Jamaicans For Justice and Public Defender seek to whitewash Tivoli Massacre

Human rights group, Jamaicans for Justice, is reportedly calling upon the newly elected PNP government to set up a Commission of Enquiry into the May 2010 Tivoli Gardens security forces massacre of at least 73 people. Some residents dispute this official figure and claim that as many as 200 people may have been killed.

While it is alarming that after nearly two years the state has given no indication of an interest to investigate what happened it is also true that the call for a Commission of Enquiry, which is being supported by the Public Defender, is fraught with the danger of becoming a convenient way for the state to bring closure to its crimes without achieving justice for the people who suffered and who lost their lives.

A commission of enquiry may seem like the logical thing to do but because of the sordid role played by Jamaicans For Justice, first in supporting an unnecessary State of Emergency which lead to the massacre, and its inaction since the massacre, along with the inexcusable refusal of the Public Defender to investigate those who had command responsibility for the crimes committed, the motive behind this call for a Commission of Enquiry has to be questioned.

Appealing to the PNP for a commission of enquiry is tantamount to appealing from Caesar unto Caesar. As the opposition party at the time the PNP supported the state of emergency.

The PNP would have known that Bruce Golding's decision to set the security forces loose on Tivoli was an opportunistic move designed to recover lost political ground after nine months of refusing to agree to Coke's extradition. The PNP would have and should have known that a security forces invasion of Tivoli would have resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians as has happened on past occasions.

Consequently, the PNP raised no issue about the allegations of extrajudicial killings and the massive violations of human rights involved with mass detentions.

In fact the PNP subsequently praised the Tivoli operations by claiming that it resulted in the dismantlement of the Shower Posse leading to a drop in the murder rate. This was a most foolish and opportunistic position because it was unarmed civilians who were killed, including women, and there is no proof that the killing these people had anything to do with a drop in the murder rate.

Apart from possibly going through the motions the PNP has nothing politically to gain from a Commission of Enquiry since it supported the Bruce Golding's method of bringing conclusion the matter.

The sordid role played by the Public Defender
Immediately after the massacre the Public Defender wrote a letter to Prime Minister Bruce Golding requesting a commission of enquiry and to this date Bruce Golding has not responded to his letter. The Public Defender made no fuss about this.

The possibility of the Public Defender participating in the Manat and Phelps Commission of Enquiry was publicly raised but the Public Defender said that he was conducting forensic tests which would not have been finished until September and so would have nothing to contribute to the Enquiry. To be fair the Enquiry was deliberately not set up to consider the Tivoli Massacre.

Many months have passed since September 2011 and to date the Public Defender has made no public statement about the results of his forensic gathering enterprise.

The Public Defender is also aware that no amount of forensic gathering can reconstruct the crime scene of a military invasion and his preoccupation with this forensic gathering enterprise seems totally misplaced. Even Jamaicans For Justice concur on this.

As part of a short-lived "Tivoli Committee" which I helped to organize a letter was sent to the Public Defender asking him to investigate the "command responsibility" of the prime minister, the police commissioner and the head of the JDF", among others, for their role in the crimes committed. The term used by the International Criminal Court would be "Crimes Against Humanity."

The Public Defender while acknowledging that he does have the power of a judge, similar to that possessed by the Contractor General, and could conduct an enquiry similar to the types conducted by the Contractor General into corruption matters, dismissed out of hand the possibility of him taking such a course of action. No explanation was given.

All that he could contemplate was a Commission of Enquiry. Needless to say that he flatly refused to meet with the Tivoli Committee to consider the arguments as to why a Public Defender investigation would be the best course of action, especially since it did not conflict with a commission of enquiry. By his cowardice and incompetence, the Public Defender has ensured continuation of the circle of impunity for state crimes against the people.

What should be done:
1. The Public Defender should publish the statements of Tivoli Residents regarding what happened. No names are necessary.
2. He should publish the results of his forensic investigations.
3. Since the Public Defender has declined to investigate those who had command responsibility for the crimes in Tivoli, a special prosecutor with the powers of a judge is needed to do this. The prime targets are former prime minister Bruce Golding; police commissioner Owen Ellington; and the former head of the Jamaica Defence Force Major Saunders.
4. There needs to be public discussion as to whether these gentlemen have criminal charges to answer.
5. This special prosecutor enquiry in no way conflicts with any decision to set up a Commission of Enquiry and any relevant information which may arise from such an enquiry
6. The Public Defender should be forced by the public to resign for his betrayal of the cause of justice.

5. Finally, since there can be no confidence in the ability of the local judicial system to prosecute those who had command responsibility for the actions of the security forces, the International Criminal Court should be approached to provide guidance so that all information gathered can be used for possible prosecution purposes.

To talk about celebrating fifty years of state independence when the said Jamaican state has allegations of crimes against humanity hanging over its head is nothing but a cruel joke.

Lloyd D'Aguilar
Campaign for Social and Economic Justice