence, so we need all the support that we can get from the public."

Some trade unions also supported the early closure of businesses, but the largest union, the National Workers Union, flatly objected, calling the protest an exercise in time wasting.

"This will have no effect on crushing crime and is meaningless," said Vincent Morrison, island supervisor of the union.

"The private sector in Jamaica must introduce measures to reduce crime by offering more employment opportunities."

The 650 murders committed so far are the most for the first five months of any year in the island of 2.7 million people.

The illegal drug trade has contributed heavily to organised crime and the strengthening of gangs, Phillips said. A new security unit called Operation King Fish was set up weeks ago primarily to nab the main players in the drug trade, and Phillips said inroads have been cut into their operations.

But the 8500-member police has also been severely criticised for what critics say is inefficiency in curbing crime.

Police and the government are locked in tense negotiations for pay increases. The law enforcers are demanding a 47 per cent wage hike, a figure that some government officials have described as laughable.

- REUTERS