EDITORIAL - Mr Witter and the Tivoli enquiry

We suppose there still exists an Office of the Public Defender and that Earl Witter remains its occupant.

If that is indeed the case, it is probable that Mr Witter and his office are in a cryogenic existence, waiting for the appropriate circumstance to be brought back to life. For we have heard little to nothing from Mr Witter since the flurry in the immediate aftermath of the release of his interim report into the deaths of at least 76 people during the incursion by the security forces. Another four persons were reported missing, and may well be dead.

That report was eight months ago, three years after the events that unfolded in Tivoli Gardens, and after many missed deadlines and embarrassments to Mr Witter's office and its sponsors.

Mr Witter, as was anticipated, recommended the establishment of a commission of enquiry into the Tivoli Gardens issue, arguing that there was prima facie evidence that many of the victims of the incursion were victims of extrajudicial killings, but that a deeper investigation was beyond the competence and jurisdiction of his office.

GUNFIGHT IN TIVOLI

The security forces went to arrest strongman and confessed drug dealer and gunrunner Christopher Coke, whose supporters blockaded the community. His militia engaged the police and soldiers in gun battles.

The response, Mr Witter suggests, was disproportionate.

Half a year ago, the Government published draft terms of reference for such an enquiry, but is yet to disclose the final scope within which an enquiry would be allowed to range.

This newspaper has also now reported that the Cabinet will, in a fortnight, begin to review the names of potential commissioners, for whom a search began soon after the publication of Mr Witter's report.

A point to recall is that Mr Witter declared his report an interim one, a fact repeated scores of times in the voluminous document.

A substantial part of the problem in completing the job, the public defender claimed, was the inability of the Government's forensic laboratory to complete, in time, the ballistic reports on weapons used in Tivoli Gardens.

GREATER URGENCY NEEDED

Nearly a year on, the public has had no indication from Mr Witter whether he has been able to advance his work. Indeed, our sense of Mr Witter as organisationally incompetent, leading to a kind of managerial paranoia, is revived.

Given the latest developments, it is urgent that Mr Witter says when - or if - he will produce a final report, and whether he will require more coaxing, hand-holding and outside assistance, as was facilitated by the Speaker of Parliament in the first go, to get the job done.

In the meantime, we urge the Government to quickly publish the revised terms of reference of the proposed enquiry, to allow for a final public input, and to ensure that the hearings get at the truth, rather than merely produce political theatre and electoral fodder for the governing party. The administration must ensure that the commissioners are of a stature that will command respect and public confidence.

The Government, as appears to be its intention, must not delay the enquiry to fit the electoral cycle, which may mean getting it going even if Mr Witter remains in his cryogen.

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