Letter of the Day | Dual citizenship and question of treason

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Two points made by Jamaica’s own griot, former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, in his presentation at the forum on constitutional reform held at The University of the West Indies this past Wednesday resonated with me. Mr Patterson asserted that should the head of the Jamaica Defence Force hold dual citizenship questions of treason would arise. He further stated that certain positions in government in a future constitution should not be held by dual citizens; on the list he gave were members of the Defence Board of Jamaica. As a former member of the military these statements immediately grabbed my attention.

The Defence Act (DA) 1962 established the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and at section 9 it establishes a defence board, “which shall”..., among other things, be responsible “under the general authority of the minister for the command of the defence force”. Section 10 of the DA names the members of the Defence Board: The minister responsible for defence, who shall be chairman of the board, The chief of defence staff, the permanent secretary in the ministry responsible for defence and a minister of the cabinet nominated by the prime minister. Prime ministers of Jamaica have, since independence, assumed the portfolio of minister of defence. So in practice the prime minister chairs the Defence Board which generally has authority for the administration of the JDF.

Section 9 of the DA authorises the prime minister to “give to the chief of defence staff such directions with respect to the operational use of the Defence Force in Jamaica”.

So, the prime minister also has direct operational authority over of the JDF.

In my view, being that the prime minister of Jamaica lawfully has both administrative authority, through the Defence Board, and direct operational authority, over the JDF, he is in fact the commander in chief of the Jamaica Defence Force.

Mr Patterson’s view that it would be treasonous for the chief of defence staff to hold dual citizenship thus provokes the question: wouldn’t the same principle apply to the commander in chief? Wouldn’t it be treasonous for, the prime minister of Jamaica, as commander in chief of the JDF, to hold dual citizenship? I can find no reason to disagree with the griot of this point.

ALWYN GREGORY