'Dudus' backlash • US blasts JA over extradition delay
US blasts JA over ‘Dudus’, drugs
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
THE US State Department yesterday blasted Jamaica for its indecision in the extradition request for Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke to face drug trafficking charges in America, saying that it brought into question the island's commitment to law enforcement co-operation and highlighted the potential depth of corruption in the Government.
"Jamaica's processing of the extradition request has been subjected to unprecedented delays, unexplained disclosure of law enforcement information to the press, and unfounded allegations questioning the US' compliance with the MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) and Jamaican law," said the State Department in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released yesterday.
According to the report, until August 2009, the extradition treaty between Washington and Kingston had been actively and successfully used to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests, it said, were routinely and timely processed by Jamaican political and judicial authorities.
"The Government of Jamaica's unusual handling of the August request for the extradition of a high-profile Jamaican crime lord, with reported ties to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which currently holds a majority in Parliament, on alleged drug and firearms trafficking charges marked a dramatic change in Kingston's previous co-operation on extradition, including a temporary suspension in the processing of all other pending requests and raises serious questions about the Government's commitment to combating transnational crime," the State Department said.
"The high-profile suspect resides in and essentially controls the Kingston neighbourhood known as Tivoli Gardens, a key constituency for the Jamaica Labour Party," said the report.
The US also labelled Jamaica as the Caribbean's largest supplier of marijuana to the United States as well as a transshipment point for cocaine entering South America.
"The Government of Jamaica's ambitious anti-corruption and anti-crime legislative agendas announced in 2007 remain stalled in Parliament," said the report.
"Five anti-crime proposals under consideration as part of an extensive agenda to address the widespread crime challenges have yet to be debated by Parliament," added Washington, which noted that Jamaica is a party to the 1988 United Nations Drug Convention.
At the same time, the US said drug-related arrests were relatively stagnant at 6,346 arrests for 2009, while drug seizure levels showed a dramatic decrease with approximately nine metric tonnes of marijuana seized, compared to nearly 32 metric tonnes in 2008.
While pointing out that Jamaica does not facilitate or encourage illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions, the US said pervasive public corruption continued to undermine efforts against drug-related and other crimes. Public corruption, it added, plays a major role in the safe passage of drugs and drug proceeds through Jamaica.
"For the first time, corruption ranked first to crime and violence as the area of greatest concern for Jamaicans. It remains the major barrier to improving counter-narcotics efforts," the Americans said, adding that Jamaica's delay in processing the extradition request for Coke "highlights the potential depth of corruption in the Government".
The State Department also noted that a bill creating an Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor remains stuck in Parliament despite having the requisite legislative majority needed for passage.
"There has not been legislative action to create a National Anti-corruption Agency, which could satisfy the Inter- American Convention against Corruption's requirements," the State Department said.
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Originally Posted By: Carver2
'Dudus' backlash • US blasts JA over extradition delay
US blasts JA over ‘Dudus’, drugs
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
THE US State Department yesterday blasted Jamaica for its indecision in the extradition request for Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke to face drug trafficking charges in America, saying that it brought into question the island's commitment to law enforcement co-operation and highlighted the potential depth of corruption in the Government.
"Jamaica's processing of the extradition request has been subjected to unprecedented delays, unexplained disclosure of law enforcement information to the press, and unfounded allegations questioning the US' compliance with the MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) and Jamaican law," said the State Department in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released yesterday.
According to the report, until August 2009, the extradition treaty between Washington and Kingston had been actively and successfully used to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests, it said, were routinely and timely processed by Jamaican political and judicial authorities.
"The Government of Jamaica's unusual handling of the August request for the extradition of a high-profile Jamaican crime lord, with reported ties to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which currently holds a majority in Parliament, on alleged drug and firearms trafficking charges marked a dramatic change in Kingston's previous co-operation on extradition, including a temporary suspension in the processing of all other pending requests and raises serious questions about the Government's commitment to combating transnational crime," the State Department said.
"The high-profile suspect resides in and essentially controls the Kingston neighbourhood known as Tivoli Gardens, a key constituency for the Jamaica Labour Party," said the report.
The US also labelled Jamaica as the Caribbean's largest supplier of marijuana to the United States as well as a transshipment point for cocaine entering South America.
"The Government of Jamaica's ambitious anti-corruption and anti-crime legislative agendas announced in 2007 remain stalled in Parliament," said the report.
"Five anti-crime proposals under consideration as part of an extensive agenda to address the widespread crime challenges have yet to be debated by Parliament," added Washington, which noted that Jamaica is a party to the 1988 United Nations Drug Convention.
At the same time, the US said drug-related arrests were relatively stagnant at 6,346 arrests for 2009, while drug seizure levels showed a dramatic decrease with approximately nine metric tonnes of marijuana seized, compared to nearly 32 metric tonnes in 2008.
While pointing out that Jamaica does not facilitate or encourage illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions, the US said pervasive public corruption continued to undermine efforts against drug-related and other crimes. Public corruption, it added, plays a major role in the safe passage of drugs and drug proceeds through Jamaica.
"For the first time, corruption ranked first to crime and violence as the area of greatest concern for Jamaicans. It remains the major barrier to improving counter-narcotics efforts," the Americans said, adding that Jamaica's delay in processing the extradition request for Coke "highlights the potential depth of corruption in the Government".
The State Department also noted that a bill creating an Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor remains stuck in Parliament despite having the requisite legislative majority needed for passage.
"There has not been legislative action to create a National Anti-corruption Agency, which could satisfy the Inter- American Convention against Corruption's requirements," the State Department said.
'Dudus' backlash • US blasts JA over extradition delay
US blasts JA over ‘Dudus’, drugs
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
THE US State Department yesterday blasted Jamaica for its indecision in the extradition request for Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke to face drug trafficking charges in America, saying that it brought into question the island's commitment to law enforcement co-operation and highlighted the potential depth of corruption in the Government.
"Jamaica's processing of the extradition request has been subjected to unprecedented delays, unexplained disclosure of law enforcement information to the press, and unfounded allegations questioning the US' compliance with the MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) and Jamaican law," said the State Department in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released yesterday.
According to the report, until August 2009, the extradition treaty between Washington and Kingston had been actively and successfully used to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests, it said, were routinely and timely processed by Jamaican political and judicial authorities.
"The Government of Jamaica's unusual handling of the August request for the extradition of a high-profile Jamaican crime lord, with reported ties to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which currently holds a majority in Parliament, on alleged drug and firearms trafficking charges marked a dramatic change in Kingston's previous co-operation on extradition, including a temporary suspension in the processing of all other pending requests and raises serious questions about the Government's commitment to combating transnational crime," the State Department said.
"The high-profile suspect resides in and essentially controls the Kingston neighbourhood known as Tivoli Gardens, a key constituency for the Jamaica Labour Party," said the report.
The US also labelled Jamaica as the Caribbean's largest supplier of marijuana to the United States as well as a transshipment point for cocaine entering South America.
"The Government of Jamaica's ambitious anti-corruption and anti-crime legislative agendas announced in 2007 remain stalled in Parliament," said the report.
"Five anti-crime proposals under consideration as part of an extensive agenda to address the widespread crime challenges have yet to be debated by Parliament," added Washington, which noted that Jamaica is a party to the 1988 United Nations Drug Convention.
At the same time, the US said drug-related arrests were relatively stagnant at 6,346 arrests for 2009, while drug seizure levels showed a dramatic decrease with approximately nine metric tonnes of marijuana seized, compared to nearly 32 metric tonnes in 2008.
While pointing out that Jamaica does not facilitate or encourage illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions, the US said pervasive public corruption continued to undermine efforts against drug-related and other crimes. Public corruption, it added, plays a major role in the safe passage of drugs and drug proceeds through Jamaica.
"For the first time, corruption ranked first to crime and violence as the area of greatest concern for Jamaicans. It remains the major barrier to improving counter-narcotics efforts," the Americans said, adding that Jamaica's delay in processing the extradition request for Coke "highlights the potential depth of corruption in the Government".
The State Department also noted that a bill creating an Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor remains stuck in Parliament despite having the requisite legislative majority needed for passage.
"There has not been legislative action to create a National Anti-corruption Agency, which could satisfy the Inter- American Convention against Corruption's requirements," the State Department said.
The Prime Minister Bruce Golding is defiant this afternoon that the Jamaican Government was right when it refused to sign the extradition request by the United States for West Kingston strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
The matter is gaining increasing international attention since the release of a US Narco report yesterday, blasting the Jamaica Government for what it calls the unprecedented delay in granting the extradition request.
However, Mr Golding says the attorney general and justice minister Dorothy Lightbourne decided against signing the request because the evidence outlined in the extradition request was illegally obtained.
Mr Golding says the Government has refrained from making any detailed public statement in relation about the Dudus issue because of confidentiality.
He said that position was reaffirmed in the several meetings between Jamaica and the United States.
However, Mr Golding in view of the statements contained in the Narcotics Control Strategy Report, he is obliged to speak.
According to Mr Golding, the United States were seeking to extradite Dudus on the basis of evidence that was illegally obtained under the Interception of Communications Act.
However that would not satisfy former national security minister Dr Peter Phillips.
He believes the decision should not have rested with a politically appointed person.
Mr Golding says the Jamaican Government has indicated to the US authorities that if other evidence exist, and its procurement and disclosure were not in violation of Jamaican law, the minister would be prepared to accept that evidence and issue the necessary authority to proceed.
Sounds like the US botch the case and then try to publicly pressure the JA govt. As much as we would like to see the garbage thrown out of the country, we have to respect the law, just like the US would if the shoe was on the other foot.
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Originally Posted By: ericdread
Ask the Chinese for help to do what?
Well, Mr. Driver went there recently. Why only beg for material things?
They can help us with maintaining social order. For example: as a deterrent, maybe try cut a deal with China to have convicted criminals(murders etc.) serve out their sentences in a Chinese prison.
Sounds like the US botch the case and then try to publicly pressure the JA govt. As much as we would like to see the garbage thrown out of the country, we have to respect the law, just like the US would if the shoe was on the other foot.
Even though I've expressed that we use the situation (surreptitiously) as a pretext for a major offensive against garrisons and violent crime, I'm also somewhat conflicted by it.
I really believe not just Dudus, but whomever else may have an extradition request hanging over their head, should be entitled to due process. I don't believe we should just hand over a Jamaican national, simply because the US wants them.
The US is not a member of the ICC (International Criminal Court) because they don't want Americans to be taken into custody (even for offenses for which they may be guilty). So why then, does the US thinks whenever it makes an extradition request, the person ought to be handed over, no questions asked?
On the other hand there's the elephant in the room, the crime which has been the bane of our existence for too long now. Wouldn't this be a good time to launch an all-out war against it? I think so, as long as the individual who is being extradited is guilty of whatever the charge is against him.
_________________________
The surest sign other intelligent life exists in the universe is that it hasn't tried to contact us.
Well, Mr. Driver went there recently. Why only beg for material things?
They can help us with maintaining social order. For example: as a deterrent, maybe try cut a deal with China to have convicted criminals(murders etc.) serve out their sentences in a Chinese prison.
Then again....is Jamaicans we dealing wid.
That is against UN "laws" on the treatment of prisoners. You cant send a prisoner to another country to prison unless he has committed some crime in that country, or there is some sort of extradition treaty.
Yes, we need a massive social change, but the Chinese cant help with that. If anything they can help upgrade the exisitng schools and build more, and help with technical training - engineering, etc.
Sounds like the US botch the case and then try to publicly pressure the JA govt. As much as we would like to see the garbage thrown out of the country, we have to respect the law, just like the US would if the shoe was on the other foot.
Even though I've expressed that we use the situation (surreptitiously) as a pretext for a major offensive against garrisons and violent crime, I'm also somewhat conflicted by it.
I really believe not just Dudus, but whomever else may have an extradition request hanging over their head, should be entitled to due process. I don't believe we should just hand over a Jamaican national, simply because the US wants them.
The US is not a member of the ICC (International Criminal Court) because they don't want Americans to be taken into custody (even for offenses for which they may be guilty). So why then, does the US thinks whenever it makes an extradition request, the person ought to be handed over, no questions asked?
On the other hand there's the elephant in the room, the crime which has been the bane of our existence for too long now. Wouldn't this be a good time to launch an all-out war against it? I think so, as long as the individual who is being extradited is guilty of whatever the charge is against him.
The JA govt. should be inflexible on that ...cant serve up a citizen through illegal means. You dont want to set a precedent like that.
The elephant has been growing for years, over 10,000 plus homicides in the last 10 years, no to mention upwards of 50,000 violent incidents - injury, maimed, scarred, psychological damage, etc.
The overall cost to the country is staggering- lost productivity, healthcare cost, human flight, corruption, etc.
The "all out war" has to be on several fronts: Crime fighting, education and skills training, job opportunities, law enforcement reform, housing and infra-structure,etc.
Still waiting for Golding to announce a bold initiative to tackle the above.
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Everything happens in its own time Carver. Allow this to play itself out as the longer it takes the more people eyes will be opened to whats truly holding us back as a people.
Its a different level of movements the youth dem deh pon as with money comes the ability to purchase the time of top quality lawyers and just like the OJ trial things are going to be revealed.
There is no rush here is the man is guilty then prove it. However the US have been used to bullying Jamaica for so long I think they probably got sloppy here and a next thing they are holding on to by the skin of their teeth is this labelling of the holy herb Marijuana as a drug while they grow and tax it for profit while legalising it in California and more states.
If Rasta's were so distracted with the white thing they would be lobbying to the WTO via the music to leave our thing alone.
All you have fi do is shine the light pon dem and dem scurry away like cock-a-roaches. As dem no stand pon nothing firm
A no nobody dem, you no see dem a pop dung along with dem level of education so thats why the world a turn to India, Jamaica and Brazil for the next level of creativity and innovation.
WE just no see it yet but a fi wi time now all we have to do is medi pon it for a few and we will see the signs.
The politicians and so called followers of Christ(more like mockers) times are up but dem refuse to exit stage right.
How you fi a call pon god but no have no plan for the children? How you fi get God blessings when the best you can do for your children is to bring in more guns and ammo to eliminate them and then have the nerve fi a call pon god when we busy a act like Westerners and forgetting that we are AFricans set aside to do the creator's work on this planet.
Look how long Grandma a tell wi say "puss and dawg no have the same luck" and we fail fi realise it say we too passionate fi a indulge inna badmind and evil as we tek it too far.
God time now and a wipe some people a get wipeout so the righteous can rise. Memba say the Prophet tell unnu so gwaan no heed the signs
_________________________
Leggo the Pearl!!! do me a beg unnu just leggo the Pearl
Sounds like the US botch the case and then try to publicly pressure the JA govt. As much as we would like to see the garbage thrown out of the country, we have to respect the law, just like the US would if the shoe was on the other foot.
Share |
Even though I've expressed that we use the situation (surreptitiously) as a pretext for a major offensive against garrisons and violent crime, I'm also somewhat conflicted by it.
I really believe not just Dudus, but whomever else may have an extradition request hanging over their head, should be entitled to due process. I don't believe we should just hand over a Jamaican national, simply because the US wants them.
The US is not a member of the ICC (International Criminal Court) because they don't want Americans to be taken into custody (even for offenses for which they may be guilty). So why then, does the US thinks whenever it makes an extradition request, the person ought to be handed over, no questions asked?
On the other hand there's the elephant in the room, the crime which has been the bane of our existence for too long now. Wouldn't this be a good time to launch an all-out war against it? I think so, as long as the individual who is being extradited is guilty of whatever the charge is against him.
Excerpt from column in Gleaner
And if I were in Dudus' shoes, and his case is as strong as the PM makes it out, then I would want my day in court because the resident magistrate would throw out the case. That would be a good resolution for Dudus, Golding and, more important, the country. Furthermore, how does the prime minister know that Dudus would not rather his case go before the resident magistrate and be thrown out? What is the solicitor general and the DPP saying on this matter?
The role of the political directorate is to ensure that proper procedure is followed in this extradition treaty case. The treaty states that for the request to be valid, a crime has to be committed in US and the US has to support its allegations to Jamaica but at a lower level than what it needs to convict. Then after the attorney general has signed the order it can be executed. The defendant can then challenge it in a Jamaican court and if Dudus proves that there is no prima facie case, then the order for extradition cannot be implemented. Furthermore, even after the resident magistrate has ruled that there is a prima facie case, Ms Lightbourne can refuse to sign the order based on perceived racial discrimination or political victimisation.
So, the PM must stop playing judge and lawyer and let Dudus have his day in court!
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: The Church in Nation Building'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
Turns out I agree with the editorial in JA Observer, it is not for the PM or AG to determine the illegality of the evidence.
As a matter of procedure, if the US provide the evidence, then Golding shoudl sign off on the extradition. Presumably, Dudus would then appeal to the court where he will have at least three layers of hearing.If the evidence, as collected, violate JA laws, then it would be inadmissible and thrown out.
At the same time, if the illegally collected evidence shows the man to be running drugs and expecially guns into Jamaica, what do ( in Jamaica) do then?
AFTER having financed our way of life for too many years, our powerful neighbour to the north, the USA, has decided not just as the one which calls the tune, to tell the piper to "play another tune", it has, in the latest US Drug Report on Jamaica, told us to pipe down, straighten up and fly right.
In its most pointed accusation (Country's Actions against Drugs 2009 sub-headed Corruption) it said, "Indeed, Jamaica's delay in processing the US extradition request for a major suspected drug and firearms trafficker with reported ties to the ruling party highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government."
PHILLIPS... will he be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping? PHILLIPS... will he be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping? 1/1
Based on the geopolitical maxim as best espoused by Henry Kissinger in the 1970s that America has no friends, only interests, the US - without Cold War considerations and with an economy that is increasingly going up the down escalator - has little time to be splitting hairs with a dead-broke, corrupt, crime-ridden, politically insignificant country such as ours.
The best that a last diplomatic vetting of the report could have provided for that sentence was the word, "potential" used to modify "depth of corruption in the government". One suspects that that word "potential" was a last-minute addition to the report in an effort to provide the JLP administration an escape clause that would run the US's way and to satisfy international protocol.
The government's position on its refusal to hand over Tivoli "president" Christopher "Dudus" Coke is that the information as gathered through wiretapping of his phone was done in breach of Jamaican law. The government's position is as outlined in the prime minister's statement to Parliament last Tuesday: "In one important respect, however, it was found to be in violation of the law. The Interception of Communications Act makes strict provisions for the manner in which intercepted communications may be obtained and disclosed. The evidence supporting the extradition request in this particular case violated those provisions. So serious an offence is this violation that the penalty provided by law is a maximum fine of $5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment. The law further requires that for intercepted communication to be admissible in any criminal proceedings, it must have been obtained, disclosed and used in accordance with these provisions. This was not done in this case. This was highly irregular."
One assumes that for the electronic interception (fancy name for wiretapping) to have been legal, it would have to have been sanctioned through the courts and may be approved through some parliamentary committee. All of this in a small country and a situation where Dudus and the system which gave him birth and street legitimacy have politically genetic links to the ruling JLP (administration) and the JLP of the past.
Even though "the law" in a democracy was designed to bring order and balance to such a society, the language of law is nothing more than a secret code between members of a fraternity who sit at the top of most societies. It was never designed to be understood by the common man, and at times, it seems that it was deliberately coded to confuse the vast majority of those making up most societies.
For this reason legal minds in Jamaica have brought their own tribal political baggage with them in explaining aspects of the Dudus extradition in various media.
To me, a few positions present themselves readily. One, it is obvious that Dudus as a "man of interest" to the US authorities, wields more power than all of the other people extradited from Jamaica for alleged drug involvement in the last five years. Two, is it not more than likely that of those so extradited, some of the "evidence" was gathered by illegal wiretapping? Did we hear anything from the JLP Opposition in those years in terms of protecting the rights of
those individuals?
Third, would someone like Dr Peter Phillips, easily the most competent of the spokespersons in the Opposition PNP, be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping?
In the 1970s when the mercurial Eric Gairy was prime minister of Grenada, he had a band of thugs (the Mongoose Gang) attached to his party. He was interviewed by, I think, a British journalist who pointed out to him that many of those forming the Mongoose Gang had criminal records and were cut-throats.
Gairy's reply? "Well, it takes a thief to catch a thief."
In the late 1990s when then police Commissioner Francis Forbes set up an outfit called The Special Intelligence Unit, it was Roderick "Jimmy" McGregor who was put in charge of it. To me, it was the best move ever made, even though there were more than indications that illegal wiretaps had been made. In some of the documents which I surreptitiously obtained from computers attached to the disbanded SIU, some of the very names being mentioned now were taped in conversation talking to other "men of interest". And of course, it appears that Jimmy had no specific political leanings as people loyal to both sides were being listened to electronically. Including high-ranking politicians in
the PNP!
McGregor himself was a highly trained operative who had links to Israeli Intelligence and other intelligence-gathering agencies in the US. Plus, in his undercover work, at times the lines became blurred in what he did.
Let us not fool ourselves that wiretapping can be legally sanctioned in a small, corrupt country like Jamaica where every politician knows a man of interest and every superintendent of police is a potential invitee to that link.
America, through its chief surrogate, the IMF, has parted with its money and Jamaica is the beneficiary. As a spin-off, China has made us a soft loan of US$400 million to fix roads. This is an obvious political boon to the JLP, especially if the majority of this work can be clustered around the months leading up to the 2012 elections.
Having given us US$400 million of the first tranche of US$1.2 billion, the USA, through the IMF, wants the unwritten conditions of the Standby Agreement to trip in. The Dudus extradition is, I believe, a main one.
One gets the impression that action at Jamaica House, depending on the nature of it, must first be sanctioned on other home fronts not necessarily so endowed with prime ministerial trappings. But, sometimes a prime minister may find that when he becomes just as scared as the rest of us, he is merely a second-tier leader on the real rankings.
observemark@gmail.com
_________________________
FORMER President - F.A.A.B.A.C.B(Fans Association Against the Baseless Attack on Captain Burrel)
AFTER having financed our way of life for too many years, our powerful neighbour to the north, the USA, has decided not just as the one which calls the tune, to tell the piper to "play another tune", it has, in the latest US Drug Report on Jamaica, told us to pipe down, straighten up and fly right.
In its most pointed accusation (Country's Actions against Drugs 2009 sub-headed Corruption) it said, "Indeed, Jamaica's delay in processing the US extradition request for a major suspected drug and firearms trafficker with reported ties to the ruling party highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government."
PHILLIPS... will he be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping? PHILLIPS... will he be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping? 1/1
Based on the geopolitical maxim as best espoused by Henry Kissinger in the 1970s that America has no friends, only interests, the US - without Cold War considerations and with an economy that is increasingly going up the down escalator - has little time to be splitting hairs with a dead-broke, corrupt, crime-ridden, politically insignificant country such as ours.
The best that a last diplomatic vetting of the report could have provided for that sentence was the word, "potential" used to modify "depth of corruption in the government". One suspects that that word "potential" was a last-minute addition to the report in an effort to provide the JLP administration an escape clause that would run the US's way and to satisfy international protocol.
The government's position on its refusal to hand over Tivoli "president" Christopher "Dudus" Coke is that the information as gathered through wiretapping of his phone was done in breach of Jamaican law. The government's position is as outlined in the prime minister's statement to Parliament last Tuesday: "In one important respect, however, it was found to be in violation of the law. The Interception of Communications Act makes strict provisions for the manner in which intercepted communications may be obtained and disclosed. The evidence supporting the extradition request in this particular case violated those provisions. So serious an offence is this violation that the penalty provided by law is a maximum fine of $5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment. The law further requires that for intercepted communication to be admissible in any criminal proceedings, it must have been obtained, disclosed and used in accordance with these provisions. This was not done in this case. This was highly irregular."
One assumes that for the electronic interception (fancy name for wiretapping) to have been legal, it would have to have been sanctioned through the courts and may be approved through some parliamentary committee. All of this in a small country and a situation where Dudus and the system which gave him birth and street legitimacy have politically genetic links to the ruling JLP (administration) and the JLP of the past.
Even though "the law" in a democracy was designed to bring order and balance to such a society, the language of law is nothing more than a secret code between members of a fraternity who sit at the top of most societies. It was never designed to be understood by the common man, and at times, it seems that it was deliberately coded to confuse the vast majority of those making up most societies.
For this reason legal minds in Jamaica have brought their own tribal political baggage with them in explaining aspects of the Dudus extradition in various media.
To me, a few positions present themselves readily. One, it is obvious that Dudus as a "man of interest" to the US authorities, wields more power than all of the other people extradited from Jamaica for alleged drug involvement in the last five years. Two, is it not more than likely that of those so extradited, some of the "evidence" was gathered by illegal wiretapping? Did we hear anything from the JLP Opposition in those years in terms of protecting the rights of
those individuals?
Third, would someone like Dr Peter Phillips, easily the most competent of the spokespersons in the Opposition PNP, be prepared to say definitively that not a single case of extradition order made in his time as security minister was supported by illegally obtained wiretapping?
In the 1970s when the mercurial Eric Gairy was prime minister of Grenada, he had a band of thugs (the Mongoose Gang) attached to his party. He was interviewed by, I think, a British journalist who pointed out to him that many of those forming the Mongoose Gang had criminal records and were cut-throats.
Gairy's reply? "Well, it takes a thief to catch a thief."
In the late 1990s when then police Commissioner Francis Forbes set up an outfit called The Special Intelligence Unit, it was Roderick "Jimmy" McGregor who was put in charge of it. To me, it was the best move ever made, even though there were more than indications that illegal wiretaps had been made. In some of the documents which I surreptitiously obtained from computers attached to the disbanded SIU, some of the very names being mentioned now were taped in conversation talking to other "men of interest". And of course, it appears that Jimmy had no specific political leanings as people loyal to both sides were being listened to electronically. Including high-ranking politicians in
the PNP!
McGregor himself was a highly trained operative who had links to Israeli Intelligence and other intelligence-gathering agencies in the US. Plus, in his undercover work, at times the lines became blurred in what he did.
Let us not fool ourselves that wiretapping can be legally sanctioned in a small, corrupt country like Jamaica where every politician knows a man of interest and every superintendent of police is a potential invitee to that link.
America, through its chief surrogate, the IMF, has parted with its money and Jamaica is the beneficiary. As a spin-off, China has made us a soft loan of US$400 million to fix roads. This is an obvious political boon to the JLP, especially if the majority of this work can be clustered around the months leading up to the 2012 elections.
Having given us US$400 million of the first tranche of US$1.2 billion, the USA, through the IMF, wants the unwritten conditions of the Standby Agreement to trip in. The Dudus extradition is, I believe, a main one.
One gets the impression that action at Jamaica House, depending on the nature of it, must first be sanctioned on other home fronts not necessarily so endowed with prime ministerial trappings. But, sometimes a prime minister may find that when he becomes just as scared as the rest of us, he is merely a second-tier leader on the real rankings.
observemark@gmail.com
_________________________
FORMER President - F.A.A.B.A.C.B(Fans Association Against the Baseless Attack on Captain Burrel)
josh davis 3/4/2010 I explained to my wife yesterday that the USA is saving money by requesting dudus and the others who are on the list.it is easier for them to save Jamaica from becoming Haiti than it is for them to fix us after. as a trained constitution attorney ,i must say the only person in breach of the constitution here is the Jamaican prime minister,who seem to have fired all the members of the judiciary . Lets keep this simple,if the USA made the wire tapping and computer hacking via legal American channels for a case that will be heard in an American court,it does not matter if the Jamaican law does not permit wire tapping. The prime minister know that the Jamaican courts will accept the American request. why is this case of so much interest to the prime minister? why is it so close to his heart?
The above is a comment by a poster to marks's column
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FORMER President - F.A.A.B.A.C.B(Fans Association Against the Baseless Attack on Captain Burrel)
My heart bleeds evry day. Wen is things goin to change? The PM said that constitutional rites dont stop in liguanea. If it was a man on the street side would he been accorded constitutional rites. Does the girls at amadale, victims of police executions and wards of the state have constitutional rites? Well damn, i want to kno if i have constitutional rites.
did the PM made sure that the constitutional rites of the others him sent up before were not voilated?
Jamaica needs a revolution. But i doubt very much that it wld even have an effect, because just like independence we will be substituting an exploitor with a vicious vampire. Selfishness is too rife amongst most Jamaicans for there to be a beneficial revolution.
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FORMER President - F.A.A.B.A.C.B(Fans Association Against the Baseless Attack on Captain Burrel)
josh davis 3/4/2010 I explained to my wife yesterday that the USA is saving money by requesting dudus and the others who are on the list.it is easier for them to save Jamaica from becoming Haiti than it is for them to fix us after. as a trained constitution attorney ,i must say the only person in breach of the constitution here is the Jamaican prime minister,who seem to have fired all the members of the judiciary . Lets keep this simple,if the USA made the wire tapping and computer hacking via legal American channels for a case that will be heard in an American court,it does not matter if the Jamaican law does not permit wire tapping. The prime minister know that the Jamaican courts will accept the American request. why is this case of so much interest to the prime minister? why is it so close to his heart?
The above is a comment by a poster to marks's column
Not that simple !
If and when the case is being tried in the US court, yes.
However, before you get to the US court, the JA court decides the legality of the extradition request ( not Bruce Golding or the AG).
Sounds like it comes down to, by the terms of the extradition treaty, is the US allowed to break JA laws in acquiring evidence for an extradition?
If it were the other way around, Jamaica could not extradite nobody from the US., i dont like these criminal but who is going to arrest Bush and di whole a dem.
josh davis 3/4/2010 I explained to my wife yesterday that the USA is saving money by requesting dudus and the others who are on the list.it is easier for them to save Jamaica from becoming Haiti than it is for them to fix us after. as a trained constitution attorney ,i must say the only person in breach of the constitution here is the Jamaican prime minister,who seem to have fired all the members of the judiciary . Lets keep this simple,if the USA made the wire tapping and computer hacking via legal American channels for a case that will be heard in an American court,it does not matter if the Jamaican law does not permit wire tapping. The prime minister know that the Jamaican courts will accept the American request. why is this case of so much interest to the prime minister? why is it so close to his heart?
The above is a comment by a poster to marks's column
Not that simple !
If and when the case is being tried in the US court, yes.
However, before you get to the US court, the JA court decides the legality of the extradition request ( not Bruce Golding or the AG).
Sounds like it comes down to, by the terms of the extradition treaty, is the US allowed to break JA laws in acquiring evidence for an extradition?
I will not go as far as to say that I disagree with your contention, ericdread, that it is the JA court that decides the legality of the extradition request.
But let me ask you this; if it's the court that decides, where does that leave the PM and AG? They couldn't just be innocent bystanders in this process now, could they? Of course not.
That tells that a case does not necessarily have go to the courts. I believe the govt. has a right (as it sees fit) to reject any extradition request, and that is precisely what Bruce and the AG are doing.
Don't get me wrong now. I don't necessarily support their stance (and neither, it appears, do a majority of Jamaicans). Nevertheless they're holding fast, until such time.
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The surest sign other intelligent life exists in the universe is that it hasn't tried to contact us.
josh davis 3/4/2010 I explained to my wife yesterday that the USA is saving money by requesting dudus and the others who are on the list.it is easier for them to save Jamaica from becoming Haiti than it is for them to fix us after. as a trained constitution attorney ,i must say the only person in breach of the constitution here is the Jamaican prime minister,who seem to have fired all the members of the judiciary . Lets keep this simple,if the USA made the wire tapping and computer hacking via legal American channels for a case that will be heard in an American court,it does not matter if the Jamaican law does not permit wire tapping. The prime minister know that the Jamaican courts will accept the American request. why is this case of so much interest to the prime minister? why is it so close to his heart?
The above is a comment by a poster to marks's column
Not that simple !
If and when the case is being tried in the US court, yes.
However, before you get to the US court, the JA court decides the legality of the extradition request ( not Bruce Golding or the AG).
Sounds like it comes down to, by the terms of the extradition treaty, is the US allowed to break JA laws in acquiring evidence for an extradition?
I will not go as far as to say that I disagree with your contention, ericdread, that it is the JA court that decides the legality of the extradition request.
But let me ask you this; if it's the court that decides, where does that leave the PM and AG? They couldn't just be innocent bystanders in this process now, could they? Of course not.
That tells that a case does not necessarily have go to the courts. I believe the govt. has a right (as it sees fit) to reject any extradition request, and that is precisely what Bruce and the AG are doing.
Don't get me wrong now. I don't necessarily support their stance (and neither, it appears, do a majority of Jamaicans). Nevertheless they're holding fast, until such time.
Yes, the govt.has right to reject a request.
Basically, the govt looks at the request, make sure the crimes involved are included in the treaty, other conditions are met, and sign off.
However, I now believe Bruce erred on this one; he pre-empted the court in announcing about the legality of evidence. Keep in mind that even when Bruce signs off, Dudus is still guaranteed his day in court. So it houdl have been for Dudu's lawyer to address before the court and argue the legality of the evidence.
