JAMAICA: FATAL SHOOTING MARS ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF RULING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000972 SIPDIS, SENSITIVE STATE FOR WHA/CAR (ANDRE CADIEUX) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ASEC SNAR SOCI KCOR JM XL SUBJECT: JAMAICA: FATAL SHOOTING MARS ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF RULING JAMAICA LABOUR PARTY REF: (A) 07 KINGSTON 1336 (042044Z SEP 07) (B) KINGSTON 626 (151330Z JUL 08) (C) KINGSTON 571 (251519Z JUN 08) (D) 07 KINGSTON 1681 (192007Z NOV 07) (E) 07 KINGSTON 1462 (251614Z SEP 07) (F) 07 KINGSTON 1237 (092125Z AUG 07) (G) KINGSTON 707 (052139Z AUG 08) (H) 06 KINGSTON 2251 (201627Z NOV 06) Summary and Comment -------------- 1.(SBU) The fatal shooting of one man and wounding of two others marred the annual conference of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on November 16 in Kingston. An altercation apparently erupted when a JLP supporter was denied access to a controlled area behind the stage at the rear of the National Arena; the police then intervened and shot a man who had drawn a pistol. Party Chairman and Prime Minister Bruce Golding and other JLP officials did a masterful job of calming the thousands of delegates and finished the one-day conference peacefully, painting the picture of a dedicated Government coping with global economic turmoil as well as could be expected. End Summary and Comment. 2.(SBU) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Dr. Kenneth Baugh, JLP General Secretary and Minister of Industry and Commerce Karl Samuda, JLP "G2K" Youth Wing President Senator Warren Newby, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture Olivia Grange, and JLP Area Councilors and Members-of-Parliament James Robertson, Horace Chang (Minister of Housing and Water),and Audley Shaw (Minister of Finance) addressed an overflow crowd of thousands at the annual conference of the ruling JLP held November 16 at the National Arena in Kingston. In their presentations, the JLP leaders emphasized: (A) the extraordinarily difficult circumstances which have confronted the JLP Government since it took office just over a year ago (reftels A,B,C),including resurgent inflation (17 percent), rising oil, food, and commodity prices, severe damage from hurricanes Dean and Gustav, and the current global economic recession; (B) the chaotic state of Government finances inherited by the JLP after eighteen years of rule by the People's National Party (PNP); (C) nevertheless, the solid foundation laid by the current JLP government during its first year in office; (D) the JLP Government's achievements in abolition of education and hospital fees, infrastructure planning, combating corruption, and re-establishing the country's good relations with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and Caribbean Development Bank. Shooting Incident -------------- 3.(SBU) As Shaw was speaking, two shots rang out from the just behind the main stage near the back entrance to the arena, and screams were heard. To their credit, on the main floor of the arena Shaw and Samuda managed to keep the densely packed crowd under control for several minutes while police and security officers rushed to the scene of the shooting. According to the Embassy's Motor Pool Supervisor, who was parked a short distance away, a mad rush of party supporters ensued outside the arena, with people taking cover wherever they could. One of the gunmen threw a pistol beneath a vehicle and tried to escape on foot, but was apprehended. 4.(SBU) While reports are still fragmentary, an altercation apparently had erupted when someone was denied access to a controlled area behind the stage at the rear of the arena, and the police then intervened. JLP supporters from the Mountain View neighborhood of Kingston and from Spanish Town (reftels , G),both highly volatile areas with histories of gang-related violence, are believed to have been involved. After police reportedly had shot one person, onlookers began hurling abuse and stones at them, but within a few minutes calm had returned. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the one man killed; at least two others were wounded. There is no indication that any of those involved in the incident were supporters of the opposition People's National Party (PNP). 5.(SBU) Back inside the arena, Prime Minister and JLP Party Leader Bruce Golding proceeded to deliver the main address, the principal theme of which, ironically, was Jamaica's serious crime problem. When announcing the shooting death, Golding said that in all the KINGSTON 00000972 002 OF 002 years since 1968, when he had begun attending annual JLP conferences, nothing like this incident ever had occurred. He stressed that the JLP had not needed guns to win the last election, and would not need them to win the next one; any JLP supporters prone to violence should quit the Party. He then moved on to topics ranging from the privatization of Air Jamaica to current pressures on the exchange rate and budget, painting the picture of a dedicated Government coping with global economic turmoil as well as anyone reasonably could expect. (Comment: Under the strained circumstances in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Golding did a masterful job of finishing up the one-day conference.) HEG