Minister of National Security Colonel Trevor MacMillan has issued a call for members of the diaspora, particularly those residing in the United States, to lobby their governments to suppress the flow of guns from those borders into Jamaica.

MacMillan, who was speaking at a workshop on crime and violence on the first day of the Third Biennial Jamaican Diaspora Conference, held yesterday at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, was responding to a question from a member of the audience who wanted to know what the diaspora could do to help fight crime.

"We are the receiver of the majority of guns from out of the United States," MacMillan said. "As members of that community, you can convince Congress, the Senate, to take stronger action about controlling the sale of firearms, particularly the export of it, which is having a big impact on this country."

Displeased

However, Marlon Hill, a member of the advisory board of the Jamaican Diaspora Southern United States, who posed the question, was far from pleased with what he felt was the minister's vague response.

"We have a large group of Jamaicans overseas, there must be a legislative advocacy plan for the help that this country needs," Hill said. "So we need to get that information from the Ministry of National Security for what are the specific challenges that can be met on the other side of the ocean so that we can say to our congressmen what the country needs."

With more than 6,000 guns seized within Jamaica's borders by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Hill said he believed Jamaica knew what the problem was but was lacking the urgency to fight it.

Chief Andrew Smalling, of the City of Lauderdale Lakes Sheriff's Office in Florida, also questioned the Government's method of gun interception.

"How is it that you're saying that the problem is we in the US are exporting too many guns? I think the problem should be what are we doing here in Jamaica to stop these illegal guns from coming into the island," Smalling said. "We know where it's coming from, it's coming from Haiti, it's coming from America. Why isn't Customs a priority to interdict these guns and to stop these gun flows?"