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Amnesty slams Jamaica over delayed report on Tivoli hunt for Dudus
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Saturday January 19, 2013 – Amnesty International has described as “outrageous” the ongoing delays in the presentation of a report into the deadly 2010 law enforcement operation in Tivoli Gardens, aimed at arresting suspected gang leader Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
Public Defender Earl Witter failed to meet yet another deadline to present the report to Parliament on Tuesday.
The human rights watchdog promptly reacted with a strongly worded statement the following day.
"Continued delays in the investigation into the killing of 73 people in May 2010 during an operation by security forces in West Kingston could be letting people get away with murder," said an Amnesty spokesperson in the release.
The human rights champion protested the protracted delays in a letter sent to House Speaker Michael Peart.
"It is outrageous that nearly three years since the Tivoli Gardens killings the Jamaican authorities are far from being able to answer the many questions that remain," said Special Advisor at Amnesty International Javier Zúñiga.
"By failing to ensure that those responsible for the killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests that took place in Tivoli in 2010 ... , the Jamaican authorities are simply sending the message that human rights abuses are permitted and won’t be punished," the statement continued.
The organisation also pointed to National Security Minister Peter Bunting’s July 2012 assertion that the Office of the Public Defender was inadequately staffed to undertake the scale of investigation required into the Tivoli Gardens operation.
"If the problem is a lack of resources available to the Office of the Public Defender, the authorities should have addressed this issue long ago," Zúñiga stated.
Amnesty further urged Jamaican authorities to ensure that a parliamentary hearing is held to investigate the delays in the investigations.
The human rights group said that, according to information received, Jamaican security forces are responsible for unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances that took place during an operation by the forces in Tivoli Gardens during the May 2010 state of emergency.
Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.ph...#ixzz2IQw1Amol
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Saturday January 19, 2013 – Amnesty International has described as “outrageous” the ongoing delays in the presentation of a report into the deadly 2010 law enforcement operation in Tivoli Gardens, aimed at arresting suspected gang leader Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
Public Defender Earl Witter failed to meet yet another deadline to present the report to Parliament on Tuesday.
The human rights watchdog promptly reacted with a strongly worded statement the following day.
"Continued delays in the investigation into the killing of 73 people in May 2010 during an operation by security forces in West Kingston could be letting people get away with murder," said an Amnesty spokesperson in the release.
The human rights champion protested the protracted delays in a letter sent to House Speaker Michael Peart.
"It is outrageous that nearly three years since the Tivoli Gardens killings the Jamaican authorities are far from being able to answer the many questions that remain," said Special Advisor at Amnesty International Javier Zúñiga.
"By failing to ensure that those responsible for the killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests that took place in Tivoli in 2010 ... , the Jamaican authorities are simply sending the message that human rights abuses are permitted and won’t be punished," the statement continued.
The organisation also pointed to National Security Minister Peter Bunting’s July 2012 assertion that the Office of the Public Defender was inadequately staffed to undertake the scale of investigation required into the Tivoli Gardens operation.
"If the problem is a lack of resources available to the Office of the Public Defender, the authorities should have addressed this issue long ago," Zúñiga stated.
Amnesty further urged Jamaican authorities to ensure that a parliamentary hearing is held to investigate the delays in the investigations.
The human rights group said that, according to information received, Jamaican security forces are responsible for unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances that took place during an operation by the forces in Tivoli Gardens during the May 2010 state of emergency.
Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.ph...#ixzz2IQw1Amol
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