JFJ responds to Security Minister’s statements

[Lazie]

JFJ responds to Security Minister’s statements

Posted: 2009-05-28 13:09:34


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Human Rights lobby group, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has taken issue with a statement made by the National Security Minister, Senator Dwight Nelson at yesterday’s session of the Police Federation annual conference.

Mr Nelson has been reported as telling rank-and- file cops at yesterday’s session that cops who have been arrested and charged should not be treated as common criminals for matters which happened while they were on duty.

He went further to advise them that government was considering establishing a core of lawyers to represent policemen who were involved in shootings in the course of their duties.

But the executive director of JFJ, Dr Carolyn Gomes is demanding that the minister clarify his comments.

[Mosiah]

Is this the JLP govt's response to tackle crime?

Has Nelson said or done anything of value since his well-publicised bad man talk a few weeks ago?

[Mosiah]

OFFENSIVE AND BACKWARD STATEMENTS FROM MINISTER OF SECURITY

Thursday, May 28, 2009, Kingston, Jamaica - Jamaicans for Justice is deeply distressed and offended by the statements made by the Minister of Security, Senator Dwight Nelson, to the Police Federation delegates on May 27, 2009. The statements come at a time of heightened concern about the increase in fatal incidents and fatal shootings by the police, with sixty–eight (68) persons killed between January and April of 2009.

The Minister appears to be sanctioning Police conduct no matter the level of illegality they are accused of committing as he will “use every effort to assemble a team of first class legal officers to defend policemen”. We remind the Minister, and the Police Force, that their conduct whether “on the frontline” or simply on the street is governed, as it is for every other citizen, by the law. In addition the actions of the Police are governed by Force Orders.

The Police are not ABOVE THE LAW. The Rule of Law demands that those who have acted outside the law are called to account. Our problem in Jamaica is not that many policemen are “hauled before the courts like common criminals” as the Minister is suggesting. Our problem is that our Justice system fails to credibly investigate, charge and effectively prosecute those policemen against whom allegations of unlawful conduct are made. The result of these failures is IMPUNITY for unlawful police actions, increasing distrust of the police by citizens and increasing frustration by the citizens at the failure of the Government to protect them from unlawful actions by the police force.

The more than 2000 Jamaican citizens killed by the police over the last 10 years, are NOT ‘collateral damage’, Mr. Minister. They are sons, daughters, fathers mothers, brothers, sisters, male and female, young and old (far too many of them children) who deserve to have the law applied in their protection and in the investigation of their deaths as much as the police do. When the Minister says “no policeman should be made to pay” he is thumbing his nose at the Jamaican people and effectively granting police a license to act outside and above the law. Pronouncements of this nature entrench impunity and allow police officers to believe that extra judicial killings are sanctioned by the highest level of the State.

The Minister’s statements also appear to contradict the actions of the Government to reform the police force, to put in place effective independent investigation of police wrongdoing, and establish the offices of special prosecutor and special coroner to deal with the large number of cases of alleged police extra-judicial killings. They call into question the sincerity of the statements made in Parliament by the Prime Minister on the Janice Allen case. Is Janice Allen’s death to be regarded as necessary and excusable ‘collateral damage’?

We call on the Minister to retract his offensive and backward looking statements and apologize to the Jamaican People for calling their deaths at the hands of the Jamaican State “collateral damage”. We call on the Prime Minister to indicate clearly whether or not the Minister’s statements reflect the policy of his administration and if not, to strongly disassociate the Government from those statements. We call on the Minister of Justice to say whether or not she supports the statements by the Minister of Security and to emphasize for Jamaicans that the rule of law applies to all without fear or favor.

[Mosiah]

And to think that Balla and others chastised me for supporting the JFJ, saying they were an anti-PNP organisation, that was only trying to bring down the govt. Some even suggested that if the JLP became the govt. the JFJ would wither away, since their work would have been done.

Again, Carolyn Gomes for National Hero!

[Assasin]

that is the kind of group I like that stand up for decent policies regardless of who is in power and it nuh matter if them a JLP or PNP.

[Mosiah]

Wi soon start hear say is a PNP organisation. Afterall, Gomes does have some Thwaites background, I believe.

I couldn't care less who dem aligned to. Dem aligned to Human Rights, first and foremost!

[Assasin]

That is my point. We need more people to stick to policies rather than politics.

I read something Seaga said today how Negril is been destroyed and their is not enough noise to get government attention to it. It nuh matter how Maxwell and Espault write if the people are not active in their own interest they will be ignored by the government of the day, PNP or JLP.

Without JFJ can you imagine what policing would be today?

[Mosiah]

Having actually seen video footage of the minister's statements, there is only one option - LEAVE! Either he resign or the PM give him the boot! NOW! Reprehensible!

The sad thing is, he will get support from a wide cross section of ignorant Jamaica.