Commission of enquiry: Do we really want truth?

Orville Taylor

It is well awaited and overdue. More than 70 persons lost their lives, and among the casualties, the least noticed was the truth.

There are some irrefutable facts. The security forces were in pursuit of a reputed drug kingpin, so labelled by the American government. A warrant was signed by the minister of justice because of public pressure and no sound argument in law, despite a lengthy delay in doing so, because of being advised by her public servants, that there were legal reasons not to.

After the burning of a police station, the killing of members of the security forces prior to, and during, the 'shelling' of Tivoli Gardens, a chase ended with the fugitive dressed androgynously in the company of a clergyman. It was a man of the cloth who sometimes made prophecies, but never saw how the saga would have ended.

A commission of enquiry was hand-picked by the then prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Bruce Golding, to look into the circumstances surrounding the matter. It was a daily 'Daze of Our Lies'. In the end, the person who everyone wanted to hear from said nothing, one of the commissioners was as silent as a mouse, there was a mystery collaborator who allegedly unlawfully gave information to the Americans, a former security minister who seemed to have had a private agreement with a foreign power, and a security minister who had almost total amnesia. In the end, no one was found culpable.

official death toll

My personal friend, the public defender, investigated as well, and we waited with 'baited' breath for him to deliver the report, which was as fast forthcoming as the words or point when certain people speak. Finally, he recorded 76 civilian deaths, describing 44 as apparent extra-judicial killings, possibly forced disappearances and allegedly hundreds of arbitrary detentions. Wrongs were committed, but no one charged.

The terms of reference of this present manifestation are copious and inclusive and seem to ask the questions most of us want to have answered. These include investigating the rationale behind the state of emergency, conduct of the security forces, whether or not measures were taken to protect the residents of Tivoli Gardens, the conduct of criminal elements, how the fugitive was able to elude capture, if the human rights of the citizens were breached, if any government official had communicated with the fugitive, among others.

Amnesty International, still dissatisfied, feels that the commission should be charged to "refer matters to the relevant prosecutorial bodies ...". Furthermore, it should be required to assess the operations carried out by security forces against international human rights law, including specific international standards on the use of force and firearms." Also, it wants the enquiry and its findings to be public.

The truth is, this is much about nothing because there is no reason to believe that the police's use-of-force policy is below the international standard. Legal culpability naturally leads to prosecution, if so determined, and the Jamaican media generally have access to the information in such matters.

My concern, however, is, as we seek these answers and get ready for another gripping drama in this epic, I have to ask whether this commitment to openness is in all aspects of governance or solely because it puts the former administration under the spotlight.

There always seems to be some tit-for-tat between the political parties, on matters relating to the conduct of their counterparts, when they are in opposition. For example, in the early 1990s, former Minister of Labour J.A.G. Smith, along with his permanent secretary, Probyn Aiken, was convicted for misappropriating the funds in the overseas employment programme. At the time, it was a heroic thing to do, because this guardian of the welfare of the poor, Portia Simpson, was keen on protecting their hard-earned savings.

Cuban light- bulb programme

Similarly, 20-odd years later, when the JLP was in government, it discovered that there was something untoward with the Cuban light-bulb programme. While the matter is still in court and the former junior minister, Kern Spencer, and his associate are still innocent until proven guilty, what is important is that the investigations led to charges being laid. Nothing is wrong with the State investigating the behaviour of the former stewards and bringing charges if there is something to answer to.

The JLP had also initiated the FINSAC enquiry and, via the governor general, appointed a set of commissioners who had a mandate to deliver a report about the circumstances leading to the crash of the financial sector under the watch of the People's National Party (PNP). The report is incomplete and undelivered because the truth-seeking Government refuses to pay the requisite money for the full disclosure to be made. Would it take a different approach if the JLP were the administration in power then?

Bruce Golding had been strident in opposition when he opened the can of worms on the PNP's shady dealings with convicted Dutch oil-lifting company, Trafigura Beheer. This is the same person who later created a sham enquiry, where the critical witnesses, including him, gave the Jamaican people no real answers.

Later, the PNP, despite our following instructions by the party leader, Portia Simpson Miller, to "Ask the PNP!", gave us peripheral information. Moreover, it refused to cooperate with the Dutch government investigators despite its officers not being liable to prosecution, and even took the matter to Jamaica's highest court to prevent the full disclosure.

Even as we speak, there is an impasse among parliamentarians regarding the need for more and honest information being given to the Jamaican electorate concerning the impending logistics hub, which seems destined to turn the Goat Islands into a soup. Indeed, one wonders if there is any curry-goat feeding going on. Nevertheless, we wait.

Thus, while there is reason to be encouraged that we are going to get to the truth, these things help to make our Corruption Perception Index 38 per cent.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in sociology at the UWI and a radio talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.