KINGSTON, Jamaica - Chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Communication Taskforce, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, says the party welcomes the inclusion of journalists Dionne Jackson Miller and George Davis in the upcoming national political debates.

In a media statement, Fitz-Henley praised both journalists as "two of the finest journalists Jamaica has produced" adding that they should be allowed to participate in the debate.

"We would request that the outline of what transpired at the meeting be amended to accurately indicate that our position was (and remains) that Mrs. Jackson Miller and Mr. Davis, both former Press Association of Jamaica Presidents, are "two of the finest journalists Jamaica has produced" and should be allowed to participate in the debate. We had specifically requested that the record from the meeting clearly reflect this position of ours," he said.

He further emphasized that the JLP does not generally object to journalists' participation.

"With respect to other journalists mentioned, to be clear, it is our preference not to object to any Journalist being allowed to ask questions or moderate the debates. However, if the PNP's objections stand, our conditional objection should remain. All our conditional objections were predicated upon "hard objections" registered by the PNP," he added.

Fitz-Henley further criticised what he described as the PNP's stance -- allegedly opposing journalists affiliated with a particular media house and reportedly calling Davis's involvement a "deal-breaker."

"We are of the view that the PNP's position to object to all journalists on the proposed list who work at a particular media entity participating in the debates and description of the inclusion of Mr. George Davis as a "deal-breaker", is not only unethical but a serious affront to freedom of the press and democracy which the National Debate Commission and key institutions in our society are supposed to both promote and espouse," he said.