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Ziggy Marley and his sister Cedella have joined the Jamaica Seashore Birthright Environmental Motion’s (JABEM) bid to get the Authorities of Jamaica to make unconditional entry to, and use of all Jamaica’s seashores, together with the Bob Marley Seashore in St Andrew, a Constitutional Proper.
On Friday, Ziggy, who’s the eldest son of Bob Marley, shared a poster for the petition titled Defend Seashore Entry for all Jamaicans & preserve Bob Marley Seashore Public, which requires “the safety of public entry to Jamaican seashores, together with the declaration of normal and unfettered rights to your complete seaside and river ecosystems, to be constitutionally enshrined as pillars of the nation’s ecological heritage”.
The petition notes that the JABEM is “alarmed by current occasions on the Bob Marley Seashore in Bull Bay, St. Thomas, a favorite religious retreat of the late Bob Marley, the place the Jamaican public got here below imminent risk of dropping entry to yet one more group seaside, together with the destruction of fisherfolk livelihood and land dispossession of distinguished Rastafari relations”.
In making his help for the motion clear, in his dialogue on Instagram, the Riot Rises singer mentioned that he was significantly aggrieved as “they’re additionally attempting to intimidate, cheat and power locals who’ve been there since I used to be a child from these areas.”
“Once I was youthful, we freely had entry to most of our native off the crushed path seashores and rivers together with Bull bay and Cane river. Now, there’s a stress marketing campaign to denationalise extra of those native seashores and rivers and deprive Jamaicans and specifically Jamaicans who can not afford to pay for a day of nicely wanted stress aid and rejuvenation of those pure sources,” Ziggy declared in his caption.
“Jamaica is without doubt one of the solely Islands within the Caribbean that doesn’t assure its folks GENERAL rights of entry to its seashores. There isn’t a GENERAL RIGHT to wash, fish, or stroll alongside the seaside. We all the time get pleasure from and encourage guests to our Island and ask them to hitch us in ensuring that Jamaican folks in the present day can freely get pleasure from Jamaican waters like many people did earlier than,” he added.
Over on Cedella’s Instagram web page, she shared the publish and expressed related sentiments.
“Jamaican folks ought to have the ability to freely get pleasure from Jamaican waters like many people did earlier than,” she famous.
The petition, which is listed on change.org, notes, moreover, that the specter of seaside entry loss stays at a excessive stage, and is systemic throughout the island together with areas corresponding to Bluefields and Little Bay in Westmoreland; Cousins Cove in Hanover; Cornwall seaside St. James, Alligator Pond in St Elizabeth and Mammee Bay, Peach Seashore and Little Dunn’s River seashores in St. Ann.
The doc additionally lists north-eastern seashores corresponding to Reggae Seashore and Lagoon at Goldeneye in St. Mary and San San and Dragon Bay in Portland as different affected seashores.
“It’s at a disaster stage, and if not addressed quickly, Jamaica’s seashores will ultimately be fenced off from its residents,” the petition acknowledged.
The JABEM’s petition, which is focused to “Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the Jamaican Authorities”, Governor Common Patrick Allen, and King Charles III, additionally notes that the folks of Jamaica and its Diaspora “together with associates of Jamaica worldwide” are calling for the repeal and substitute of the Seashore Management Act of 1956.
The group describes the Seashore Management Act of 1956, as a “colonial-era legislation that’s discriminating in opposition to the Jamaican folks in proscribing their unfettered entry to the seashores and use of the ocean and rivers, whereas selling the ecological degradation of the Jamaican shoreline.”
“We recognise that in Jamaica, the general public doesn’t have normal rights to entry the seaside and use the ocean and rivers…The Act, that remained in place till Jamaica bought independence in 1962 didn’t give the island nation’s 2.7 million folks the authorized proper to seaside entry.
“Jamaica wants a contemporary legislation that grants normal and unfettered entry rights to all seashores, rivers and sea round Jamaica, while guarding in opposition to ecological degradation… This legislation is arguably racist and should not have any place within the physique of legal guidelines of Jamaica and should be repealed and changed instantly,” the petition provides.
The JABEM additionally pointed to, as proof of discrimination, the truth that even the Authorities of Jamaica’s Seashore Entry and Administration Coverage For Jamaica states that “in Jamaican frequent legislation, the general public has no normal rights of entry to the foreshore besides to cross over it for the aim of navigation or fishing and “there may be subsequently no normal proper of bathing, or to stroll alongside the foreshore, besides the place acquired by customized or prescription, neither is there any normal proper to fish besides as supplied in Part 3(3) of the Seashore Management Act, 1956.”
The petition additionally warned that the frenzy by the ultra-rich to seize beachfront properties on the expense and exclusion of Jamaicans shouldn’t be tolerated.
“We recognise that because of this, controlling seashores has develop into the brand new gold rush in Jamaica; impacting the livelihood of fisherfolks and the surroundings. Mass commercialization from beachfront tourism enterprises can be fueling the displacement of susceptible Jamaicans from lands adjoining the ocean. If this exclusion of the Jamaican folks from the ecological heritage of the island will not be stopped, it may presumably result in social unrest and upheaval,” it mentioned.
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