The Editor, Sir:

Someone needs to advise the People's National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) and its president, Damion Crawford, that the recent public anti-government demonstrations are both baseless and inappropriate at this time and do not serve Jamaica or the PNP's reputation well. We all can understand their motive and directives for being a JLP antagonist, but these testing economic times the world around dictate that Government and opposition and their respective surrogates be bi-partisan in their immediate mandate and ensure national unity as we strive to stay afloat amid a world recession.

Limited collective knowledge

Crawford and the PNPYO honestly believe that their limited collective knowledge, experience and wisdom in economics and governance are a far way superior to that of the prime minister and his executive team, and see it fit to draft a list of budgetary items that they want Minister Shaw to immediately institute or else they will continue with an islandwide protest ... what a joke, or is it another classic case of "youthful exuberance"?

Anyone who understands the political culture in Jamaica should be able to identify the motives of Crawford and his young colleagues' effort. They are basically building their political capital while simultaneously undermining the ruling party - that is Jamaica; that is politics. And in 10 years or so, if or when the PNP returns to power, the Crawfords of today will be duly rewarded in the party.

Nonetheless, what I am most disturbed about is the approach of the PNPYO. The youth arm of both political parties (G2K and PNPYO) should represent a new dimension in Jamaica's political culture. Their mandate should be to engage all youngsters of the nation in an inclusive manner to ensure the youths are a part of the political process and that their interests are engendered in national planning for the extended future.

Chart a course

Equally important, these youth representatives should chart a course that should seek to reverse the tribal and divisive political culture of the '80s and '70s and ensure that the next generation ushers in a new breed of politics of unity, inclusiveness and bi-partisanship, and not adopt the practice of their political predecessors and superiors.

Jamaica is one of few CARICOM nations that has not achieved political maturity since independence and if the tone of the PNPYO is a measure of things to come, this will not be accomplished for decades to come.

I am, etc.,

R. Patterson

richie2sweet@yahoo.com