The Jamaica Association of Full Gospel churches has urged the government to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, akin to one in post-Apartheid South Africa, to stop the spiraling crime rate here.

“We are demanding that government either establish it or approves it with their blessings,” said Rev Al Miller, a member of the Association’s executive committee.

He added that although the church would be able to establish such a commission on its own, they would prefer it be done by government so the necessary regulations could be put in place to give it “teeth”.

“The only reason why we feel we need government and parliament to approve it is because if immunity is to be granted to those who are willing to come forward and speak truthfully, government would have to do it,” Miller told the Observer.

The church, he said, was even prepared to seek its own funding for the commission, if government was unable to do so.

During a press conference held by last week, Full Gospel Association leaders declared their full support and that of their members for such a commission to be formed.

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the association said, would help to heal the wounds of persons who were hurting, so as to restore trust.

“If you want to deal with crime in the nation, you can’t keep breaking off the branches, you have to go to the root,” he added.

The commission, Miller said, was not just to rehash past hurt for the sake of rehashing, but to create an environment for healing as was done in South Africa and over 15 other nations who had used the model.

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with the abuses under apartheid.

Attorney Margarette Macaulay, a human rights advocate, said such a commission could work in Jamaica but it would need the support of the entire country and the government if it was to be effective.

“If a perpetrator of a crime has been granted immunity and forgiveness and they walk the street and are attacked for that crime which they have been forgiven then the government would have failed to protect that citizen from arm,” she said.

She suggested that such a commission should not be televised so that persons not directly involved would not know the identity of a perpetrator of a criminal act which had gone before the commission and had been forgiven.

Macaulay suggested that a pilot trial could first be held in a small area with a small group to see how best it would work.

“We will be saying to government you must approve it (the commission) and if you don’t approve it we are going to make a big stance over it…And so we want to hear from the leaders of our country in this election campaign what their clear position is on the issue,” Miller said .