Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

Are some Churches unconcerned with those responsible for the May, 2010 military operation which inter alia resulted in the deaths of more than 76 persons? Are some churches primarily concerned with the state paying compensation for the damage and loss suffered by the residents of Tivoli? In a letter to the Editor, Gleaner, published Thursday, December,11, 2014, written by the Rev. Orville H. Ramocan, Director in the Office of the President, Independent Churches of Jamaica (ICJ), the position of this group  on the Tivoli Commission of Enquiry is stated: "ICJ believes that whoever was responsible for the physical violation of these poor people is irrelevant at this point in time. The reality is, the conditions and cause for these violations were created by the State. The State must now make every effort to bring healing and restoration to a community that has experienced much suffering. If this enquiry is not about helping the victims to pick up and start over with some sens...

" In the end, the incursion into Tivoli played out like a well written movie script. The army surgically wrestled the community from the grasp of the criminal elements that had imprisoned its residence and had the audacity to challenge the government and by extension, the law enforcement agencies of the state." That is an excerpt from a book written by a former JDF Officer, Major Stanley P. Ford ( Ret) entitled " Core Values : A Soldier's Story" . Interestingly, the Introduction is by    Stewart Saunders Major General (Retired ) CD, JP, MSc, psc  Chief of Defence Staff  Jamaica Defence Force  21 January 2012  The view expressed by Ford must be given tremendous weight; and to some extent reflects the perspective of those in the officer corp of the JDF at the time. The then Chief of Staff would have sought the correction of any egregious error in any account of what was a catastrophic exercise. In fact Saunders reinforced the veracity of the account...

The following in the unedited version of a letter written by (Ret.) Col. Allan Douglas which was published in the Jamaica Observer, Tuesday, December 09, 2014 titled "Not too late to salvage integrity from Tivoli commission" Dear Editor, With the commencement of the Tivoli Commission of Enquiry into the shooting deaths of 76 Jamaicans by the security forces in May 2010, the Jamaican Government faces one of its biggest tests in terms of integrity, transparency, and ensuring the just and equitable administration of the law. However, early indications are that the commission could easily turn out to be a farce, and that the hopes of Jamaicans that the government will ensure a just and meaningful outcome through an impartial investigation by the Tivoli COE could end up in tatters. For the past several months, in letters to this newspaper, I have called for a fair and just investigation into the events that happened in May 2010. Along with several other Jamaicans, our ca...

We are of the considered opinion that the Tivoli COE should be state-centric rather than victim-centric. By that we mean that the focus should be concentrated of the activities of agents of the state in the debacle and not the welfare of the victims. This might appear cold and indifferent to the trauma and agony resulting in the deaths of 76 or more Jamaicans allegedly at the hands of agents of the state. In support of that position we contend that the process of discerning the" truth" is probably best dealt with in three (3) distinctly different spheres:        1. There needs to be a forum in which victims and eye-witnesses  can tell their stories as how they remember it and in their own words. They would do this in groups of their peers who were in close proximity at the material time. Such would facilitate some "correction" and the filling in of blanks in the memory. This exercise would allow them to vent, receive counseling, and ultimately ass...

The Tivoli COE has ended its first week of sittings. Some interesting observations: * Having advertised for witnesses to come forward and give statement to the Secretariat, the Chairman is faced with an unexpected flood of potential witnesses--anxious to tell their stories.  There are powerful motivational factors at work:  the extensive media coverage ;  the impression that such appearance will put their financial claims in good stead; the need to bring to public attention the trauma suffered and the hesitancy of the state in making compensation; the physical destruction remaining as a constant reminder. The Chairman is of the view that all the witnesses cannot be accommodated within the 3- month limit. Hence there is the need for an extension and supplementary budgetary allocation. *The situation is further compounded by the COE not displaying a sense of urgency. Originally, it appears that the sittings were to be spread over a longer period  but totaling...

Set Up Three-Month Enquiry For Tivoli - Ashley Published: Tuesday | May 14, 2013 7 Comments The following was published in The Gleaner on May 14, 2013.  We have taken the decision to post it on Dec 1, 2014 -- the commencement of the Tivoli COE . Edmond Campbell,  Senior Staff Reporter ATTORNEY-AT-LAW DR Paul Ashley is of the view that under colonial rule if "76 mongrel dawgs and a puss" had been killed, a commission of enquiry would have been promptly established, let alone 76 humans. His comments come as the Portia Simpson Miller administration mulls decisions on the terms of reference for the proposed enquiry and the selection of commissioners to carry out the task. Ashley, in a  Gleaner  interview yesterday, suggested a panel of three commissioners headed by a retired judge. The attorney wants a deadline of three months to complete the enquiry and noted that the panel should be allowed to submit an interim re...