By Robert Hart, Parliamentary ReporterTHE JOINT select committee of Parliament will, next Tuesday, table a report on its deliberations on the controversial Terrorism Prevention Bill in the House of Representatives.
The committee will do so despite the refusal of Opposition committee members to sign off on the legislation.
During the sitting of the committee yesterday, Derrick Smith, Opposition spokesman on national security, argued that several concerns have yet to be addressed appropriately.
Delroy Chuck, Opposition spokesman on justice, told the committee that the Opposition will be issuing a minority report outlining its continuing concerns, including the broad definition of a terrorist activity within the legislation.
ADEQUATE TIME NEEDED
"If you try the matter under this Bill, which would normally have been tried under the Offences Against the Person Act, you may well leave the image of Jamaica being enwrapped in terrorism," Mr. Chuck said.
Committee chairman K.D. Knight, the minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, requested that the minority report be presented to him on Monday to allow adequate time to respond to the concerns.
"The report cannot, in my view, relate to any issue not discussed in this series of meetings," Mr. Knight said, while pointing out that he still hoped to arrive at a resolution all committee members could sign on to. "It is important that this be not seen as a Bill that is dealt with along party lines," he added.
Critics of the Terrorism Pre-vention Bill have dismissed it as too inconsistent. They note that under the Offences Against the Person Act, the killing of at least two people is automatically deemed a capital crime and punishable by a maximum sentence of death.
RIFT DISAPPOINTING
As a result, they say, persons charged under the Terrorism Prevention Bill for committing terrorist acts that lead to the deaths of others would find themselves subject to a lesser maximum sentence than persons charged with murder under the Offences Against the Person Act.
Government Senator Professor Trevor Munroe added that it was disappointing that, despite extraordinary changes made by the committee, there might not be a consensus.
"I do not believe that in any of the other CARICOM states... differences within the political community among the parties have led to dissent on the final Act against terrorism," Senator Munroe said.
PARTISAN POLITICS
"I appeal to colleagues in the Opposition not, either in effect or intent, to make this matter a subject for partisan politics," he added.
But Senator A.J. Nicholson, the minister of justice, argued that there should be no more time wasted on seeking consensus from the Opposition members.
"You know that I come from Rock River and I am a plain, blunt man. We must not attempt to beat the wind. It is not going to happen," he said.
Mr. Chuck at the same time stressed that there was no intention to introduce the minority report for political purposes.
"Let it be said that the Opposi-tion strongly supports a terrorism bill to fight terrorism. We support a terrorism bill but... still (this) bill does not satisfy us," he explained.
