Peter Espeut | Why I can’t support the PNP or the JLP

The bloody saga playing out in Spanish Town has reinforced my conviction not to support the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) or the People’s National Party (PNP).

For decades much of the criminal activity in Spanish Town and its environs has been controlled and perpetrated by two gangs: the One Order Gang affiliated with the JLP, and the Clansman gang affiliated with the PNP. This is not a clandestine affiliation; it is open and admitted by politicians from both sides.

Both gangs “control” territory in Spanish Town, meaning that they claim the exclusive right to collect millions of dollars in extortion money there. If the commercial interests in the territory they “control” refuse to pay up, “a fire of unknown origin” may soon engulf their premises. The interests usually pay up! The hundreds of millions of dollars collected are used to buy weapons and to buy the support of residents (e.g., school fees, lunch money, funeral expenses) and politicians (donations, contributions).

And what do politicians get out of it other than a cut of the proceeds? These local enforcers deliver election victories in what we have come to call “garrison constituencies”.

Now, you tell me: how do responsible political parties that seek decent and honest people as members, allow criminal gangs to claim affiliation? How do decent people affiliate themselves with the PNP and the JLP knowing that in doing so you become associated with the Clansman Gang or the One Order Gang?

Which PNP politician has renounced any party links with the Clansman Gang, and handed over information to the police? Which JLP politician has renounced any party links with the One Order Gang, and handed over information to the police? If either of these things has happened, I missed it!

COLLUDED

What I have not missed is the fact that politicians of both stripes have colluded to enact legislation that keeps the sources and amounts of political donations secret. This allows garrison criminal gangs to continue to fund their political patrons.

How could I lend my support to political parties like those?

This phenomenon is not restricted to Spanish Town. Western Kingston – where the “garrison” phenomenon began – is even more archetypal. Tivoli Gardens – referred to as the “mother of all garrisons” by a sitting commissioner of police – was home base of the ‘Shower Posse’ led by the Coke dynasty for two generations. Affiliated with the JLP, Tivoli Gardens was a fortress, where entry was restricted, and crime was extremely low (the Cokes made sure of that).

Also in western Kingston was the PNP-affiliated ‘Spanglers Crew’ led by Donald ‘Zeeks’ Phipps. Both the Shower Posse and Spanglers claimed their separate exclusive territory in the city of Kingston which they brought under their “control” through violence, extortion, drug-dealing and arms-trafficking.

What seemed incongruous to me was that Zeeks was arrested, charged, and convicted for murder while the PNP occupied Jamaica House. Enquiries of insiders revealed that possibly Zeeks had overstepped, and run afoul of his patrons.

But when the US requested the JLP government of Bruce Golding for the extradition of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke – aka Prezzi – on drug-dealing and money-laundering charges, the government/ruling party employed extraordinary means to prevent it, including the hiring of an influential lobbyist in Washington, DC to persuade the US government to drop the extradition request. Well-heeled Jamaican private sector interests allegedly provided the US-dollar funding needed to retain the expensive lobbyist.

The collusion between the PNP and the JLP to ensure that the sources and amounts of political donations are kept secret, means that – decades later – the Jamaican public still does not know who provided the required thousands of US dollars to defend the gangster garrison Don.

Dudus was eventually extradited, and the US justice system did what the Jamaican justice system has been unable or unwilling to do, convict and imprison an in-favour garrison Don!

GARRISON COMMUNITIES

PNP and JLP garrison communities are the creations of Jamaican politicians using taxpayers’ money. The JLP started it (and they built three), and the PNP has followed suit (and they built eight). Neither party has shown any inclination to dismantle them, and disaffiliate from the gangsters that support their hegemony.

How can I in good conscience offer my support to either of these two evil institutions? Judging from the declining turnout in national elections, many of my fellow citizens agree with me!

I have friends who support the JLP and the PNP, and have even run for public office on their tickets. When I have asked how they can associate with garrison politicians and gangsters, they deny that they do. “I do not support that sort of behaviour,” they will protest! But the fact is that they are guilty by association. They have decided to compromise any high moral standards they might have set for themselves. By saying nothing (even while swallowing their spit) and playing along with the system, they contribute to the problem.

The business class that donates to the PNP and the JLP are just as guilty, as their money lubricates the wheels of corruption. Many of them pay the extortion money, and include it as a normal cost of doing business in Jamaica. They are also part of the problem.

So now, in Spanish Town, factions of the JLP-affiliated One Order Gang are killing off each other. The JLP MPs deny paternity, and the prime minister says it is a national emergency. Even before the killing restarted, the whole phenomenon was a national scandal!

How long will decent law-abiding Jamaicans put up with this sham of a democracy?

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and development scientist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com