PNP repudiates Vaz’s threat to expose
Dear Editor,
The People’s National Party (PNP) is alarmed and outraged by a statement made on the weekend at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) mass rally in Annotto Bay, St Mary, by Daryl Vaz. It represents a frightening and dangerous development, by suggesting that he could obtain private and confidential information on Shane Alexis’s application at the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA).
Although Dr Alexis has nothing to hide, that would be a blatant misuse of power and a troubling invasion of his privacy for purely political purposes.
While addressing party supporters at a rally in Annotto Bay, Vaz announced that he can retrieve private information from PICA and will be watching the progress of Dr Alexis’s citizenship application after today’s by-election.
This is not just an attack on Dr Alexis, but rather a threat to the privacy of every Jamaican, especially those who, for one reason or another, have used the services of PICA.
During the 2011 campaign, Vaz made a similar reckless statement when he threatened the jobs of public sector workers, whom he deemed were not cooperating with the then JLP-led Administration.
This level of abuse of power is synonymous with dictatorship. The People’s National Party totally and unequivocally repudiates Vaz’s threat to expose private and confidential information on Dr Alexis’s application. Vaz needs to remind himself that Jamaica is still a democracy and we are governed by the rule of law.
We warn further, should the private information of Dr Alexis, or that of his family, be compromised in any way by the action of Vaz in the furtherance of a desperate smear campaign, the PNP would immediately call upon the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency to launch an investigation to secure the integrity of PICA.
In the meantime, we urge the Minister of National Security Robert Montague to guarantee that the system at PICA is not compromised and to ensure that the records of every Jamaican remains secured and confidential.
Julian Robinson
General secretary
People’s National Party
