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EDITORIAL - Coke's capture welcome, but ...
Published: Thursday | June 24, 2010
Tuesday's capture of the fugitive Christopher Coke is a welcome and symbolic development for the rule of law in Jamaica which, hopefully, will translate into a lasting reversal of crime and violence in our country.
Not much more than a month ago, Coke was a powerful figure, a reputed crime boss and community don, who seemed to have the protection of the Jamaican Government. The Golding administration, it appeared, was willing to go to all lengths to prevent his extradition to the United States to answer charges of drug and gun smuggling.
Indeed, when pressure from civil society forced Mr Golding to buckle, militias loyal to Coke barricaded his west Kingston redoubt of Tivoli Gardens and openly challenged the authority of the Jamaican state. That aggression was beaten back and Prime Minister Golding, perhaps to salvage his reputation, has sought to assume the role of champion against crime in Jamaica.
Which is where Christopher Coke's capture is important. It is a signal that even the powerful and politically well connected are not immune from the law and should not assume that they can, as appeared to have been the intent with the west Kingston uprising, behave with impunity.
Coke's day in court
So, the Christopher Cokes of the world must have their day in court to prove their innocence, based on accepted principles of justice - not muscle.
Mr Golding, of course, has to be aware that although the Jamaican state may have won the initial skirmish, actual and figurative, the larger battle against criminality and violence is far from over. Neither the arrest of Coke nor the dismantling of his command and control apparatus in west Kingston achieved that.
There is much more to be done. For despite the seeming respite of violent crime over the past month, the decline in homicides, at more than 60 so far for the month of June, is significant only relative to our circumstance. That number remains far too high.
There are many gangs to be defeated across Jamaica - particularly in Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and St James.
In that regard, this newspaper, the reservations of civil liberties advocates notwithstanding, welcomes the decision by the administration to extend the state of emergency in Kingston and St Andrew for a second month and to widen it to the parish of St Catherine. Our concern, however, is that it was not made to cover the entire island and proclaimed until at least to the end of this year.
Special measures necessary
As we have observed before, it is not that we do not understand the bluntness of this instrument or do not care for civil liberties. We are aware, however, that Jamaica, with regard to crime, with its nearly 1,700 homicides a year, faces abnormal circumstances which will require special measures to return to a semblance of normality. The state of emergency has, in this regard, demonstrated its efficacy, which cannot be allowed to lapse.
Prime Minister Golding, however, has to assume full ownership of this project, displaying the kind of robust leadership he allowed us to glimpse in defending Coke's supposed constitutional rights against extradition.
There are reports of resistance to the initiative by ruling party and even Cabinet members who operate in constituencies with powerful gangs. Mr Golding's oath, however, is to the people of Jamaica. And we demand better.
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