The Editor, Sir:

I just finished reading your editorial page and I sensed some degree of frustration on your part, with the apparent lack of collaboration and perhaps a sense of and/or a level of indifference which seems to exist among the major political players in the country in respect to a common strategy that should be adopted to counter the upsurge in crime and violence which has plagued our beloved country! It appears you are getting mixed signals from the PNP camp!

Then I decided to read your Letter of the Day written by Mr A. Guy Morris of Duncans, Trelawny. In his letter, Morris asks several important questions, but to me the most important was, who is in charge? The criminal elements or the constituted legal authority, or Jamaicans For Justice or, by extension, Amnesty International?

Who will win?

I am assuming the writer asks that leading question because it seems that the offenders' rights are paramount to our citizens' rights! I got an echo of the same sentiment as Mr Morris' in another letter to the editor in another newspaper.

I asked then and now that our leaders display intestinal fortitude, with requisite amounts or elements of testosterone or oestrogen and make the hard decisions that must be made now to save our country from this decadence! As Mr Morris writes, to be tentative will continue to cost us dearly and the criminals will win!

Time for drastic action

Let us not fool ourselves, drastic situations demand drastic action. Our leaders must lead and our security forces and the country will follow.

The prime minister made the call, but he is merely echoing the overall sentiments of the people! We must forget what divides us as we work together now for the future - forget politics - it is Jamaica's time now!

I congratulate you, Editor, and brave Mr Morris - well said!

I am, etc.,

RUPERT A. FRANCIS

captfrancis@yahoo.com

P.O. Box 2643

Guasti, CA, USA

Via Go-Jamaica