JAMAICA-SECURITY-Opposition blasts government over re-imposition of states of emergencies

KINGSTON, Jamaica, The leader of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, has criticized the decision of the Jamaica government to re-impose states of emergencies (SOEs) in several parishes after the authorities said murders had increased following the expiration of the emergency measure last week.

Golding has reiterated the opposition’s position that the use of SOEs as a policing tool is not a sustainable path forward for Jamaica and that the opposition believes that the repeated use of SOEs is unlawful.

“It subverts the basic scheme of our Constitution by allowing the Government to suspend the basic rights of the people in circumstances where it is not clearly justified by an immediate threat to our democratic system of government,” he said.

“The PNP is of the view that a strong security presence should be maintained in communities that are facing high levels of violence. The use of the soldiers and police in this way is permitted by our normal laws and does not require an SOE,” Golding added.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness Tuesday told a news conference that “since the end of the last state of emergency, we have seen, unfortunately, an increase in criminal activities in these areas and indeed a threat to property and, in some instances, public disorder.”

Commissioner of Police, Major General Anthony Anderson, said since the discontinuation of SOEs seven days ago, 22 murders have been committed across the island, with 17 of those killings occurring in areas where SOEs had expired in St Ann, Clarendon, St Catherine, St James, Westmoreland, Hanover and specified areas of Kingston and St Andrew.

Prime Minister Holness declared SOEs in the seven parishes on November 15, but the opposition refused to support a move to extend the SOE to January 14, 2023.

Holness, who left here on Tuesday for Washington, where he is slated to discuss security matters with several US state agencies, said that as the Christmas season approaches, there is a need to protect life and property.

“It is important to note that we are also approaching the Christmas season. This will be the first Christmas since the ending of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA), and already, we’re seeing and projecting an increase in activities, including entertainment activities increased commercial activities, and we already see a demand, a stretch on the resources that we have to guarantee the citizens that they will be able to go about their business in a safe and secure manner,” Holness said.

But in his statement, Golding said, “there was no consultation with the opposition prior to this decision being made; no briefing as to the specific security issues which are being relied on as justification for other rounds of SOEs.

“This clearly shows once again that the Government has no regard for the opposition. Mr. Holness prefers to be wrong and strong, pressing on with his SOE policy. His behavior indicates that he really does not want our support, no doubt believing that it is to his political advantage for the Government and Opposition to continue to be at odds over this issue.

“We do not see the use of SOEs as a policing tool as a sustainable path forward for Jamaica. Putting the majority of Jamaicans at risk of being detained for extended periods by police or soldiers without charge is no way to address Jamaica’s longstanding challenging problem of criminal violence.”

Golding said that many lives of lawful young Jamaicans have been disrupted and irreparably damaged by being held in detention without charge for long periods, “sometimes well in excess of a year, with a loss of their jobs and the stigma of being treated like common criminals.

“SOEs are just about detention. But detention is not a sustainable strategy for reducing violent crime. Detention does not involve proper police work –there is no investigation, case preparation, effective prosecution, and conviction in a court of law.

“SOEs, therefore, encourage sloppy law enforcement practices because anyone can be held and kept in custody without the police having to bring a case to court to hold the criminals accountable and make them pay for their wrongs,” he said, adding, “we do not believe that this repeated use of the SOEs is lawful.”

Golding said the logic of the Government’s approach would keep much of Jamaica under States of Emergency for years and years, with no strategy to get the real problem under control in a sustainable way.

“People are now fed up with wasting time in long lines of traffic at checkpoints. After two years of COVID, people are looking forward to enjoying their Christmas season and making some money from parties, shows, and other entertainment.

“People are angry to know that this will be disrupted by SOEs. People are not comfortable to know that they are at risk of being detained without charge during the SOEs if they do not comply with whatever they are told by the security forces,” Golding said, adding, “we also have issues with the SOE Regulations, as modified this year because they are excessive and easily abused:

“The Regulations make a criminal offense punishable by months of imprisonment if you do not answer any questions a police officer or soldier may put to you in an SOE area. The Regulations make a criminal offense punishable by months of imprisonment if you use “abusive language” in an SOE area.”

Golding said he had suggested a court-supervised procedure to allow known violence producers, on whom the police have credible intelligence, to be detained for a period of time to take them off the streets and out of their communities while a case is built against them that can sustain a charge.

“I have suggested seven days initial detention backed by a court order, with further 14-days periods if the court is satisfied that a case is being built towards bringing a charge. The detained person has the right to apply to the court for release if he can satisfy the court that he poses no credible risk of violence against others.

“After 49 days of court-supervised detention, the person must either be charged or released. If charged, he can be remanded in custody in the normal way,” he said, adding that “this mechanism balances the rights of the individual with the rights of the community by ensuring due process to the individual while also recognizing the need for law enforcement to have a mechanism to allow cases to be built against persons who are inclined to intimidate and even kill witnesses.”