The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is calling for the resignation of Opposition Spokesman on Human Rights, Isat Buchanan, over remarks he made on social media while commenting on the Coopers Pen demolition exercise earlier this week.

The JLP in a news release on Friday accused Buchanan of calling on people in Trelawny who were not affected by the Coopers Pen demolition exercise — which arose from a dispute between a private developer and residents — to pretend they received property damage in order to obtain a taxpayer-funded house.

In a TikTok Live, Buchanan could be heard urging people to “Chap di line pan dem”.

“So to the people of Trelawny who wake up and dem bull doze your house. The prime minister him haffi lift offa some house and him haffi give uno,” he said. “All some a uno weh never up deh, uno take off one foot on the bed, bruk it off and carry it up there and say see wah left. Yeah. Chap di line pan dem cause any body inna dat deh place deh weh dem bulldoze you haffi get back a house out a government and it nah go be no trailer bet sehh a land uno get. Yeah.”

The Jamaica Labour Party is also calling on PNP President Mark Golding to indicate whether his party supports the stance articulated by Buchanan.

The party says Golding’s silence on the statement made by his spokesman on human rights shows that Golding is not fit for national leadership.

It also reiterated its denunciation of Buchanan’s statement and what it said was Golding’s inaction.

“Buchanan’s position in the Opposition Shadow Cabinet is untenable because it is grossly irresponsible and outright disgraceful for a lawmaker and member of the Opposition Shadow Cabinet, who is also an attorney-at-law, to suggest that residents conduct themselves in an unlawful manner in order to derive benefits from the state,” the JLP said.