PM Kamla challenges Jamaica newspaper to prove "ethnic stocking" in PP government

PM Kamla Saturday

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Saturday challenged the Jamaica Observer newspaper to produce the evidence to show that there is "ethnic stocking" in her government.

The Prime Minister spoke with reporters after distributing toys to children in central Trinidad. She called the newspaper's allegations "foolish, malicious and false."

Persad-Bissessar noted that her Government is one of the most diverse that the country has ever known and pointed out that the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration is geared at building racial and ethnic harmony in the country. 

She added that the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism has brought religious harmony while the passage of the Equal Opportunity Commission is an institution to make sure that there is justice in the courts for anyone who feels she or he has been the victim of discrimination.

"This is total foolishness in my respectful view. I have heard all the comments but I am still very strong. I intend to stay strong and keep strong but the allegation that worries me the most is that of ethnic stocking,” she told reporters.

She said she is disappointed that the Observer would make allegations without any empirical evidence.

“To attack my Government as being one that is being engaged in ethnic stocking, is totally not true and should be discredited in the highest regard,” Persad-Bissessar said. 

“When you talk about ethnic stocking that is engendered to inflame the passions of people who may not know better or may not want to know better. I find it strange that this happened when we have the THA elections within the next couple of weeks and the main allegation being made by the Opposition party in the THA election is that of race,” the Prime Minister said.

She told the media she will not write to the paper about the matter and suggested that perhaps the Foreign Affairs ministry "would want to deal with things like that". 

She added, "I don’t know what may have led them to conclude that and this is why I say show us the evidence to say ethnic stocking is happening. This is a serious allegation against my Government which is constitutionally elected as the majority government of a country.”