JAMAICA'S leaders yesterday called on citizens to respect each other's rights, saying the true meaning of emancipation cannot be realised if there are limits on our rights and freedom.

According to Governor General Professor Kenneth Hall, the urgent conclusion of the New Charter of Rights and Freedoms would only ensure that all expectations of emancipation from slavery are fully met.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Constitutional Amendments) Act, which has been the subject of intense debate for some 15 years was tabled in the House of Representatives on April 23, 2008.

In his 2008 Emancipation message, the governor general said while the legacies of emancipation are the right to life, liberty, security of persons, enjoyment of property, equal protection of the law, freedom of conscience and expression and the peaceful assembly and respect for private and family life, it could be agreed that "all the expectations of emancipation have not been fully met".

"Therefore, we must hasten to ensure that every Jamaican, while fully respecting the needs of others, will not be impeded in the enjoyment of those inalienable rights and freedoms. In order to do this, we must urgently conclude the new Charter of Rights and Freedoms which provides a wider and more effective protection of those rights and freedoms to which every Jamaican is entitled," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bruce Golding in his message urged Jamaicans not to repeat the wrongs of the past.

"When individuals and communities are forced to live in fear, their condition is not much different from what was experienced under the slave masters," Golding reasoned.

"When we sow seeds of disunity and set one against the other, we are employing the same tactics used in slavery.
When we disrespect each other, we are behaving just like the slave master who disrespected us," Golding said. "Being a free people means that we must respect each other's freedom and the right of every one of us to live peacefully and seek after our well-being."

Opposition leader Portia Simpson Miller, in her message, said one important lesson of history was that "issues of rights and freedoms need constant attention".

"Rights and freedoms therefore, need constant reviewing, fine-tuning and updating... now in 2008 even that fundamental document of our political independence - the Independence Constitution - needs to be revisited and updated," Simpson Miller said.

Today marks 174 years since slavery was abolished in Jamaica.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World