I
AM getting very good co-operation. I have not had anybody
resisting, neither have I had anybody coming down on me because
of rulings I have made, and I have made a couple of serious
rulings. And I believe that as a result of the way we are
doing things, in that I mean, before I rule say on the flags
and motorcades or graffiti, I would call in the leaders of
the political parties and I would say to them these things
are atrocious, people are complaining from the various communities,
I want you to get together and decide how we can best work
or we can do it together and we may work out the way forward
amicably and then I make a ruling on it.
The
responses as I have said are indeed very good and I look forward
to the contribution that everyone will make to enhance the
peace that we need for the general election.
ON
THE POLITICAL CODE OF CONDUCT
I
must commend The Gleaner. I don't know who took the
decision some weeks ago to put on your front page the Political
Code of Conduct on a daily basis, different sections of the
Code of Conduct. I really think that has helped a lot. Unfortunately
or fortunately, many of the candidates became aware of the
Code of Conduct through what you are printing on the front
page of The Gleaner, which is to be commended.
ON
THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
I
do have a problem with certain sections of the media and I
think it can be a major problem, and that is how we handle
situations when they come up. For instance, you may have a
talk show host who will simply open the microphones and let
people say whatever they want to say.
I
had a situation in Spanish Town where the candidates were
on the air and they began to abuse one another, the supporters
in Spanish Town responded accordingly, and began abusing one
another in the constituency. One person said something that
he should have indeed checked before doing so. I can't remember
the chap's name, he said Bagga approached me and Bagga told
me to do X, Y, Z and when I called them together and called
Bagga before the detective he said, "Oh my God, this is not
the guy that talked to me." But it was already out on the
air, and he apologised to the guy before me, but the injury
was already done and it's very hard to really repair the breach
when that happens.
And
so I implore members of the media community, you have to be
fair and frank in all that you are doing, but remember that
we are dealing with some people out there who all they are
interested in is their bread and butter and they will rip
the nation apart in order to get their bread and butter. If
you can do anything to help us during this election campaign
with regards to maintaining the peace I would certainly appreciate
that.
After
the date of the election is announced, along with the EAC
(Electoral Advisory Committee) and the EOJ (Electoral Office
of Jamaica), we would have a press conference and possibly
lay down the rules for the politicians and make requests to
the members of the media fraternity. I hope this can come
off in a few days time or soon and if this is done I believe
that it will only serve for the good of our country.
ON
PEACEFUL ELECTION
I
believe it, and I think the way forward is positive. Right
now quite a number of people have been saying to me we can't
believe that in certain places where you have always had skirmishes
or even war by now, that people are walking around going about
their businesses, nothing is happening.
I
believe one of the reasons for this is that you have two major
political leaders who are going to the play for the last time.
Mr. Patterson will not be going back, Mr. Seaga will not be
going back. Both of them in my opinion have done well for
the country, but they will be assessed by what they do for
the country in this election campaign; and the legacy that
they would have left for Jamaica will be left as a result
of how they handled themselves during this election campaign;
and that is why I believe their supporters are toeing the
line.
What
we have to be aware of is that, for instance, what you see
happening now in Central Kingston, if we do not nip it in
the bud early and try to talk to the political leaders in
that constituency to try and contain the thing, although it's
not a political problem, if we just allow it to ride you are
going to find that copy cats just walk in and start up something
somewhere else. And so I believe with regards to the media,
I think above all persons you have the most important role
to play.
ON
THE PEACE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE
We
have been to several communities. Although you find in those
areas what you may call hardened criminals, some of these
guys need people to talk to and they have been left to roam
the streets. They have been left to rob and riot in some cases
and in many instances what they look forward to is survival
or being shot by the police or their opposing parties.
When
we go in we ask the police not to come, and I think that's
why we have such good success, because when we go to the communities
we meet the mothers, the girlfriends and the wives, but very
rarely they come out on the streets. We arrange meetings for
them at undisclosed locations and transport them and they
would sit down and talk to us, one-on-one, man-to-man. Really,
I never knew I would be in a position to face men of such
notoriety, but I have to do it and I feel if we've had much
more of this we would have had less of the problems we are
now having in the communities, because we have been able to
deter quite a lot of violence just by reaching out to these
guys.
ON
THE FEAR FACTOR
I
tell you what, I am scared going into these communities with
the police more than without them. From the Commissioner's
office right down, they know that once the Peace Management
Initiative (PMI) is going in we do not want the police around.
I
have received no threats and I have put nothing in place to
protect myself so far and I do not carry a gun, I've never
carried a gun.
ON
MEMBERSHIP OF THE PMI
We
have two clergymen along with myself; we have two professors
from the university (UWI); we have three political members;
we have a social worker who we have employed that once we
go into the communities she would go in and do ground work
for us, the investigations, find out what are some of the
losses, what are some of needs of the people and we would
try to help them. For instance, like over in Mountain View
we did social work there and we found out that quite a number
of guys would be willing to go to school. We had 70 of them
going into EXED Community College for a special programme.
We had the graduation just before the reopening of the new
school year. They were all excited about that.
I
wouldn't say it's a staff. We have a good core of membership
and nobody abdicate in any responsibility, everybody goes
where possible, and we also have Donna Parchment from the
Dispute Resolution Foundation.
ON
REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES
We
were appointed by the Minister in consultation with his counterpart
in the JLP, so we are an independent body. We give no reports
to the minister, we don't report to anybody, we just do our
work, it's a broad-based social work. I guess that is why
they ensure that the political leaders are on the committee.
I don't see a conflict of interest.
With
regards to the office of the Ombudsman, I do not answer to
politicians either. I am totally independent and I guess that's
what makes the job very easy, because I don't have to listen
to any politician, I don't take any dictates from them. I
would say, however, that I am a creature of Parliament and
there is a Commission in Parliament that I am answerable to,
and a Commission of Parliament made up of the Speaker of the
House, President of the Senate, Leader of Government Business
and Leader of Opposition Business.
ON
SIGNING THE CODE OF CONDUCT
The
signing of the Political Code of Conduct was done on June
11 in the House of Representatives by the two major political
leaders. So the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition
have signed on behalf of their parties. So, in my opinion,
it is not necessarily a requirement until I make it a requirement
for the candidates to sign.
We
met the leaders and we decided that all candidates should
sign. Now, I've had one instance in Kingston where we had
a hundred per cent turn out; one member, one candidate was
at the table with a pen in hand and he said to me before I
sign I must make a case and I said well we are not here to
make case we are here for signing and he said: "Well, I just
have to say something."
And,
of course, the Custos is the host of the signing and he said,
"What do you want to say?" And he said something to the effect,
"Work is being done and my men not getting any." And before
he went through anything I said, "Well, you just have to stop
because we are not here to try a case or to take complaints,
if you have a complaint you put it in writing." And he got
up from the table and he left.
Under
such circumstances he couldn't sign again because he had his
opportunity and he protested. Two or three other parishes
we had members who said they would have protested the signing
because of what was happening in their constituencies. I called
the leaders and informed them and say protest is not going
to be accepted by me because if you have a problem you do
what the law requires you to do, you send a complaint to the
Ombudsman who must advise and make a ruling.
We
had one case I think in St. Thomas where a member was leaving
the island on the day of signing. We had one case in St. James
where I received calls from three candidates that they had
prior engagement, and we worked it out with the Custos that
they could sign, but wherein any person just arbitrarily decided
I am not signing because I am doing this under protest, I
don't permit them to sign again. If they want to work it out,
if they had something worked out with the Custos, then they
could, but once I get to the table for the official signing
my back is turned.
So
far, I have received 20 signed documents from the Custodes
and I am waiting on the return of about four from about four
parishes before I know who has not signed and what the steps
will be taken. You might have heard the pronouncement from
of one of the political leaders that if their candidates do
not sign they cannot contest the election. I am taking it
that seriously.
ON
NEXUS BETWEEN CRIME AND POLITICS
I
was a little peeved, indeed troubled, just two days ago after
going into Central Kingston. When you meet with these gangsters,
these guys, they can tell you on the table no more shots going
to fire this evening. In May, we met in a section of the city
where they were having real trouble and I said to the guys,
you know, today is Thursday, Sunday is Mother's Day, let's
do it for the mothers and let's get the guns off the streets
and no shots firing. In that entire community not a shot was
fired because the leaders who were there bought on to what
I proposed and say we going to have to tell these guys in
the communities. Now, if the political leaders can have such
influence on these guys, that is something we need to investigate.
What
is the root of all this? Where did it all start? And I am
not saying that the political leaders have issued and are
issuing guns, because in a sense I really think now that these
guys are tired of the politicians and there is a new trend,
new culture, the drug culture has taken over. They find out
they can make much more money from that source and you will
find them talking to the politicians in a way that the politicians
wouldn't want them to, but because they now have a base of
their own they can do that. So I would say, yes, the nexus
is there. I would say it is active but not as active as it
was say in the 70's, 80's and probably early 90's.
ON
WOMEN IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
You'd
be surprised to know that women have played major roles in
the underworld, and in our going into these communities on
many occasions they are there up front. For instance, if you
have community justice being executed the women in some cases
have to be there, they must be there.
Community
justice takes place in all kinds of ways. I guess the barrels
that you see coming out of downtown is community justice in
some cases. We have found out that they have their laws written
and if you break the laws in those communities you will have
to pay, and usually they bring out the community to witness.
It's more or less like what they do in the Muslim world. You
steal they cut off your finger or cut off a hand. It's hard
to believe, but it's happening and we cannot deny that it's
happening.
I happened to be in a community four weeks ago and I noticed
that there were no burglar bars on the shops and I said, "What
happen, no burglar bars are here." They said, well, nobody
can steal here because if that happens they are going to pay
for it and pay for it big time, and then we began to talk
and I said then -- well, I guess the main thing they do is
do public beatings. And I said, "Suppose when you are beating
someone dies?" It's just so it guh, you know. And I tell you
why -- and this is like within yards of a police station,
it is not that the security forces do not know, they know.
And in some cases some members of the security forces believe
that this is helping their cause because if they cannot apprehend
certain people and they can be dealt with by the community,
why not leave them and allow the community to take care of
them.
CLOSING
REMARKS
Thank
you for inviting me and I hope and trust that we can work
together. Mark Dawes (in his vote of thanks on behalf of Gleaner
editors) alluded to the fact that both political parties signed
on to my nomination (as Political Ombudsman), hence my being
here. It happened because when I was Chairman of the NDM (National
Democratic Movement) I decided I would take no active political
part in representational politics, and when I quit -- actually
you must have known that as Chairman I officiated in Babsy's
(JLP Babsy Grange) mother's funeral and I officiated in the
wedding ceremony of Portia (PNP's Portia Simpson Miller).
But it may interest you to know that over the last two years
on four separate occasions I was asked to run for either party
and I turned them down. Up until June this year. I was given
safe seats, I was promised safe seats if I would accept and
I decided that I would not run.
Thanks
for inviting me.
