Gov’t Will Support Int’l Assistance To Solve Haitian Crisis

Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips has said that the Government of Jamaica was in strong support of any international assistance that could help bring about a resolution to the ongoing crisis in Haiti.
He also warned that Jamaica needed to prepare for the possible fallout that may result from Haiti’s instability.
Dr. Phillips was speaking at the 34th Annual Sales Award of the Half-Way-Tree Branch of Life of Jamaica, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on February 19.
The Minister said that if the events, which are immobilizing the Haitian state persisted for much longer, then the trickle of refugees that have arrived so far would become a flood, imposing costs and risks upon Jamaica.
In addition he said that, “should Haiti persist as a failed state, should its territorial integrity be lost, then the prospect of it becoming a haven for all kinds of nefarious elements, including narcotics traders, gunrunners [and] people smugglers, would cause havoc and a direct threat to our own situation in our country.”
He noted that the Jamaica Defence force was a key part of the process to protect Jamaica’s territorial integrity. “We believe it is very important for us to maintain the capabilities of an efficient, well-trained, disciplined fighting force, able to confront any possible range of threats that might threaten the survival of the Jamaican state,” Minister Phillips said.