Gov't condemns 'unparliamentary behaviour' of opposition MPs

By Kimone Witter 

 

 

The Government is pointing fingers at Opposition Members of Parliament for bringing proceedings in the House of Representatives into serious disrepute following the adjournment of the sitting on Tuesday.

 

A video recording showing Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western, Mikael Phillips, hurling expletives and attempting to charge at MP for West Kingston Desmond McKenzie has been making the rounds on social media.

 

Deputy Leader of Government Business Robert Morgan, in condemning the behaviour of Mr. Phillips, said the fracas started after the Opposition MP verbally attacked House Speaker Juliet Holness. 

 

Mr. Morgan said Mr. McKenzie urged Mr. Phillips to be respectful towards the House Speaker, but this was rebuffed.

 

He has also described the behaviour of Opposition parliamentarians as boisterous and disrespectful during the debate on a motion to censure the government over its decision to abstain from the United Nations resolution to end the US embargo on Cuba.

 

"We wish to decry the unparliamentary behaviour of several members of the opposition, both during the sitting of the House as we were carrying out the nation's business and after, particularly the Leader of the Opposition who made unparliamentary comments to the Speaker; Angela Brown Burke, who also made unparliamentary comments off-mic; but especially Mikael Phillips, who moved aggressively towards Member of Parliament from West Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, and had to be restrained by several members of the House based on its behaviour. We are representatives of the people. Our duty is to go to Parliament and conduct the business of the country and the people of Jamaica in a respectful and professional manner," Mr. Morgan charged.

 

He said the Opposition MPs should be held accountable for what he characterised as their shameful conduct. 

 

"It sets a bad example to everyone who is observing what is happening in the House. We do not want it to be said that all parliamentarians or the Parliament is behaving in this manner. The distinction must be made that the behaviour was of the opposition and not the government side - a behaviour that we condemn, a behaviour that we reject, and a behaviour that we will constantly speak and act against," he insisted. 

 

 

In the meantime, Mr. Phillips has apologised to Jamaicans for his outburst in Parliament, but said the claims by the Government on what transpired in Gordon House on Tuesday are false and misleading.

 

He said, while the incident was unfortunate, entirely unnecessary and regrettable, the circulation of inaccurate accounts does nothing to help the public understand what transpired.

 

In his counter claim, Mr. Phillips said he was verbally attacked by Desmond McKenzie, who made an offensive reference to his deceased mother.

 

"I was standing with two other opposition MPs when the Speaker was exiting the chamber, commenting on the manner in which the adjournment was taken. As soon as the Speaker left, MP for Western Kingston, Desmond McKenzie verbally attacked me, referencing my deceased mother. He then repeated the offence on more than one occasion. I reacted in anger using an expletive. I regret that and apologise to the Jamaican people for my actions," he said. 

 

He added that the incident must also be considered against the backdrop of growing tensions in the House of Representatives, arising from what he described as the Government's persistent efforts to curtail debate and restrict the Opposition's ability to participate fully in parliamentary proceedings. 

 

Mr. Phillips called for greater restraint on both sides and urged the Government to respect the rights of elected representatives to discharge their parliamentary duties without unnecessary obstruction.