Archive for the ‘jamaica’ Tag
BBC Caribbean RIP
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bbc, caribbean, cut, cuts jobs, jamaica, service, world
Comments (2) It is with great sadness that I heard the news about BBC Caribbean being closed in the latest round of BBC World Service cuts.
Bush house, London photo courtesy of Redvers
It leads me to worry about the media coverage in Jamaica as the BBC’s news correspondent Nick Davies has also been returned to London. There is a big difference being there full time and living there, rather than flying in when there’s a big story to cover. The expertise and the daily news that will be lost will have consequences far beyond the loss of jobs and programmes. This relates to holding government and officials in Jamaica to account. The BBC were in a unique position to do this in a place where there is widespread intimidation by the police and by gangsters, protecting their interests at the expense of ordinary Jamaicans.
Coke Court Dates
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: christopher, coke, court dates, dudus, jamaica
Leave a Comment Christopher Coke has been in and out of court in the US, next scheduled to appear on Nov 29, 2010.
His attorneys are now settled and doing the job – they are Florida based lead counsel, Stephen P Rosen and Steve Zissou. There was some delay over getting them in place because it had to be shown that they were being paid legally and not with money which came from an illegal source.
His judge on Nov 29th is Judge Robert P Patterson Jr and it’s thought he could set an actual trial date which may be early next year.
The truth about Jamaica’s gangs
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: city, don, gang, gangs, guns, inner, jamaica, kingston, neighbourhoods, police
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Photo by klemmerhead
We’ve had a lot of talk this year about the links between the gangs in Jamaica and the politicians (read more about Dudus here). But all this talk of garrison politics and historical links, has blurred the truth about today’s gangs in Jamaica.
The real situation has been highlighted by Damian Hutchinson in the JA Observer. He works to try and make peace by talking to warring groups when gang violence kicks off in Kingston and he makes some interesting points …
“So it’s a process where the entire community is wrapped up in the violence, so it is not just a gang, so it is very tricky when the police say they are going to dismantle a gang. How do you dismantle a community?
“It’s not just 10 man that you run into and kill off the 10 name brand man. His mother is there, his sister is there and his cousins are there. It’s community battling against community, so it’s very tricky when you say you are going to dismantle a gang, it’s communities”
“You will have a community with six streets and six different leaders. We have more pockets and definitely more groups.
Also there are situations where the don for the community is overseas, and so he influences the process and the money to buy bullets comes through a money transfer facility every Friday. That situation is much more complicated because whereas the main players are in the community and you can get them to come together at the table, when you have an overseas factor like that, it’s much more difficult”
“You have good gunmen and you have bad gunmen. ”
I can agree with this last statement as I have met a few of them.
Hutchinson also talked about a working man who used his savings to buy guns when the police failed to protect his community. There are many things that drive men (and women) to take up the gun in Jamaica. Condemning them without understanding the reasons behind their decision would be a big mistake, because therein lies the solution.
Kill Them before they kill you – Reneto Adams style of policing
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: adams, cop, jamaica, police, reneto, reneto adams, senior, superintendent
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Reneto Adams
This controversial former senior superintendent of police, Reneto Adams is still making the headlines in Jamaica. He’s been talking about the killings in the Tredegar Park area of St Catherine, where eight men and women were shot by gunmen.
Here he is, in the past, talking about running for police commissioner. Read more background on him in this article. And read about what happened in Braeton here.
So now he’s been saying two things …first
“My policy is that where criminals are concerned, we are to identify them and treat them like the ferocious crocodiles and alligators, having them killed in the eggs before the are hatched”
So he’s saying kill criminals before they have committed the crime or when they are young?
“Anywhere you see the alligators and crocodiles, have them killed before they devour you.”
And here he is saying kill the criminal before crime gets out of control?
I know there are people who agree with this style of policing and when things are tough it’s hard not to look at possible solutions like this. But this has been a style of policing in Jamaica for decades now and it is not working. The murder rates speak for themselves.
Cross, Angry, Miserable…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2010, angry, august, bounty, cross, dancehall, jamaica, killer, miserable
Leave a Comment Could only be Bounty Killer of course.
I come across this documentary about him - all the right voices are on there including Killer himself – although some of the things he says should be told through the other voices – which are plenty, some nice shots. I’m not sure of this if the whole thing though, could certainly merit with some structure and added explanations. I wish could have made it properly.
Life after Dudus
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: after, dudus, gangs, gardens, jamaica, kingston, life, power, re-building, repair, tivoli, vacuum, west
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Kids playing cards in Tivoli - photo by Norman Grindley Jamaica Gleaner
Normal life in Tivoli Gardens right now as illustrated in the Gleaner newspaper, but we all know things are not normal. After a decade of tight control and loyal support to West Kingston area don Dudus, everyone there must be wondering what is going to happen next.
The police are still making their presence felt, manning a couple of units that have been set up there. They are now warning that gangs in West Kingston are re-grouping.
The fight to re-establish a new don to replace the power vacuum left behind by Dudus will be strong and the police are hoping that social groups will come in to help re-build trust with police – an international inquiry into the killings a month ago, may be more effective.
Sandra Goldbourne, is from one of the agencies who are supposed to be stepping into Tivoli – she is quoted as saying they will help the community with health, housing and employment, but unless they come with money to deal with the lack of health, jobs and poor housing, spurious gang violence when the police leave the area, a few more months down the line, may well be the inevitable outcome.
Changing the System
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: corruption, dudus, fraud, government, jamaica, lewin, movado, police comissioner
Leave a Comment A couple of things to say in support of Movado’s message.
The former police commissioner, Harley Lewin has said in a TV interview that Christopher “Dudus” Coke knew about the extradition request within “minutes” of it being disclosed to the JLP national security minister – Dwight Nelson. The implication being that Mr Nelson tipped off Dudus.
We already know that the Prime Minister himself staked his own reputation, putting himself on the line trying to protect Dudus from extradition, so it is no surprise in a way that Mr Nelson would also be implicated.
Mr Nelson has, however hit back at the suggestion.
The other thing that has happened, is corruption within the finance ministry – as 250,000 USD was discovered to have been de-frauded.
Certainly, the system is not really working right now and change would be a move in the right direction.
Dudus Lawyer – Tom Tavares-Finson
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2010, christopher, coke, custody, dudus, finson, jamaica, june, latest, lawyer, tavares, tom, us
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Tom Tavares-Finson being questioned by police outside the army barracks where Dudus was held photo by JA Observer
With Dudus safely out of Jamaica and in US custody, there have been a few things being said.
The lawyer who was rep-ping Dudus until the sh*t hit the fan, and now he is back on board and who is also a govt senator has been talking about a few things.
He has been re-iterating the fact that negotiations for Dudus’s surrender were going on before the Tivoli Gardens bloodshed. That he had wished to be taken straight to US custody from the beginning.
“History in time will reveal all, but I can tell you without fear of hesitation that up until an hour before they moved, there were negotiations going on for his surrender to the American authorities. Those people were killed for no reason”
This is bad because it shows how the raid on Tivoli was unnecessary and could have been avoided if the talks had been successful then. But why weren’t they successful?
What assurances did Dudus want which the govt could not give him?
Tivoli Gardens ‘torture chamber’?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2010, chamber, gardens, jamaica, june, kingston, may, raid, tivoli, tivoli gardens, torture
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Police say persons were hung by the arms from these nooses and beaten by thugs with a metal baseball bat.
The police and army are in control in Tivoli and it seems that for the first time in many years, they are getting the chance to have a good look around. It is reported they have found a ‘torture chamber’.
A soldier walks past a shallo grave in Tivoli
They also found a number of shallow graves where people were buried. The strict discipline held by Christopher Dudus Coke and his gang in Tivoli Gardens has been known about for some time and is the reason behind his fearsome reputation.
This was found in an area within Tivoli called Java and there’s another place near there called Rasta City.
Police say this room was used as a torture chamber. (Photos: Lionel Rookwood, Jamaica Observer)
This photo is said, by police to have been used for torture, but the detail around how they know this is sketchy, although the baseball bat looks ominous, without proper forensic evidence I don’t think it can be said for sure.
Other interesting news is that the police and army have set up a checkpoint and post in Dudus’s old offices. I’m sure they a re relishing the irony of that but is it really appropriate and what does it say about how one force (Dudus) has just been replaced by another (state security). Is one really any better than the other?
Jamaican Passport racket
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bigga, cornwall, ford, gardens. passport, illegal, jamaica, kingston, passport, racket, raid, tivoli
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Jamaican police seizures June 2010
These are some items recovered after a raid by police in downtown Kingston this week.
They were found in St John’s Lane, not far from Gordon House which is where politicians in parliament meet.
Cornwall "Bigga" Ford heads Jamaica's Flying Squad
The Flying squad – headed by Cornwall “Bigga” Ford – read more about him here, in a joint operation with the Caribbean Search Centre – run by the Jamaica Defence Force, found a number of illegal passports – both Jamaican and international ones.
It’s in the midst of a hive of police and army activity going on since the raid on Tivoli Gardens. Read this post about the raid for more info on that.
So several illegal passports and justice of the peace stamps were recovered .
Everyone knows you buy these Justice of the Peace stamps (hell, I’ve even had to buy one myself) - people who need to get abroad can always do so, as opposed to ordinary people who get stuck in an immigration nightmare.
This is the reality of organised crime – you can buy your way and do most things. But does all this activity mean that people will be prosecuted and will the tough stance be long lasting? Does this signal a real change away from the politics of corruption and links between politicians and crime or is this a quick fix until things go back to ‘normal’?
