Golding blames US for guns

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Kingston has accused Washington of not doing enough to stem the flow of guns into the island.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding made the claim on Tuesday, during a more than two-hour-long presentation in Parliament.

Golding said that a resolution was now before the United Nations (UN) for an international convention to restrict the illegal trafficking in small arms. The prime minister did not say who brought the resolution to the UN, nor did he hide his dismay about the flow of guns into Jamaica.

“The overwhelming majority of guns coming into Jamaica are of United States (US) manufacture,” Golding said.

“The inflow of guns into Jamaica is what facilitates most of the murders that are committed. The security forces recover, on average, 600 guns each year. We suspect that a greater number enter the island each year, creating an ever-increasing arsenal of illegal weapons, snuffing out lives with callous brutality,” the prime minister told Parliament.