'A travesty of justice'

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

Though several members of the clergy say they have not yet had a chance to read the findings of the 58-page report on the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry, others are viewing it as woefully lacking.

The Reverend Karl Johnson, general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, said yesterday he was disturbed by what he had read so far.

"I get the impression that the commissioners are wanting us to believe that the whole series of events was just a comedy of errors," said Johnson.

"This country was almost brought to her knees, 73 people minimum died, and they are wanting us to believe that the whole thing was simply a comedy of error? If that is true, are we not just a nation of simpletons, with people in sensitive positions making all these mistakes? Something is wrong."

Accountability

Johnson said the whole matter of accountability remains unanswered and he is left with the view that the commission of enquiry was a very expensive non-event in a cash-strapped country.

Pastor Charles Francis, of the Faith United Church of God International, felt the report was a "travesty of justice".

"How can the commissioners say that, with how the whole thing was handled and led to the loss of so many lives and a series of unfortunate events, that it was just an 'error', a 'mistake' on the part of those responsible?" asked Francis.

"This is a slap in the face of the Jamaican public, a total disregard for human rights. It just confirms when others say there is no justice in Jamaica."

Francis felt more blame should be laid at the feet of those who were responsible.

"People should have been held criminally responsible, some people should have lost their jobs," he declared.

Francis said, in his view, the commissioners have taken a friendly approach in the report, careful not to step on any toes, make any harsh criticism, judgement or recommendation.

"I've always maintained from the beginning that the enquiry was a grand waste of time and money and this measly report just proves it. The commissioners acted ineffectively during the enquiry, so I honestly did not expect their findings to be any different," said the pastor.

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com