DNA CANDIDATE for Bain and Grants Town Rodney Moncur is blaming Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest for the record levels of violent crime.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Moncur criticised the minister for blaming the increase in murder on "drugs and guns".

He said: "As a result of his obviousness, more Bahamian families have suffered loss of life as recent as this past weekend, including those two pre-teens, one who died and another who was severely hurt in a gun accident.

"Regrettably, slack gun laws and lack of political will has the nation poised to outrun last year's murder record."

In response, the DNA has organised a march against crime called "Stop the Red Splash of Violence" - presumably a play on the FNM's "Red Splash" series of campaign events.

The march will be held on Wednesday at 9am, beginning at the Arawak Cay police station.

"The DNA contends that Mr Turnquest has failed miserably as Minister of National Security, because the country has seen almost 500 murders under his watch.

"The ineffective policy decisions of Tommy T and the Free National movement is one the reasons why we have had record increases in crime under this administration.

"Minister Turnquest did not have a clue how to solve crime when he was appointed as a minister - not then, not now.

"Thank God the election bell has been rung so we can get rid of Tommy T and the FNM," said Mr Moncur.

The DNA accused Mr Turnquest of sinking to a new low by blaming the media for his "lacklustre performance" after he complained that journalists focus on homicides too much, rather than looking at the complete crime picture.

"The DNA sees Minister Turnquest's shifting of blame for the high rate of crime as just another one of his excuses to cover up his ineptness as a Cabinet minister.

"He willingly admitted that the homicide rate is at an unacceptable level. In fact, according to international standards, the homicide rate for the Bahamas should be no more than 20 per year or five per 100,000 people," he said.

Mr Moncur added that the DNA believes the "Stop the Red Splash March against Violence" is timely, as both the government and opposition seem blind to the urgent need to "unite our people against the forces of crime and address the issues with sound, realistic solutions".

He said: "Last year, the Bahamas recorded 127 murders, a fourth murder record in five years. This equates to a homicide rate of 36 per 100,000, one of the highest in the world. During this time, all Tommy T has done is release figures that have caused further grief for the victim's families. He has never brought an effective plan to curb this murderous rampage that is a regular occurrence on our streets.

"Stop the red splash of murder. Stop the red splash of unemployment and under-employment. Stop the red splash of lousy excuses. Stop the red splash of the bloodshed on our streets. Stop the red splash of bad governance under the FNM," Mr Moncur said.