WESTERN BUREAU: sections of Montego Bay's outskirt communities continued to see roadblocks, and sporadic fires, while skilful manipulation by the security forces resulted in the containment of a potentially explosive demonstration in Montego Bay on the third day of the gas protests.

Reports reaching The Gleaner say that a male juror was injured at the Montego Bay Courthouse when protesters hurled stones at the court during the afternoon session of the St. James Circuit Court.

"Upon resumption we had to almost scramble out of court some few minutes ago because of the disturbances outside," said Justice Meville Clarke who had taken cover in his chambers while court staff and the police secured the prisoners when the stone came crashing through the court window.

"We must be thankful that the disturbances have subsided and that we can re-assemble. Please do not allow anything that has been happening outside to affect you in your role as the judges of the fact," said Justice Clarke to jurors in the murder case he was trying. The injured juror was empanelled in a rape case that should have gone ahead after the murder case.

Meantime the number of arrests rose to 50, and police said station bail would have been arranged yesterday for those charged. A court date of May 5 was being arranged. As demonstrators demanded a chance to stage a march through the city early yesterday, several businesses again locked their doors early and the police were deployed at the entrance to the tourist areas, preventing the street protest from spilling over onto Gloucester Avenue.

Later in the afternoon, just about 1,000 protesters again gathered in the square, but apart from an aborted attempt by the police to detain a middle-aged man in the crowd, the security forces avoided a clash, and watched the group from a distance. The gathering fizzled out about an hour later.

Yesterday's activities began early with roadblocks and fires at Lilliput, and Salt Spring, and blockages along the Orange main road. The blocks were cleared but Salt Spring remained a trouble spot, with protesters remounting the roadblocks at each attempt to clear it.

A small demonstration starting at 10:00 a.m with about 20 wives and female family members of the city's businessmen, swelled to a few hundred protesters by noon. The protest was organised by the Jamaica Labour Party and saw the women marching into Sam Sharpe Square, bearing placards and distributing flyers.

Deputy leader, Edmund Bartlett and deputy general secretary, Dr. Horace Chang were at the forefront.

Attempts by the city's middle and upper middle-class to move beyond the boundary of the permitted area of protest in Sam Sharpe Square were blocked by the police, and the demonstration continued with singing and calls for Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and Omar Davies to resign.

Matters took a turn for the worse shortly after midday when the original demonstrators departed. Within minutes political activists in the crowd began whipping the crowd into a frenzy, urging them to march out of the square. The police and soldiers quickly cordoned the area, while the commanding officer, Everald Rose, demanded that Edmund Bartlett and Dr. Horace Chang bring some order to the crowd or accept the consequences.

The JLP executives tried to dissuade the group, but were verbally abused.