Gordon House gangs and Gorbachev Golding

Kevin O'Brien Chang, Contributor

'... How easy it is if an example is set by Government of cruel conduct, for everybody to condone cruelty and for cruelty to become a national attribute ... .'  - Norman Manley, 1966

' ... Blood for blood, fire for fire.'  -- Edward Seaga, 1968

'I thank my Paseros of the garrison ... as a glory.' - - Michael Manley, 1974

'The two political gangs, or large swathes thereof, have themselves been captured by, fallen under the influence of, or made common cause with, gangs of another type: those engaged in organised crime and violence.' - Gleaner editorial, April 3, 2011

In 1962, 66 Jamaicans were murdered, and the Jamaican homicide rate was lower than the United States of America's (USA). In 2009, 1,680 Jamaicans were murdered, and the Jamaican homicide rate was 12 times higher than the USA's.

Jamaica's homicide rate first surpassed the USA's in 1966, when murders soared by 69 per cent, with the largest increase in the West Kingston constituency of Member of Parliament Edward Seaga and challenger Dudley Thompson.

In Violence and Politics in Jamaica: 1960-1970, Terry Lacey wrote:

'There were two new features of the JLP-PNP rivalry in Western Kingston: firstly, the widespread use of firearms, and, secondly, the reluctance of the police to arrest known gunmen ... . When a state of emergency was declared and the army and police moved into Western Kingston, The Gleaner commented, 'At last.' No wonder these criminal pests have been ... behaving like the new lords of the jungle! They knew that ... just as soon as they were arrested, some politician would ... bail them out."

Murder rate down ... for now

Jamaica's murder rate has fallen by roughly 40 per cent since May 2010, attributable mainly to the dismantling of the Tivoli Gardens garrison, and the freeing of the police force from political constraints. The phone calls from higher-ups ordering the release of apprehended criminal suspects have ceased for now. But unless the mindsets of our politicians change, what is to prevent those 'let him go' phone calls from starting again, and buried guns being dug up, when the election bells and trumpets sound?

My first reaction to The Gleaner's 'Gangs of Gordon House' editorials was that it was going too far. It's simply not true that our politicians have done nothing positive for the country. Whatever our problems, Jamaica is a stable democracy that has peacefully voted out incumbent leaders no less than six times, a record almost unparalleled outside the rich West. The 'Gangs of Gordon House' campaign is, itself, proof that we enjoy freedom of speech - no one is going to shut down or firebomb The Gleaner for condemning parliamentarians. And the Manatt enquiry showed that even our elected leaders are subject to the rule of law. Our politicians, past and present, must get credit for preserving these lynchpins of democracy.

But recently on a radio show, I heard senior JLP and PNP representatives hypocritically refuse to take any responsibility for the obscene increase in our murder rate since 1962. When asked if either party had ever associated with criminals, both shamelessly attacked the messenger rather than answer the question. In short, they behaved like colluding gangs.

If The Gleaner is seriously calling for a new political order, it must spotlight garrison constituencies and MPs, and support legislation designed to end violence and intimidation-based politics. Otherwise, its gangs-of-Parliament campaign cannot be considered anything but specious and, perhaps, agenda-driven grandstanding.

A good start would be printing the December 4, 2010 National Democratic Movement open letter to the prime minister, which all media houses, including The Gleaner, ignored.

'... One of the main deterrents to controlling crime is the continuation of relationships between criminal elements and our political fraternity, whether explicit or implicit ... . The logical first step would be to examine those areas where there is the greatest possibility of uncovering such relationships, namely in so-called garrison constituencies ... . An authentically implemented garrison commission of enquiry would expose any such connections.'

It listed the 'sure seats in which gangs and guns play a major role in determining which party people vote for': Kingston East, Central, West; St Andrew South West, East Central, West, South, West Central; St Catherine South Central, Central, East Central; Clarendon Central. As to whether this list is accurate, well, that is why we need a garrison truth and reconciliation commission.

Now even his usual critics dubbed Audley Shaw's Budget speech a tour de force, and the prime minister's presentation was just as substantial. It may not have pleased those who prefer sugar-coated platitudes and straw-man sound bites. But the intellectually sincere know that real solutions begin with admitting the real problems, and whatever his faults, Mr Golding's ability to elucidate the fundamental issues facing the nation remains unmatched.

Economy emerging from desert

Jamaica entered the global financial crisis with one of the world's highest debt-to-GDP ratios, and honest observers will admit that this administration dealt with the effects of the worst economic downturn in 80 years probably as well as could have been hoped. Yes, there has been pain and suffering, but as places like Iceland and Greece show, it could have been far worse. The bruised, but not broken Jamaican economy seems to be finally emerging from the desert, and while the land of milk and honey may still be some way off, at least it is now in sight.

Yet, has Mr Golding, like Moses, shepherded his flock through the burning sands, only for another to lead them into the promised land? For despite his obviously yeoman work on the critical nuts and bolts, recent polls show that a majority of Jamaicans still have not regained moral confidence in him over the Manatt-Dudus issue.

Whether he can get back their trust and again be victorious at the polls, time will tell. But he surely cannot expect to simply just talk his way back into voters' confidences, since you can't reason people out of what they didn't reason themselves into. If Bruce Golding hopes to regain the electorate's faith, he'd better start making good on those promises he has made but never fulfilled.

One of his Budget speech highlights was the long-touted reform agenda that included: 1) Independent investigation of state agent abuse; 2) whistle-blower protection; 3) investigation and prosecution of corruption; 4) defamation-law reform; 5) dismantling of garrisons; 6) award of government contracts; 7) impeachment provisions; 8) term limits; 9) political-party financing regulation; 10) constitutional amendments to incorporate critical public institutions; 11) appointments to sensitive posts.

If Mr Golding can bring all these to fruition, or even move them so far along that they cannot be stopped, his legacy will be secure, come what may. He, himself, talked of batons being passed on, and others completing the job. Is he destined to be a Jamaican Gorbachev, who paid with his political career for doing what everyone knew needed to be done, but nobody else wanted to do?

Whatever Jamaica's economic challenges, crime remains our biggest problem, and it will never be fully solved until we get the violence out of politics, and regularise all garrisons. Stiff criminal sanctions for breaches of the political code, and the improper award of government contracts, would certainly go a long way to achieving this.

Yet, sometimes the acknowledgement of true change requires a grand public spectacle - most date the ending of the Cold War to the demolition of the Berlin Wall. In 2006, Bruce Golding made an offer, which Portia Simpson Miller accepted, for both to go hand in hand through the inner cities. Maybe The Gleaner can remind them of their promises. Would the sight of the prime minister and opposition leader walking together through Tivoli and Jacques Road not be a concrete signal to the nation that the 'Gordon House gangs' really do want to change their ways?

Kevin O'Brien Chang is author of 'Jamaica Fi Real: Beauty, Vibes and Culture'. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and Kobchang365@gmail.com.