KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The Queen toured Trench Town, a crime-riddled neighbourhood of burnt-out cars and grafitti made famous by reggae great Bob Marley, as radio talk shows buzzed Tuesday with questions over her relevance to this former British colony.

The 75-year-old Queen stressed the importance of bonds between countries after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in an address to the Jamaican Parliament, where many no longer want to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch.

"The terrible events of Sept. 11 last year reminded us with tragic forcefulness that we do not exist simply as individual countries or even as large international political alliances," she told Jamaican legislators. "We are more than ever part of a global network."

Her address came as Jamaica marks 40 years of independence and the Queen is celebrating 50 years on the throne.

She said there was "cause for celebration" that in the past half-century "in so many countries around the world, people have reaped the benefits of increased national consciousness and self-determination."

Legislators were not mollified, saying they no longer wanted to give a ritual oath swearing allegiance to the Queen, who remains the Caribbean country's titular head of state.

"The proposal to change the parliamentary oath is entirely consistent with the aspirations of the people," said Arnold Bertram, a member of Parliament and minister of local government.

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has proposed making legislators swear allegiance to Jamaica instead of the Crown. The measure has received bipartisan support but no action has been taken.

"I think the reception that the Queen has received says something different than what the prime minister is saying," said opposition leader and former prime minister Edward Seaga.

"While I think it is acceptable to change the oath, the Crown in Jamaica is a symbol of justice and in a country where injustice is so rampant, to remove that symbol is a great cause of concern for many Jamaicans," he said.

Inside Parliament, the Queen did not acknowledge Patterson, who appeared to keep his head pointedly turned away from her during most of her speech, which lasted about eight minutes.

The monarch did not smile and appeared sombre. This visit comes just days after the death of her younger sister Princess Margaret, whose funeral was Friday.

Later, the Queen visited the Rema section of Trench Town, where Bob Marley spent much of his time. The depressed area - with overturned car chassis, graffiti and vacant lots - has recently been plagued by shootouts between drug gangs with rival loyalties to Patterson's and Seaga's parties.

Efforts are underway to refurbish some buildings and stem the crime that has given Jamaica one of the highest murder rates in the world.

The Queen, driven to a community centre and school partly funded by the British government, passed a garishly coloured picture of herself painted on the side of a concrete building.

She smiled as 20 uniformed school children danced to the beat of island music. Then two school girls curtsied and presented her with a basket of flowers as several armed guards kept watch over the crowd.

"It means a lot to have the Queen visit," said Alisa Thomas, 13, an eighth grader at the centre's Boys Town All Age School, which is unisex. "It is the first time she's ever been here."

Since the Queen arrived Monday, talk radio stations have been fielding calls about her relevance to a Caribbean island struggling with high unemployment, a drug gang culture and a shaky financial sector.

The Queen, who is accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, leaves Jamaica on Wednesday to fly to two other former colonies, New Zealand and Australia.

A few years ago, Australians had an acrimonious debate about whether to dump the Queen and eventually voted not to. But that was mainly because, like the Jamaicans, the politicians could not agree on an alternative.