'Dudus next to God'
By Pastor Devon Dick:
On Thursday last, an unnamed woman expressed solidarity with Christopher 'Dudus' Coke by stating that "Dudus next to God." This affirmation portrays how she perceived both God and Dudus.
Some Christians might find it an affront to God. And it is hardly likely that the churches that will be observing Trinity Sunday in three days time will have such a formulation as they try to explain God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. But it appears to me that this woman was mouthing a concept of God, to which some sections of the church have unwittingly ascribed. Obviously, for her, God is someone who destroys the enemies, dispenses justice quickly without going through legal human channels, provides for them and protects them. And apparently, Dudus has similar attributes. One woman proclaimed that she has six children and Dudus is the godfather, while another testified that she can leave her door open and her children are not raped.
This concept of God is not empowering and definitely one-dimensional. Rather it makes people passive, expecting handouts only. It is a mentality in some sections of the church in which the main philosophy is to give a fish rather than teaching the person to fish. It is a mendicancy syndrome. Therefore, some churches take pride in announcing what they can hand out to persons on the margins rather than challenging the economic system which impoverishes those on the periphery. And there is a similar mentality in our political system in which politicians boast in Parliament how much handouts are given for school fees, to bury dead and to feed people through the Constituency Development Fund.
Hiding behind prayer
Some sections of the church use prayer in this passive role of doing nothing but only waiting on God to do everything. Therefore, as we listen to the prayers to God about our crisis, it is always telling God what to do, as if God does not know the gravity of the crisis, rather than seeking the will of God concerning our role in confronting the tribulations.
So we would rather pray for more rain than build more dams, and channel more rivers to dams and engage in better stewardship of water. We would rather pray to God about the high murder rate rather than have God induce courage to telephone Crime Stop.
And most of our gospel music is not wrestling with issues of economic justice and equality of all. Not even Rastafarian singers will chant, "Get up, stand for your rights".
The Church has largely moved away from an activist role in society. In Rebellion to Riot: The Jamaican Church in Nation Building (2002), I showed that pre-Independence (1962) the Church was leading in nation building in the areas of economic empowerment, educating the people and holistic concept of evangelism, etc. And in the concluding chapter I suggested that we need to return to that activist role.
The Church needs to admit that the theologising that claimed that "Dudus next to God" is a reflection of the failure of sections of the church to present the proper attributes of God. God must be shown also as a God of justice who rewards the righteous and empowers persons to live a life of service and sacrifice, as well as punishes the wicked for their evil deeds.
Let us not blame so much the unnamed woman for the affirmation "Dudus next to God", but perceive it as an indictment on the church which often engages in cowardice and inaction rather than confronting evil and turning the city upside down (Acts 17:6), and serving God rather than man (Acts 5:29).
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
May 27, 2010
jamaica-gleaner
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Showing posts with label Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
A vile attack on the Jamaican State
jamaicaobserver editorial:
The obviously co-ordinated strikes on four police stations in West Kingston by criminal gunmen yesterday represent a vile attack on the State that this newspaper strongly condemns.
That the lumpen gunmen also torched one of the police stations -- that in Hannah Town -- and fired on policemen who were clearing roadblocks in West Kingston demonstrate their utter disregard for law and order, and flies in the face of the very responsible and tolerant approach that the police have so far taken in their effort to execute an arrest warrant on Mr Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Based on police reports that gangsters from other communities outside of Kingston and St Andrew have gone into Tivoli Gardens, supposedly to give support to Mr Coke and his defenders, it is clear that his tentacles spread far and wide, and his influence is very strong.
But that influence, we maintain, resides with the minority of Jamaicans, and as such the majority, law-abiding among us need to make a united stand against the terrorism that these riffraffs seek to unleash on the country.
It is against that background that we endorse the limited State of Public Emergency that has been imposed on Kingston and St Andrew by the Government.
While we support the measure giving the security forces additional powers of search and arrest, we caution the law enforcers to utilise these powers with responsibility. For just one case of abuse of a citizen will erode the gains the security forces have made over the past few days with the way they have handled this extradition matter.
However, we urge the security forces to use this opportunity to clean up the mess that has stained this country for too many years. And in doing so, they need to ignore the politicians -- on both sides -- who have more than proven to us that they have no idea, if any desire, to deal effectively with crime.
May 24, 2010
jamaicaobserver
The obviously co-ordinated strikes on four police stations in West Kingston by criminal gunmen yesterday represent a vile attack on the State that this newspaper strongly condemns.
That the lumpen gunmen also torched one of the police stations -- that in Hannah Town -- and fired on policemen who were clearing roadblocks in West Kingston demonstrate their utter disregard for law and order, and flies in the face of the very responsible and tolerant approach that the police have so far taken in their effort to execute an arrest warrant on Mr Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Based on police reports that gangsters from other communities outside of Kingston and St Andrew have gone into Tivoli Gardens, supposedly to give support to Mr Coke and his defenders, it is clear that his tentacles spread far and wide, and his influence is very strong.
But that influence, we maintain, resides with the minority of Jamaicans, and as such the majority, law-abiding among us need to make a united stand against the terrorism that these riffraffs seek to unleash on the country.
It is against that background that we endorse the limited State of Public Emergency that has been imposed on Kingston and St Andrew by the Government.
While we support the measure giving the security forces additional powers of search and arrest, we caution the law enforcers to utilise these powers with responsibility. For just one case of abuse of a citizen will erode the gains the security forces have made over the past few days with the way they have handled this extradition matter.
However, we urge the security forces to use this opportunity to clean up the mess that has stained this country for too many years. And in doing so, they need to ignore the politicians -- on both sides -- who have more than proven to us that they have no idea, if any desire, to deal effectively with crime.
May 24, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Friday, May 21, 2010
Diehards defend Embattled west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke
Diehards defend 'Dudus'
jamaica-gleaner:
Embattled west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke received a fillip yesterday as thousands of vocal residents of Tivoli Gardens and adjoining communities took to the streets supporting him.
The protesters, mainly women and children dressed in white, started their demonstration at the intersection of Industrial Terrace and Spanish Town Road just after 8 yesterday morning.
Initially, they concentrated on the reports by the police that they were being forced to stay at home and that their cellular phones had been confiscated by thugs backing Dudus.
"Dem a talk about our phones take away and if we leave we can't come back and that is a lie," declared one angry protester.
"Anybody can come into Tivoli and see the situation. We can go and come as we want, we can walk peacefully and see mi phone here," the woman added.
Her friend rushed to address the Gleaner team as she blasted the police for their claims.
"We a no hostage, a lie the police a tell because them no like the 'Big Man'. We happy and them fi leave we alone," the scantily clad woman said.
But the focus of the protesters quickly changed as they voiced their opposition to any plan to extradite the man they call 'The President'.
"No Dudus, no Jamaica. Dudus a feed the whole a wi and them fi leave him. The police them always have problems with the Coke dem. If you have a pickney now and him name Coke, by the time him reach 20-year-old them a go accuse him," another protester charged.
The protesters also had harsh words for Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and the party's point man on the extradition matter, Dr Peter Phillips.
"Portia must tell we if the PNP did extradite Anthony Brown and George Flash when them did wanted. How them did have them man deh free and now them want fi extradite Dudus. A just politics them a play," one woman said, referring to two men who topped the police most-wanted list in the 1970s and '80s.
Not about politics
"Dudus tell we fi wear white today and not green because this is not about politics, and the PNP, dem a play politics and Dudus only want peace," another protester said. Green is the colour of the Jamaica Labour Party which the residents of Tivoli support.
With a strong police presence and marshals from the community ensuring that persons did not block Spanish Town Road, the protesters chanted loudly for more than two hours before a shout from one of their leaders saw them heading across Spanish Town Road into the heart of downtown Kingston.
Around St William Grant Park and across East Queen Street went the crowd which was growing by the minute.
Then came the shout "mek wi march to Gleaner", signalling a sharp left turn on to Duke Street towards the North Street offices of The Gleaner Company.
But by then, the police had had enough and after allowing the demonstrators free rein through the heart of the commercial centre, the cops used their vehicles to form a line on Duke Street in the vicinity of the country's Parliament building, Gordon House.
A single explosion from a policeman's gun was enough to convince the protesters that the cops were serious and that it was time to head along Beeston Street down North Street and back into Tivoli Gardens.
May 21, 2010
jamaica-gleaner
jamaica-gleaner:
Embattled west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke received a fillip yesterday as thousands of vocal residents of Tivoli Gardens and adjoining communities took to the streets supporting him.
The protesters, mainly women and children dressed in white, started their demonstration at the intersection of Industrial Terrace and Spanish Town Road just after 8 yesterday morning.
Initially, they concentrated on the reports by the police that they were being forced to stay at home and that their cellular phones had been confiscated by thugs backing Dudus.
"Dem a talk about our phones take away and if we leave we can't come back and that is a lie," declared one angry protester.
"Anybody can come into Tivoli and see the situation. We can go and come as we want, we can walk peacefully and see mi phone here," the woman added.
Her friend rushed to address the Gleaner team as she blasted the police for their claims.
"We a no hostage, a lie the police a tell because them no like the 'Big Man'. We happy and them fi leave we alone," the scantily clad woman said.
But the focus of the protesters quickly changed as they voiced their opposition to any plan to extradite the man they call 'The President'.
"No Dudus, no Jamaica. Dudus a feed the whole a wi and them fi leave him. The police them always have problems with the Coke dem. If you have a pickney now and him name Coke, by the time him reach 20-year-old them a go accuse him," another protester charged.
The protesters also had harsh words for Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and the party's point man on the extradition matter, Dr Peter Phillips.
"Portia must tell we if the PNP did extradite Anthony Brown and George Flash when them did wanted. How them did have them man deh free and now them want fi extradite Dudus. A just politics them a play," one woman said, referring to two men who topped the police most-wanted list in the 1970s and '80s.
Not about politics
"Dudus tell we fi wear white today and not green because this is not about politics, and the PNP, dem a play politics and Dudus only want peace," another protester said. Green is the colour of the Jamaica Labour Party which the residents of Tivoli support.
With a strong police presence and marshals from the community ensuring that persons did not block Spanish Town Road, the protesters chanted loudly for more than two hours before a shout from one of their leaders saw them heading across Spanish Town Road into the heart of downtown Kingston.
Around St William Grant Park and across East Queen Street went the crowd which was growing by the minute.
Then came the shout "mek wi march to Gleaner", signalling a sharp left turn on to Duke Street towards the North Street offices of The Gleaner Company.
But by then, the police had had enough and after allowing the demonstrators free rein through the heart of the commercial centre, the cops used their vehicles to form a line on Duke Street in the vicinity of the country's Parliament building, Gordon House.
A single explosion from a policeman's gun was enough to convince the protesters that the cops were serious and that it was time to head along Beeston Street down North Street and back into Tivoli Gardens.
May 21, 2010
jamaica-gleaner
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Christopher Dudus Coke may be the most powerful man in Jamaica, says Phillips
'Dudus' may be the most powerful man in Ja, says Phillips
BY KARYL WALKER Online editor walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com:
FORMER minister of national security Dr Peter Phillips says Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is possibly more powerful than the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government which has been attracting a lot of flax over its refusal to act on a United States extradition request for Coke.
The Americans submitted the extradition request last August, accusing Coke of drug- and gun-running. However, the Bruce Golding-led Administration has said that the evidence gathered against Coke breached Jamaica's Interception of Communications Act.
But for Phillips that argument holds little water and is an indication of the fear that Coke drives into the hearts of the ruling party. According to Phillips, Coke may be the most powerful man in the country.
"That inference can be drawn when we see all the resources they are putting in to defend him. It certainly looks like he is very powerful," Phillips told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
Phillips, whose questions in Parliament in March threw the spotlight on the JLP's dealing with the US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said Jamaica's reputation had been terribly sullied and the Government should move to clean up the country's image.
The JLP has since admitted that persons in the party engaged the services of the law firm to negotiate extradition issues with high-ranking members of the Obama administration.
"It is time we decide if we are going to be a narco state or we are going to abide by the rules of law and order," Phillips said.
Last week, Toronto police arrested 12 members of the Shower Posse and have charged them with drugs and weapons offences. The cops said the arrested persons had links to drug traffickers in Panama, the US and the Dominican Republic.
Coke has been named by North American authorities as the leader of the 'international cartel who had been pulling the strings in Toronto's north-west end, supplying drugs and guns to smaller gangs and fuelling violence in the area'.
Headquartered in Tivoli Gardens in Kingston, the Shower Posse reportedly has branches in over 20 US cities, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Phillips himself earned the wrath of People's National Party (PNP) supporters when, during his tenure at the security ministry, Clansman boss and known PNP supporter, Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett, was cut down in hail of police bullets at a palatial residence in Tanarkie, Clarendon in November 2005.
In the aftermath of Bennett's death, irate PNP supporters burnt effigies of Phillips and T-shirts bearing his image in sections of St Catherine and Clarendon.
Party insiders say Bennett's demise may have cost Phillips the leadership of the PNP in the contentious presidential race which he lost to Portia Simpson Miller in September 2008.
May 09, 2010
jamaicaobserver
BY KARYL WALKER Online editor walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com:
FORMER minister of national security Dr Peter Phillips says Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is possibly more powerful than the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government which has been attracting a lot of flax over its refusal to act on a United States extradition request for Coke.
The Americans submitted the extradition request last August, accusing Coke of drug- and gun-running. However, the Bruce Golding-led Administration has said that the evidence gathered against Coke breached Jamaica's Interception of Communications Act.
But for Phillips that argument holds little water and is an indication of the fear that Coke drives into the hearts of the ruling party. According to Phillips, Coke may be the most powerful man in the country.
"That inference can be drawn when we see all the resources they are putting in to defend him. It certainly looks like he is very powerful," Phillips told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
Phillips, whose questions in Parliament in March threw the spotlight on the JLP's dealing with the US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said Jamaica's reputation had been terribly sullied and the Government should move to clean up the country's image.
The JLP has since admitted that persons in the party engaged the services of the law firm to negotiate extradition issues with high-ranking members of the Obama administration.
"It is time we decide if we are going to be a narco state or we are going to abide by the rules of law and order," Phillips said.
Last week, Toronto police arrested 12 members of the Shower Posse and have charged them with drugs and weapons offences. The cops said the arrested persons had links to drug traffickers in Panama, the US and the Dominican Republic.
Coke has been named by North American authorities as the leader of the 'international cartel who had been pulling the strings in Toronto's north-west end, supplying drugs and guns to smaller gangs and fuelling violence in the area'.
Headquartered in Tivoli Gardens in Kingston, the Shower Posse reportedly has branches in over 20 US cities, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Phillips himself earned the wrath of People's National Party (PNP) supporters when, during his tenure at the security ministry, Clansman boss and known PNP supporter, Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett, was cut down in hail of police bullets at a palatial residence in Tanarkie, Clarendon in November 2005.
In the aftermath of Bennett's death, irate PNP supporters burnt effigies of Phillips and T-shirts bearing his image in sections of St Catherine and Clarendon.
Party insiders say Bennett's demise may have cost Phillips the leadership of the PNP in the contentious presidential race which he lost to Portia Simpson Miller in September 2008.
May 09, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Monday, April 5, 2010
US probing 3 Jamaican Government Ministers
‘Dudus’ Grand Jury says officials blocking information
BY INVESTIGATIVE COVERAGE UNIT icu@jamaicaobserver.com
THREE unnamed senior government ministers are now under the microscope of the Grand Jury of the Southern District Court of New York which indicted Christopher 'Dudus' Coke last August on alleged gun and drug trafficking charges.
Well-informed Observer sources said the Americans are contending that the Jamaican Government officials had conspired to prevent information from reaching the Grand Jury in the Coke case — the latest in the fallout from the Manatt Phelps and Phillips law firm controversy.
Investigators probing breaches of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) involving the Government of Jamaica, and the US law firm are piecing together evidence they say will expose the alleged link between the government officials, Manatt Phelps and Phillips, and Coke, the Tivoli Gardens strongman.
The Observer sources said the investigators were focusing on two areas: conspiracy to prevent information reaching the Grand Jury, and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The investigators believe that the firm's service was retained by officials connected to the Government, to lobby Washington not to pressure Jamaica to extradite Coke. In that regard, several influential Americans connected to the US administration were contacted by the law firm, including the administration's nominee as Ambassador to Niger.
"A file from the probe was sent to the Grand Jury, in which the finger was pointed directly at the law firm and the Jamaican Government and the continued delay in the extradition warrant being discharged," the source said.
Opposition spokesman, Dr Peter Phillips who first raised the Manatt, Phelps and Phillips issue in the Parliament, said Good Friday that the matter was still wide open, as information filed by the company to United States officials up to Holy Thursday and that provided by government officials here was at variance.
"No, it's not over. It can't be over when the disparity between the two positions, that of the Government, and that of the firm, leaves too many unanswered questions..." Phillips told the Observer.
The Government said it had no dealings with Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, while the firm is maintaining that it had represented the Government and was paid US$50,000 on its US$100,000 invoice.
April 05, 2010
jamaicaobserver
BY INVESTIGATIVE COVERAGE UNIT icu@jamaicaobserver.com
THREE unnamed senior government ministers are now under the microscope of the Grand Jury of the Southern District Court of New York which indicted Christopher 'Dudus' Coke last August on alleged gun and drug trafficking charges.
Well-informed Observer sources said the Americans are contending that the Jamaican Government officials had conspired to prevent information from reaching the Grand Jury in the Coke case — the latest in the fallout from the Manatt Phelps and Phillips law firm controversy.
Investigators probing breaches of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) involving the Government of Jamaica, and the US law firm are piecing together evidence they say will expose the alleged link between the government officials, Manatt Phelps and Phillips, and Coke, the Tivoli Gardens strongman.
The Observer sources said the investigators were focusing on two areas: conspiracy to prevent information reaching the Grand Jury, and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The investigators believe that the firm's service was retained by officials connected to the Government, to lobby Washington not to pressure Jamaica to extradite Coke. In that regard, several influential Americans connected to the US administration were contacted by the law firm, including the administration's nominee as Ambassador to Niger.
"A file from the probe was sent to the Grand Jury, in which the finger was pointed directly at the law firm and the Jamaican Government and the continued delay in the extradition warrant being discharged," the source said.
Opposition spokesman, Dr Peter Phillips who first raised the Manatt, Phelps and Phillips issue in the Parliament, said Good Friday that the matter was still wide open, as information filed by the company to United States officials up to Holy Thursday and that provided by government officials here was at variance.
"No, it's not over. It can't be over when the disparity between the two positions, that of the Government, and that of the firm, leaves too many unanswered questions..." Phillips told the Observer.
The Government said it had no dealings with Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, while the firm is maintaining that it had represented the Government and was paid US$50,000 on its US$100,000 invoice.
April 05, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Jamaica: Extradition or not ... Coke is it!
Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter:
COKE
Christopher 'Dudus' Coke will remain on the United States most-wanted list even if he is not extradited by the Jamaican authorities.
An official of the US Attorney's Office says the west Kingston strongman known as the 'President' will remain a priority for American law-enforcement agencies even if the Bruce Golding administration decides not to send him to America for trial based on the present extradition request.
"The indictment and the extradition are two separate things. The indictment is the charges against him, and the charges still stand," said Rebekah Carmichael, who is attached to the United States Attorney's public information office for the Southern District of New York.
Carmichael told The Sunday Gleaner: "The indictment still stands whether a defendant is extradited or not. The indictment continues to exist, the charges continue to exist."
As a result, Coke remains on the US Department of Justice's list of Consolidated Priority Organisation Targets, which includes the world's most dangerous narcotics kingpins.
No comment
Carmichael declined to say what measures US authorities were prepared to implement to ensure that Coke faces the court. "I would not be able to comment on that, we have no comment," she said.
She also refused to comment on the Jamaican Government's decision not to sign the request for the extradition of Coke.
At the time the indictment was issued against Coke, Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, described the charges against him as "another important step in our bringing to justice the world's most dangerous criminals, wherever they may be found".
Coke is "charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms. If convicted on the narcotics charge, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a fine of up to (US)$4 million, or twice the pecuniary gain from the offence," read a section of a release issued by the US Attorney's Office last August.
Since then, Prime Minister Bruce Golding has argued that that there is an insufficiency of credible evidence to substantiate a criminal charge against Coke, and that the other available evidence was obtained in breach of the Interception of Com-munications Act, 2002.
While the prime minister did not rule out honouring the extradition request, he argued that the Government would have to be presented with information in accordance with Jamaican law.
The Government has also asked the US authorities to disclose the name of the police officer who passed the intercepted communication to them.
Under local laws, the policeman, so far identified only as 'John Doe', was not authorised to pass the information to the US authorities and committed a criminal offence.
But so far, the Americans have refused to disclose the name of the police officer or state if he is still in Jamaica.
This has led to a stalemate, which the US argues, can be resolved by placing the extradition request before the Jamaican courts, while the Golding administration claims that both parties should sit and try to arrive at an amicable solution.
tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com
March 21, 2010
jamaica-gleaner
COKE
Christopher 'Dudus' Coke will remain on the United States most-wanted list even if he is not extradited by the Jamaican authorities.
An official of the US Attorney's Office says the west Kingston strongman known as the 'President' will remain a priority for American law-enforcement agencies even if the Bruce Golding administration decides not to send him to America for trial based on the present extradition request.
"The indictment and the extradition are two separate things. The indictment is the charges against him, and the charges still stand," said Rebekah Carmichael, who is attached to the United States Attorney's public information office for the Southern District of New York.
Carmichael told The Sunday Gleaner: "The indictment still stands whether a defendant is extradited or not. The indictment continues to exist, the charges continue to exist."
As a result, Coke remains on the US Department of Justice's list of Consolidated Priority Organisation Targets, which includes the world's most dangerous narcotics kingpins.
No comment
Carmichael declined to say what measures US authorities were prepared to implement to ensure that Coke faces the court. "I would not be able to comment on that, we have no comment," she said.
She also refused to comment on the Jamaican Government's decision not to sign the request for the extradition of Coke.
At the time the indictment was issued against Coke, Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, described the charges against him as "another important step in our bringing to justice the world's most dangerous criminals, wherever they may be found".
Coke is "charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms. If convicted on the narcotics charge, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a fine of up to (US)$4 million, or twice the pecuniary gain from the offence," read a section of a release issued by the US Attorney's Office last August.
Since then, Prime Minister Bruce Golding has argued that that there is an insufficiency of credible evidence to substantiate a criminal charge against Coke, and that the other available evidence was obtained in breach of the Interception of Com-munications Act, 2002.
While the prime minister did not rule out honouring the extradition request, he argued that the Government would have to be presented with information in accordance with Jamaican law.
The Government has also asked the US authorities to disclose the name of the police officer who passed the intercepted communication to them.
Under local laws, the policeman, so far identified only as 'John Doe', was not authorised to pass the information to the US authorities and committed a criminal offence.
But so far, the Americans have refused to disclose the name of the police officer or state if he is still in Jamaica.
This has led to a stalemate, which the US argues, can be resolved by placing the extradition request before the Jamaican courts, while the Golding administration claims that both parties should sit and try to arrive at an amicable solution.
tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com
March 21, 2010
jamaica-gleaner
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Jamaica: Aftermath of the Dudus extradition
Mark Wignall
A week or so after the extradition, downtown Kingston, effectively void of its 'protector', has become one vast no-man's land. The outburst of violence began at the moment his extradition was announced.
Police personnel in full battle gear and soldiers from the JDF are out in their numbers, day and night, but for all the good that their presence has done to ensure a full or even partial return of commercial activity, they could have instead remained at their homes or at their assigned stations.
The spate of shootings in two weeks has left 20 dead, comprising three members of the security forces, eight vendors, three shoppers, one storeowner and five young men described by the CCN as "gunmen who had brazenly opened fire on the security forces using high-powered automatic weaponry".
The 20 dead are, however, just those confined to the immediate environs of downtown Kingston. From Flanker in St James all the way to Yallahs in the east, the violent flare-ups have been very unpredictable, but the biggest problem facing the security forces is the seeming ability of the roving bands of gunmen to strike and then blend seamlessly into the various communities. So far the death toll related to these sporadic outbursts of violence outside of the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) has been 15, including two additional members of the security forces, eight members of the public and five gunmen.
Two days ago, a statement made by the prime minister explaining his reasons for accepting the resignation of Security Minister Dwight Nelson, by my own gleanings at street level, has been received by the public with much scepticism. "Nelson neva did a gwaan good anyway. But fi fire di man now is only trying to mek it look like seh him a du sup'm. Dat cyaan fool wi. A him fi resign."
In his statement, the prime minister made it clear that the security forces would have the matter under control "in a matter of days". When pressed by Cliff Hughes to give the nation an indication as to when a new security minister would be appointed, a visibly peeved Golding stared down Hughes and shot back, "The priority now is stemming the tide of violence that has gripped this nation for the last two weeks. That has to be the nation's priority! Next question."
Over the last two days, most businessplaces in the KMA, Spanish Town, May Pen, and to a lesser extent in key sections on the outskirts of the second city, have remained closed as fear becomes the only commodity in the marketplace. Three days ago when I drove along sections of Red Hills Road, lower Constant Spring Road, Hope Road and upper Maxfield Avenue, I saw little activity except vehicles carrying soldiers and police. Thoroughfares such as Grants Pen Road, Waltham Park Road, Olympic Way and Spanish Town Road are not places I would advise readers of this column to pass through.
The sense I had was that the security forces were confounded by the sporadic outburst of gunfire. With a dusk-to-dawn curfew in most parish capitals, some main towns and key sections of both cities, the country seems ready to roll over and go to bed for a long spell.
As it appears, there is some evidence that gunmen with notional attachments to the PNP have been teaming up with those in the forefront; various spokespersons in the PNP have been calling for an islandwide state of emergency. Meanwhile, the information minister has dismissed the idea that the prime minister has formally requested the Americans to send in the Marines.
What happens if Dudus stays
OK, before you start to conclude that I am a purveyor of fear and that I am selling it in support of the JLP administration's refusal to sign the extradition order for Mr Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, boss of all bosses in West Kingston, let me simply state that I was merely attempting to give you my best version of likely happenings based on how the grand game of politics, in the last 50 years, has meshed with the street elements in order to ensure that the JLP and PNP tribes can remain in their parasitic relationship with the people of this country.
A well-known, highly successful businessman who is a friend, wrote recently, "What if I said that the feeling I get, outside of the partisan biases, is that the greatest fear among the citizenry has to do with a feeling that Dudus brings a sense of stability and that this would change to anarchy were he removed... A fear of the perceived awesome firepower in the hands of men incapable of reason and seeking only individual power, in the many islandwide communities that are under the sphere of influence of Tivoli -- The Mother of all Garrisons, according to former Commissioner Hardley Lewin -- bearing in mind the alleged superior firepower and the many in the police force who were schooled and placed there deliberately by dons."
The PNP when it was in power never failed to provoke Tivoli Gardens into violent outbursts when it suited them to do so. I am not saying that the gunmen in Tivoli Gardens were armed by the politicians because I have no evidence of this. Indeed, at this juncture of our sordid history where politicians have been neutered and the street elements attached to them no longer call them boss, the typical gunman in an inner-city community would probably balk at the idea that a politician gave him a gun.
Created by Eddie Seaga, Tivoli Gardens and the wider West Kingston constituency became the template for the PNP's response to fighting fire with fire. As the PNP's South St Andrew constituency became the first line of defence in hitting back at armed young men from Tivoli in the 1970s, the JLP ensured that Rema was well placed as a stub extending from its border with Denham Town a few blocks into South St Andrew.
Rema gunmen were the front-line warriors, ostensibly keeping the PNP horde from raiding further south and pushing Tivoli into the sea. When Rema behaved badly, its gunmen were always seen to be expendable. Just ask those old enough to recount the massacre carried out by Tivoli on Rema in 1984.
My friend added, for contextual support that, "This may very well be the opportunity to clean slate... but for this to be successful... superior, disciplined and coordinated intelligence and force would have to be applied from day one of any such initiative. The old truism 'one can't be half pregnant' is appropriate here."
He then asks a question which focuses on the ability of the state to summon the will to rescue its soul.
"Is Jamaica capable of this, when the target is a friend of those who must summon the political will, mobilise and coordinate this intelligence and force - having ostracised the most likely source of needed assistance? Some things are more easily said than done, and never lose sight of the fact that in Jamaica, the hierarchy is: Self, Party, then Country. This statesman thing is a mere chapter of our history not likely to be repeated."
Question: Who is the 'most likely source of the needed assistance'? No points for a correct answer.
From day one I had suggested that based on how the US extradition request had described the activities of Dudus, automatically his closest political allies would become his most feared enemies. But based on the information coming out of the JLP government, the US authorities must now go back and find some other grounds on which to make a new request.
Is the JLP government saying to the US government that it (the US) has breached that treaty? Let us appreciate that the JLP Cabinet has many members who are quick to give 'respect' to Dudus, therefore, as we know 'fear' follows 'respect'.
To say to the US authorities, "Hell no, he won't go" is to accept that if Mr Coke is as bad and influential as they say he is, then we in Jamaica ought to have known about it and done something about it. Essentially the Americans are saying, "Jamaica, you are incapable of running a viable country. You have accepted our money, our kindness. Now shut the @!/! up and abide by our treaty."
The power of the Americans to cripple our tourist industry by issuing travel advisories is probably the worst action that could be taken, but seeing that we will need every cent of tourism earnings in order to pay back the IMF, it is my view that the Americans will not be doing this any time soon.
If the Americans suspect that the Dudus they have investigated has surrogates with American visas, revoking those visas could be a start. Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way linking the revoking of Wayne Chen's visa with the Dudus extradition request.
The fact is, if Jamaica fails to exercise what most Jamaicans see as the sensible option, the US authorities can bring into play many surreptitious options that only a CIA operative could conjure up.
It is my personal belief that any decision to extradite Dudus lies squarely in Tivoli Gardens. But it could be that the Government is playing two hands in the one game.
On one hand, it opens up publicly and defends the 'sovereign rights of our citizens' and earns the wrath of the citizenry. On the other hand, the possibility is that it could be holding covert meetings with the US authorities simply because it knows that whatever the US wants, the US gets.
One online commentator summed it up as follows, "The only party that holds any cards, aside from Dudus, is the USA. Bruce Golding is simply a noisy spectator. This situation has made it clear that the coup d'état took place many years ago. Dudus is the King of Jamaica!"
March 07, 2010
jamaicaobserver
A week or so after the extradition, downtown Kingston, effectively void of its 'protector', has become one vast no-man's land. The outburst of violence began at the moment his extradition was announced.
Police personnel in full battle gear and soldiers from the JDF are out in their numbers, day and night, but for all the good that their presence has done to ensure a full or even partial return of commercial activity, they could have instead remained at their homes or at their assigned stations.
The spate of shootings in two weeks has left 20 dead, comprising three members of the security forces, eight vendors, three shoppers, one storeowner and five young men described by the CCN as "gunmen who had brazenly opened fire on the security forces using high-powered automatic weaponry".
The 20 dead are, however, just those confined to the immediate environs of downtown Kingston. From Flanker in St James all the way to Yallahs in the east, the violent flare-ups have been very unpredictable, but the biggest problem facing the security forces is the seeming ability of the roving bands of gunmen to strike and then blend seamlessly into the various communities. So far the death toll related to these sporadic outbursts of violence outside of the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) has been 15, including two additional members of the security forces, eight members of the public and five gunmen.
Two days ago, a statement made by the prime minister explaining his reasons for accepting the resignation of Security Minister Dwight Nelson, by my own gleanings at street level, has been received by the public with much scepticism. "Nelson neva did a gwaan good anyway. But fi fire di man now is only trying to mek it look like seh him a du sup'm. Dat cyaan fool wi. A him fi resign."
In his statement, the prime minister made it clear that the security forces would have the matter under control "in a matter of days". When pressed by Cliff Hughes to give the nation an indication as to when a new security minister would be appointed, a visibly peeved Golding stared down Hughes and shot back, "The priority now is stemming the tide of violence that has gripped this nation for the last two weeks. That has to be the nation's priority! Next question."
Over the last two days, most businessplaces in the KMA, Spanish Town, May Pen, and to a lesser extent in key sections on the outskirts of the second city, have remained closed as fear becomes the only commodity in the marketplace. Three days ago when I drove along sections of Red Hills Road, lower Constant Spring Road, Hope Road and upper Maxfield Avenue, I saw little activity except vehicles carrying soldiers and police. Thoroughfares such as Grants Pen Road, Waltham Park Road, Olympic Way and Spanish Town Road are not places I would advise readers of this column to pass through.
The sense I had was that the security forces were confounded by the sporadic outburst of gunfire. With a dusk-to-dawn curfew in most parish capitals, some main towns and key sections of both cities, the country seems ready to roll over and go to bed for a long spell.
As it appears, there is some evidence that gunmen with notional attachments to the PNP have been teaming up with those in the forefront; various spokespersons in the PNP have been calling for an islandwide state of emergency. Meanwhile, the information minister has dismissed the idea that the prime minister has formally requested the Americans to send in the Marines.
What happens if Dudus stays
OK, before you start to conclude that I am a purveyor of fear and that I am selling it in support of the JLP administration's refusal to sign the extradition order for Mr Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, boss of all bosses in West Kingston, let me simply state that I was merely attempting to give you my best version of likely happenings based on how the grand game of politics, in the last 50 years, has meshed with the street elements in order to ensure that the JLP and PNP tribes can remain in their parasitic relationship with the people of this country.
A well-known, highly successful businessman who is a friend, wrote recently, "What if I said that the feeling I get, outside of the partisan biases, is that the greatest fear among the citizenry has to do with a feeling that Dudus brings a sense of stability and that this would change to anarchy were he removed... A fear of the perceived awesome firepower in the hands of men incapable of reason and seeking only individual power, in the many islandwide communities that are under the sphere of influence of Tivoli -- The Mother of all Garrisons, according to former Commissioner Hardley Lewin -- bearing in mind the alleged superior firepower and the many in the police force who were schooled and placed there deliberately by dons."
The PNP when it was in power never failed to provoke Tivoli Gardens into violent outbursts when it suited them to do so. I am not saying that the gunmen in Tivoli Gardens were armed by the politicians because I have no evidence of this. Indeed, at this juncture of our sordid history where politicians have been neutered and the street elements attached to them no longer call them boss, the typical gunman in an inner-city community would probably balk at the idea that a politician gave him a gun.
Created by Eddie Seaga, Tivoli Gardens and the wider West Kingston constituency became the template for the PNP's response to fighting fire with fire. As the PNP's South St Andrew constituency became the first line of defence in hitting back at armed young men from Tivoli in the 1970s, the JLP ensured that Rema was well placed as a stub extending from its border with Denham Town a few blocks into South St Andrew.
Rema gunmen were the front-line warriors, ostensibly keeping the PNP horde from raiding further south and pushing Tivoli into the sea. When Rema behaved badly, its gunmen were always seen to be expendable. Just ask those old enough to recount the massacre carried out by Tivoli on Rema in 1984.
My friend added, for contextual support that, "This may very well be the opportunity to clean slate... but for this to be successful... superior, disciplined and coordinated intelligence and force would have to be applied from day one of any such initiative. The old truism 'one can't be half pregnant' is appropriate here."
He then asks a question which focuses on the ability of the state to summon the will to rescue its soul.
"Is Jamaica capable of this, when the target is a friend of those who must summon the political will, mobilise and coordinate this intelligence and force - having ostracised the most likely source of needed assistance? Some things are more easily said than done, and never lose sight of the fact that in Jamaica, the hierarchy is: Self, Party, then Country. This statesman thing is a mere chapter of our history not likely to be repeated."
Question: Who is the 'most likely source of the needed assistance'? No points for a correct answer.
From day one I had suggested that based on how the US extradition request had described the activities of Dudus, automatically his closest political allies would become his most feared enemies. But based on the information coming out of the JLP government, the US authorities must now go back and find some other grounds on which to make a new request.
Is the JLP government saying to the US government that it (the US) has breached that treaty? Let us appreciate that the JLP Cabinet has many members who are quick to give 'respect' to Dudus, therefore, as we know 'fear' follows 'respect'.
To say to the US authorities, "Hell no, he won't go" is to accept that if Mr Coke is as bad and influential as they say he is, then we in Jamaica ought to have known about it and done something about it. Essentially the Americans are saying, "Jamaica, you are incapable of running a viable country. You have accepted our money, our kindness. Now shut the @!/! up and abide by our treaty."
The power of the Americans to cripple our tourist industry by issuing travel advisories is probably the worst action that could be taken, but seeing that we will need every cent of tourism earnings in order to pay back the IMF, it is my view that the Americans will not be doing this any time soon.
If the Americans suspect that the Dudus they have investigated has surrogates with American visas, revoking those visas could be a start. Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way linking the revoking of Wayne Chen's visa with the Dudus extradition request.
The fact is, if Jamaica fails to exercise what most Jamaicans see as the sensible option, the US authorities can bring into play many surreptitious options that only a CIA operative could conjure up.
It is my personal belief that any decision to extradite Dudus lies squarely in Tivoli Gardens. But it could be that the Government is playing two hands in the one game.
On one hand, it opens up publicly and defends the 'sovereign rights of our citizens' and earns the wrath of the citizenry. On the other hand, the possibility is that it could be holding covert meetings with the US authorities simply because it knows that whatever the US wants, the US gets.
One online commentator summed it up as follows, "The only party that holds any cards, aside from Dudus, is the USA. Bruce Golding is simply a noisy spectator. This situation has made it clear that the coup d'état took place many years ago. Dudus is the King of Jamaica!"
March 07, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Cases of 'bullying' US politics
Analysis by Rickey Singh
IT would be a pity if the rest of our Caribbean Community governments do not see it necessary to acquaint themselves with the circumstances of the current sharp dispute between Jamaica and the United States over Washington's demand for the extradition of Jamaican Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding should consider briefing his Caricom counterparts, if he has not already done so, as well as have a candid discussion with the parliamentary Opposition.
For what is at stake seems to be much more than the individual human rights of Coke, regardless of the fact that he is the strongman in the Tivoli Gardens community -- a known political stronghold of the prime minister's governing Jamaica Labour Party.
The very sovereignty of Jamaica seems to be at stake in its Government's defence of its constitutional right, within the framework of an existing bilateral extradition treaty it has with the USA, which would require extending that right for a ruling by the courts in Jamaica BEFORE Coke could be handed over to US authorities, or that such a process be denied.
Given the commitment to the rule of law in our Caribbean civilisation, it is good to have an independent judicial system as final arbiter in the current dispute over the extradition of a Jamaican wanted by American authorities for alleged narco-trafficking and related crimes.
In a sense, the explosion of the bitter extradition row resulting from Jamaica's refusal to extradite Coke is a classic case of déjà vu in terms of relations between Washington and Kingston under different administrations.
As it was under previous governments of the now Opposition People's National Party (PNP), and the administrations of both presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, Jamaica remains a favourite "punching bag" in America's diversion to cover up its own woeful failures to effectively deal with its immense problem as the world's biggest consumer of illegal drugs as well as its involvement in gun-running linked to narco-trafficking.
This observation should not be misconstrued as support for Coke, or any other Jamaican or Caricom national whose alleged criminal activities can threaten national security as well as undermine good bilateral relations with the USA and other traditional external allies.
The 'Coke extradition case' reminds us of other instances of the USA wielding the 'big stick' to force small and poor states in this and other regions to genuflect to the assumed legal demands of Washington.
'Silver Dollar' and 'Shiprider'
A typical example of the USA's 'big stick' approach would be the threatened financial sanctions against Jamaica by the then Bill Clinton administration over a then PNP government, led by PJ Patterson, amid a raging bitter dispute involving alleged violations under of a then prevailing Maritime Counter-Narcotics Co-operation Agreement (the 1996 case of the fishing boat Silver Dollar).
A shining example of Caricom solidarity was demonstrated at an extraordinary summit in Barbados hosted by then Prime Minister Owen Arthur.
It was to frustrate Washington, which had threatened sanctions with the emergence of major changes to controversial provisions in the "Maritime Counter-Narcotics (Shiprider) Agreement" which, for its part, Trinidad and Tobago had earlier hastily signed in its original format.
Jamaica's signing with the USA of the revised protocol to the 1997 'Shiprider' pact had ended a chilling episode of political tension, and new cordial relations were flowering in Kingston (then under PNP rule) and other Caricom capitals with the USA when President Clinton showed up in Barbados in May 1997 for the historic summit that resulted in a far-reaching "Partnership for Sovereignty and Security".
Subsequently, however, under the administration of President George W Bush, there was to be another example of bullying tactics by a Washington administration against small and vulnerable economies.
In this case it was related to Caribbean countries that signed and ratified the Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to concur with a demand from Washington to exonerate from extradition US citizens wanted by the ICC for specific crimes.
Failure to agree, they were made to understand, would mean losing whatever military assistance they normally received from dear "Uncle Sam".
Such is Washington's concept of "democracy" and "sovereignty' when dealing with small and poor states like ours in the Caribbean -- something for which it is occasionally applauded by sections of the region's media.
Among the countries that had both signed and ratified the Rome Treaty were Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Antigua and Barbuda genuflected; Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines refused.
Jamaica, Guyana and St Lucia had signed but not ratified the treaty and, consequently, there was no need to pressure them into concurring with Washington's demand. These are just two examples of Uncle Sam's arrogance to push small and poor states into a corner.
Golding's Stand
In the current political episode involving Coke, Prime Minister Golding has made it clear that it is NOT a case of his Government's refusal to co-operate with Washington.
Jamaica's objection relates to the manner in which the USA was muscling its way to secure Coke's extradition, even to the extent of obtaining information illegally by violating key provisions of the Extradition Treaty between the two countries.
According to an irate Golding, who has vowed to pay, if necessary, "the political price" for his handling of the extradition request of August 25 last year, the evidence submitted is based on a violation of Jamaica's Interception of Communications Act.
He went on to state that "constitutional rights do not begin at Liguanea" (location of the United States Embassy in Kingston).
Given the nature of competitive party politics for state power, the Opposition PNP may have its own reason for an earlier press statement that accused the Golding administration of not "expeditiously" responding to the US request for the extradition of Coke.
Yet the PNP can hardly forget its own very unpleasant experiences while in government in dealing with differences with Washington on matters of narco-trafficking.
An example would be the impasse over the so-called Silver Dollar Affair that had led then Foreign Minister Seymour Mullings to accuse Washington of breaching Jamaica's sovereignty.
Cubana Tragedy
The Caribbean Community would be quite aware of Washington's unflattering record in honouring requests for the extradition of those in the USA wanted for outrageous criminal acts in other nations.
Foremost in the minds of Caribbean people would be two Cuban émigrés currently being sheltered in the USA from prosecution for their involvement in the 1976 bombing of the Cubana aircraft off Barbados in which all 73 people on board perished.
One of the terrorists in that Cubana tragedy, Orlando Bosch, a medical doctor, was given a presidential pardon by the senior George Bush, following his illegal entry into the USA after fleeing Venezuela, from where his partner in crime, Luis Posada Carriles, was to later escape. Carriles, after a 'protected' stay in Panama, also illegally entered the USA.
Washington continues to ignore Caricom's request for him to face a court trial for the biggest ever act of terrorism in a Caribbean jurisdiction.
March 07, 2010
jamaicaobserver
IT would be a pity if the rest of our Caribbean Community governments do not see it necessary to acquaint themselves with the circumstances of the current sharp dispute between Jamaica and the United States over Washington's demand for the extradition of Jamaican Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding should consider briefing his Caricom counterparts, if he has not already done so, as well as have a candid discussion with the parliamentary Opposition.
For what is at stake seems to be much more than the individual human rights of Coke, regardless of the fact that he is the strongman in the Tivoli Gardens community -- a known political stronghold of the prime minister's governing Jamaica Labour Party.
The very sovereignty of Jamaica seems to be at stake in its Government's defence of its constitutional right, within the framework of an existing bilateral extradition treaty it has with the USA, which would require extending that right for a ruling by the courts in Jamaica BEFORE Coke could be handed over to US authorities, or that such a process be denied.
Given the commitment to the rule of law in our Caribbean civilisation, it is good to have an independent judicial system as final arbiter in the current dispute over the extradition of a Jamaican wanted by American authorities for alleged narco-trafficking and related crimes.
In a sense, the explosion of the bitter extradition row resulting from Jamaica's refusal to extradite Coke is a classic case of déjà vu in terms of relations between Washington and Kingston under different administrations.
As it was under previous governments of the now Opposition People's National Party (PNP), and the administrations of both presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, Jamaica remains a favourite "punching bag" in America's diversion to cover up its own woeful failures to effectively deal with its immense problem as the world's biggest consumer of illegal drugs as well as its involvement in gun-running linked to narco-trafficking.
This observation should not be misconstrued as support for Coke, or any other Jamaican or Caricom national whose alleged criminal activities can threaten national security as well as undermine good bilateral relations with the USA and other traditional external allies.
The 'Coke extradition case' reminds us of other instances of the USA wielding the 'big stick' to force small and poor states in this and other regions to genuflect to the assumed legal demands of Washington.
'Silver Dollar' and 'Shiprider'
A typical example of the USA's 'big stick' approach would be the threatened financial sanctions against Jamaica by the then Bill Clinton administration over a then PNP government, led by PJ Patterson, amid a raging bitter dispute involving alleged violations under of a then prevailing Maritime Counter-Narcotics Co-operation Agreement (the 1996 case of the fishing boat Silver Dollar).
A shining example of Caricom solidarity was demonstrated at an extraordinary summit in Barbados hosted by then Prime Minister Owen Arthur.
It was to frustrate Washington, which had threatened sanctions with the emergence of major changes to controversial provisions in the "Maritime Counter-Narcotics (Shiprider) Agreement" which, for its part, Trinidad and Tobago had earlier hastily signed in its original format.
Jamaica's signing with the USA of the revised protocol to the 1997 'Shiprider' pact had ended a chilling episode of political tension, and new cordial relations were flowering in Kingston (then under PNP rule) and other Caricom capitals with the USA when President Clinton showed up in Barbados in May 1997 for the historic summit that resulted in a far-reaching "Partnership for Sovereignty and Security".
Subsequently, however, under the administration of President George W Bush, there was to be another example of bullying tactics by a Washington administration against small and vulnerable economies.
In this case it was related to Caribbean countries that signed and ratified the Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to concur with a demand from Washington to exonerate from extradition US citizens wanted by the ICC for specific crimes.
Failure to agree, they were made to understand, would mean losing whatever military assistance they normally received from dear "Uncle Sam".
Such is Washington's concept of "democracy" and "sovereignty' when dealing with small and poor states like ours in the Caribbean -- something for which it is occasionally applauded by sections of the region's media.
Among the countries that had both signed and ratified the Rome Treaty were Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Antigua and Barbuda genuflected; Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines refused.
Jamaica, Guyana and St Lucia had signed but not ratified the treaty and, consequently, there was no need to pressure them into concurring with Washington's demand. These are just two examples of Uncle Sam's arrogance to push small and poor states into a corner.
Golding's Stand
In the current political episode involving Coke, Prime Minister Golding has made it clear that it is NOT a case of his Government's refusal to co-operate with Washington.
Jamaica's objection relates to the manner in which the USA was muscling its way to secure Coke's extradition, even to the extent of obtaining information illegally by violating key provisions of the Extradition Treaty between the two countries.
According to an irate Golding, who has vowed to pay, if necessary, "the political price" for his handling of the extradition request of August 25 last year, the evidence submitted is based on a violation of Jamaica's Interception of Communications Act.
He went on to state that "constitutional rights do not begin at Liguanea" (location of the United States Embassy in Kingston).
Given the nature of competitive party politics for state power, the Opposition PNP may have its own reason for an earlier press statement that accused the Golding administration of not "expeditiously" responding to the US request for the extradition of Coke.
Yet the PNP can hardly forget its own very unpleasant experiences while in government in dealing with differences with Washington on matters of narco-trafficking.
An example would be the impasse over the so-called Silver Dollar Affair that had led then Foreign Minister Seymour Mullings to accuse Washington of breaching Jamaica's sovereignty.
Cubana Tragedy
The Caribbean Community would be quite aware of Washington's unflattering record in honouring requests for the extradition of those in the USA wanted for outrageous criminal acts in other nations.
Foremost in the minds of Caribbean people would be two Cuban émigrés currently being sheltered in the USA from prosecution for their involvement in the 1976 bombing of the Cubana aircraft off Barbados in which all 73 people on board perished.
One of the terrorists in that Cubana tragedy, Orlando Bosch, a medical doctor, was given a presidential pardon by the senior George Bush, following his illegal entry into the USA after fleeing Venezuela, from where his partner in crime, Luis Posada Carriles, was to later escape. Carriles, after a 'protected' stay in Panama, also illegally entered the USA.
Washington continues to ignore Caricom's request for him to face a court trial for the biggest ever act of terrorism in a Caribbean jurisdiction.
March 07, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Jamaica: Golding's 'Dudus' dilemma
Golding and Lightbourne
A.E. Hueman, Contributor
Currently, Jamaica is in danger of becoming something of an international pariah. We were recently downgraded economically by both Bear Stearns and Moody's and also downgraded morally by Transparency International, but these are mere niceties in face of the thing that is threatening to demote us to the status of banana republic or rogue state.
This of course is the face-off between the Jamaican Government and the United States (US) in the matter of the extradition of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. The media are treating the matter gingerly, but already, two companies have received threats from his fans. The public seems to have adopted the attitude that the prime minister (PM) is between a rock and a hard place and is sitting back to watch. The circumstances deserve more attention.
Our seemingly unflappable PM is actually on a slippery slope teetering on the edge of an International Monetary Fund rejection and simultaneously trying to find a foothold as he walks barefoot along the razor's edge between antagonising the US and infuriating his volatile constituents, plus night and day wondering where he is going to find the next few billions to pay the nurses, or the teachers, or the police. And he is handling this ticking time bomb with all the aplomb of a pope - or someone who has O.D'd heavily on tranquillisers. The man is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. One has to applaud his phenomenal cool, but who can understand it?
Whatever one's opinion about the delay on the request to extradite Coke (and other unnamed prominent persons) to face drug and gun charges, any intelligent person must be aware of the gravity of the situation and the impact that the displeasure of the US will have and indeed may already be having on Jamaica's viability. Keep Coke, and we get the big stick from the leader of the free world; hand him over, and we may be able to repair some of the damage to our image and some access to meaningful economic assistance. It is not only the right thing to do, but the only sensible course to take.
Thus, it does appear that Bruce Golding and Dorothy Lightbourne would be best advised that for the good of this country they stop the legal titivating and filibustering and just hand over the multifaceted Mr Coke aka 'Dudus', 'Prezi' or 'The President'.
In Jamaica, Dudus is described as a businessman, show promoter, area leader and don; but in the US, the State Department is alleging that he is an illegal gun trader and a purveyor of dangerous and illegal drugs.
Of course, handing Coke over to the US authority will be unpleasant and possibly have some perilous consequences for residents, for Golding, and by extension, for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Risking civil unrest
Residents may suffer civil unrest, Golding may lose support in his constituency and could even lose his seat in the next election. Trouble is likely if Coke is indeed as popular, powerful and dangerous in this JLP garrison as he is made out to be. But is this really the case? Is it fear or love that controls his supporters? There may well be a large number of well-thinking residents who would prefer to live outside the shadow of a don.
If, as predicted, the removal of Dudus does cause riot and mayhem in Tivoli, it will be the job of the police (hopefully without the help of Reneto Adams) and the army to quell it. Are the prevalent rumours of plans for protests and insurrection and of Tivoli bristling with high-powered weapons true, or just greatly exaggerated? If they are true, is that not another good reason to send in the troops?
No two ways about it: the Dudus dilemma does present an enormous challenge to Golding, and by extension, to the JLP, and more important, to all Jamaica. Perhaps Golding sees the stand-off as a no-win situation in which he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't comply with international law and surrender the don to the US justice system. If Tivoli's response to the extradition is riot and mayhem and Golding has to send in the troops and invoke the Suppression of Crimes Act or call a State of Emergency just before the start of the tourist season, that's another blow to the economy and a double whammy to the economy and the JLP government.
Massive challenge
On the other hand, this massive challenge does come with a huge and enticing opportunity, an opportunity which, if intelligently and energetically used, can rid our island of a curse and transform Golding himself into a genuine National Hero.
Simply put, by cutting Dudus loose, Golding has a God-give opportunity to strike a crippling blow (hopefully the first of many such) against the corrupt gangland culture of the dons, which has taken over our many garrison constituencies, infiltrated mainstream politics, and is now threatening to get a stranglehold on both politics and society in Jamaica, land we love. Which politician would not rather become a National Hero than play second fiddle to a garrison don?
"There is a tide in the affairs of men
That taken at the flood leads on to fortune
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat
And we must take the current when it
serves
Or lose our ventures."
- William Shakespeare
Dear prime minister of Jamaica, we look to you to decide the better option.
Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
November 29, 2009
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