'Not much has changed since Coral Gardens incident'

Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Chairman of the Coral Gardens Committee, Ras Iyah-V, says the Jamaica Constabulary Force continues to operate contrary to its own policies and seems to be caught in a time bubble from the 1963 incident at Coral Gardens when Rastas were being denied the legitimacy they deserved.

Ras Iyah-V was speaking at a public lecture and panel discussion hosted by third-year students of the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communications (CARIMAC) at the University of the West Indies, Western Jamaica Campus under the theme 'The Impact of Coral Gardens: Lessons in Police-Citizen Relations and the Way Forward'.

Ras Iyah-V said that while the atrocities of 1963 have not been repeated, Rastas continue to be denied rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

"It happened 50 years ago, and I give thanks that we could be discussing it now, not in isolation, but in relation to other incidents. Rastafarians have never been in a position where I an' I an' I can seh I an' I enjoy my constitutional rights and that continue until today," he said.

In The Gleaner's account of the Coral Gardens incident, published on April 13, 1963, it was reported that pursuant to a land dispute between some (bearded) men and landowners, a gang of Rastafarians, armed with machetes and daggers, launched a Holy Thursday rampage that left eight men, including two policemen, dead.

Ras Iyah-V also said a strong lesson must be learnt from the 2010 Tivoli Gardens incursion, and that what happened to Rastafarians in 1963 could happen to any Jamaican citizen.

"Funny enough, in 2010, Tivoli was attacked and at the time, the member of parliament for Tivoli was no other than (former) Prime Minister Bruce Golding. The message sent was clear that what happened to Rastafari in 1963 can happen to anybody, irrespective of who you are, irrespective of your political persuasion, irrespective of your religious belief," he said.

INCORRECT ACCOUNT

News editor at the Gleaner's Western Bureau, Adrian Frater, in his presentation sought to rewrite the account of the incident, indicating in no uncertain terms that the information reported was erroneous, though it seemed to have been classified as true by the authorities.

"The 1963 event was a major blot on the nation's early history as it made a mockery of the national mission statement, the motto 'Out of Many, One People'. Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that Rastafari was not really at the centre of that incident. The persons who were involved in the initial incident - they might have been sympathisers, but they were not Rastafarians," Frater said.

"On account of that now 50-year-old lie, the Rastafarian community was labelled as dangerous and subversive, which opened the gate to the State-sanctioned oppression that followed. I believe that, had the truth been told, the police would not have had any reason to challenge legitimate Rastafarians and would not have felt comfortable obeying an order and hurt them," Frater added.