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Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer An umbrella group of church leaders delivered a stinging response to the Bruce Golding administration's latest claims on the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips controversy, saying bluntly that some members have rejected the Government's explanation.
The group, led by the Reverend Lenworth Anglin, has called for Golding, the prime minister, to facilitate full disclosure on the issue and said it was prepared to support calls for a commission of enquiry, even though it believes Parliament is the most appropriate place "where this matter should be fully ventilated".
The church leaders took aim at Solicitor General Douglas Leys, asserting that the latest revelations in the controversy have "compromised some of our nation's key offices", naming his specifically.
"It is clear that many of our people (church leaders), despite the utterances of our Government, have not accepted these as a truthful representation of the events," Anglin said in a statement last night.
The carefully crafted statement, which had the blessing of seven different denominations which represent more than 90 per cent of the churches in Jamaica, said this has contributed to a mistrust of the Government.
Leys featured
The statement comes more than two weeks after the group met with Golding, then huddled to analyse the Government's position - outlined in two separate statements issued in May and August - against a Sunday Gleaner exposé which provided email correspondence to show that United States law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips was working on behalf of the Government, even if it was engaged by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Leys was heavily featured in the email correspondence with Manatt, discussing matters related to the United States extradition request for Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
In May, Golding admitted that as leader of the JLP, he had sanctioned the party's hiring of Manatt to lobby the US government on the extradition matter, but claimed the Government was not involved, a position he maintains to this day.
During a post-Cabinet press briefing last month, Information Minister Daryl Vaz dismissed the Sunday Gleaner article, saying it had not revealed anything of substance that had not previously been made public.
He reiterated Golding's previous admission that the Manatt affair was a mistake and his regrets for the negative effects that resulted, but maintained the Government's position that it had not engaged in any contract with the law firm.
In the face of mounting pressure, the Government has embarked on a series of consultations to answer questions about the Manatt affair from various interest groups.
Last week, Golding met with private-sector leaders for what has been described as "frank" discussions.
The private-sector leaders have yet to outline their position since that meeting, and have given no timeline for revealing a joint stance to the public.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead1.html
The group, led by the Reverend Lenworth Anglin, has called for Golding, the prime minister, to facilitate full disclosure on the issue and said it was prepared to support calls for a commission of enquiry, even though it believes Parliament is the most appropriate place "where this matter should be fully ventilated".
The church leaders took aim at Solicitor General Douglas Leys, asserting that the latest revelations in the controversy have "compromised some of our nation's key offices", naming his specifically.
"It is clear that many of our people (church leaders), despite the utterances of our Government, have not accepted these as a truthful representation of the events," Anglin said in a statement last night.
The carefully crafted statement, which had the blessing of seven different denominations which represent more than 90 per cent of the churches in Jamaica, said this has contributed to a mistrust of the Government.
Leys featured
The statement comes more than two weeks after the group met with Golding, then huddled to analyse the Government's position - outlined in two separate statements issued in May and August - against a Sunday Gleaner exposé which provided email correspondence to show that United States law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips was working on behalf of the Government, even if it was engaged by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Leys was heavily featured in the email correspondence with Manatt, discussing matters related to the United States extradition request for Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
In May, Golding admitted that as leader of the JLP, he had sanctioned the party's hiring of Manatt to lobby the US government on the extradition matter, but claimed the Government was not involved, a position he maintains to this day.
During a post-Cabinet press briefing last month, Information Minister Daryl Vaz dismissed the Sunday Gleaner article, saying it had not revealed anything of substance that had not previously been made public.
He reiterated Golding's previous admission that the Manatt affair was a mistake and his regrets for the negative effects that resulted, but maintained the Government's position that it had not engaged in any contract with the law firm.
In the face of mounting pressure, the Government has embarked on a series of consultations to answer questions about the Manatt affair from various interest groups.
Last week, Golding met with private-sector leaders for what has been described as "frank" discussions.
The private-sector leaders have yet to outline their position since that meeting, and have given no timeline for revealing a joint stance to the public.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead1.html
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