‘Troubling’…JFJ calls for reform following altercations involving soldiers and residents
Published:Friday | May 6, 2022 | 1:09 PM
Human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) says it is deeply troubled by the recent videos emerging of altercations between civilians and members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) in Denham Town.
A new round of turbulence erupted on Thursday afternoon as a pregnant woman clashed with soldiers – the second major conflict in the crime-plagued western Kingston community which has been under a security blanket for almost five years.
The latest allegation is the second abuse claim in consecutive days after soldiers were recorded in amateur video striking a woman and man amid escalating tensions between civilians and the army.
JFJ says it is concerned about the excessive use of violence meted out to residents, in particular women.
Regardless of the situation, there are rules of engagement that agents of the state are required to abide by when dealing with citizens, it asserted.
The organisation is contending that the actions of the soldiers run counter to the very message of the state in reducing violence against women.
“How could a soldier, who is trained for conflict and armed with a rifle, deem it appropriate to shove an unarmed woman, kick another who appears to be pregnant, point a gun in her face or attempt to use his gun to hit her? That display is unfortunate and is suggestive of a wider societal issue of gender-based violence, even among those who are expected to uphold the law,” said a spokesperson in a statement today.
“While members of the security forces must be able to defend themselves if their lives are threatened, proportionality must always be considered and efforts made by said state agents to de-escalate tense situations,” the spokesperson added.
JFJ says it is disturbing that there are members of the public who believe the response of the soldiers was warranted.
“There clearly needs to be social norms change, as part of a violence-reduction campaign being championed by stakeholders including government and academia, as well as a re-thinking of how some members of the public view the marginalised poor and those from low-income communities.”
The human rights group is arguing that the incidents once again put the spotlight on the manner in which the security forces are deployed for an extended time within poor communities as part of the government's thrust to fight crime.
“With INDECOM [Independent Commission of Investigations] 2020-2021 statistics showing a rise in incidents of excessive force involving the JDF, we remain concerned about the effects of enhanced security measures.
“While we understand the complex nature of our crime problem and the difficulties faced in stemming said problem, we urge the government and the security forces to comprehensively review how the crime-fighting strategies can have less damaging effects on entire communities.”
Further, JFJ believes that the country and all lawmakers must also examine the issue of the trust deficit that exists between civilians and members of the security forces.
“The videos display the inevitable consequences of deploying soldiers into poor and marginalised communities for such an extended time. It must be noted that residents within the communities have faced a history of abuse by security forces and the altercation is an unfortunate outcome of same.”
JFJ is joining calls for a swift and thorough investigation of the incidents and allegations of abuse and has welcomed news that INDECOM has already commenced an investigation into the matter.
The organisation believes that, at this time, it would also be appropriate for the JDF, which is also conducting its own investigations, to clarify the status of the officers in question as it believes that those involved must be removed from frontline duty pending the outcome of the probe.
It also wants the full report, once complete, to be made public in the interest of transparency.
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