Bruce Golding has said he will resign as party leader and as prime minister for reasons not clear – though there was some babble about the toll of the office.
It is the people of Tivoli Gardens, however, who could have and who should have called for his immediate resignation for the dastardly role that he played in last year’s Tivoli Gardens massacre, a constituency that he was elected to represent.
Furthermore, there is need for an immediate investigation to determine if he should be charged for his command responsibility in those crimes committed.
Genesis of Golding’s dastardly role in Tivoli Gardens' massacre
(1) Golding would have had to get the blessings of Christopher Coke to represent west Kingston and Tivoli in particular.
(2) Golding was made aware almost immediately after taking office that the US justice system was preparing to indict Coke for his involvement in drugs and gun trafficking.
(3) So intriguing is the possible relationship between Golding and Coke that the question was raised at the Manat Commission of Enquiry as to whether Golding had tipped off Coke about the indictment. The factual background to that question was that Golding was made aware by US sources of the indictment when it happened and Coke knew almost immediately according to wiretapped conversations. How did Coke find out so quickly?
(4) Golding tried to protect Coke by contending that the extradition request was based on wiretap evidence that violated Coke’s constitutional rights. Golding boasted in parliament that rather than betray Coke he was prepared pay the ultimate political price in order to defend those constitutional rights.
(5) Jamaican civil society refused to accept Golding’s position, and demanded his resignation.
(6) Rumours began to circulate that the Americans had either indicted Golding for obstructing the extradition of Coke or, had other damaging information regarding his association with Coke that could prove embarrassing or be used against in him other ways.
(7) Golding wilted under the pressure and after withdrawing his phony threat to resign betrayed Mr Coke’s constitutional rights by having his Attorney General approve the extradition.
(8) Clearly, it is still a moot point that Coke’s constitutional rights were in fact compromised by the manner in which wiretap evidence was shared with the Americans. Golding might very well have been on good legal grounds but his reasons were clearly opportunistic.
(9) With the convenient help of some criminal west Kingston sympathizers of Coke, two police stations were firebombed which created hysterical media headlines about the state being under attack. A political decision was taken to crush Tivoli Gardens. This was in order to demonstrate to the Americans and Jamaican civil society that Golding was not a criminal associate of Coke as had been alleged by a major American media outlet; that he was prepared to destroy the fearsome Shower Posse; and by so doing justified his continued role as prime minister. This was certainly the implicit understanding with so-called civil society groups.
(10) The crushing of Tivoli was not politically difficult for Golding. He had already gone through a dress rehearsal for this when he failed to raise his voice about the 2008 security forces execution of five young men in Tivoli Gardens. The military was integrally involved in that operation and Golding is the minister in charge of the army.
(11) The 2010 assault on Tivoli Gardens went like clock work. First a state of emergency –- Golding as prime minister would have played a major role in the Cabinet’s decision to suspend the constitutional rights of Jamaican citizens on very flimsy grounds.
(12) The military carried out a counter-insurgency operation ( which had been planned long in advance) and as minister in charge of the army and as head of the Jamaica Defence Board Golding would have been in the thick of broad plans for the operation. If he chose he could have had very intimate briefings of what was happening on the ground.
(13) Some residents claim that when the operation started and frantic calls were made to him about the executions and abuses he turned off his phone. Why?
(14) Golding does not have the moral authority to represent the people of Tivoli Gardens and on that basis alone his very late resignation is quite logical.
Golding has resigned and now it is time for the police commissioner to resign and to be investigated for his command over the police abuses that were carried out against unarmed Jamaican citizens.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
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