JAMAICA’s political leaders rarely agree on anything, but Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding and National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips all appear to be sending the same message to criminals ahead of the upcoming general elections.

Both Simpson Miller and Phillips insist that the upcoming general elections will be a peaceful one, contrary to projections that it could turn into a bloody affair, while

Golding sounded a warning to the hoodlums responsible for the bloodletting in St James, telling them that they can expect to find no sanctuary in the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Said Simpson Miller: “They will have to kill me but it doesn’t matter; we are going to have a peaceful election in Jamaica.”

Simpson Miller was addressing more than 300 residents of inner-city communities on Saturday at an awards banquet at the Hilton Hotel for volunteers in community development, under the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

She warned that criminals will not succeed in their plans for a bloody election; noting that the country was big enough for all the parties to campaign peacefully and have respect for each other.

“No matter who or what party, anyone that start to stir up any kind of trouble or war when I call the elections, you are to deal with that person,” the prime minister instructed Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas, who was also in attendance at the function.

Phillips also issued a similar warning to those intent on unleashing violence and mayhem leading up to the general elections, saying they would feel the full force of the law.

“Whenever the general elections are called by the prime minister, I will be offering myself as a candidate and I will be campaigning islandwide on behalf of my party, and I intend to do so within the framework of law,” Phillips told the gathering.

Meanwhile, yesterday Golding warned that the wave of criminal activity that has surfaced in St James could paint a damning picture of the country in the international arena if tourists are harmed.

Golding, who was speaking at the (JLP) Area Council Four annual general meeting in Montego Bay, used the opportunity to outline the JLP’s position on the ongoing violence in the parish.

“There is a criminal network or perhaps different criminal networks that have emerged in St James, and in Montego Bay in particular. But I want to send a clear signal to all of them who may be involved that the Jamaica Labour Party is not the place for any of them to seek any refuge,” Golding noted.

Added Golding: “There was a time when people from Montego Bay used to tell me that they are afraid to come into Kingston because too much killing a go on a town. Now Kingston people are telling me that them ‘fraid to come to Montego Bay because too much killing a go on inna Montego Bay,” he said.