Avoiding the truth

Lambert Brown, Contributor

It is amazing how many people faced with unpleasant realities are quick to create alternative thought processes in an effort to wish away the actualities they find unpalatable. This approach may very well be in all of us. As a little boy when I was told of the death of anyone I knew, I would constantly hope that somehow the deceased was only sleeping and would awaken at an appropriate time. Even at the funeral, I imagined a miracle happening and the coffin suddenly opening and the dead springing to life. As I grow older I have learnt to accept realities as truth that must be accepted not avoided.

The response of some people to the recent comments by former commissioner of police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin about Christopher 'Dudus' Coke being "tipped off" after a meeting he (Lewin) had with the minister of national security last August are reflective of such a state of mind. Instead of searching to see if even a kernel of truth exists in the comments of the former commissioner of police, these people prefer to search for an ulterior motive.

They wonder why it took Admiral Lewin so long to reveal the information. Others alleged that his comments are based on him taking a partisan political position. He has been called "bitter", "vengeful" and "a failure". All of these positions are red herrings being drawn across the trail in an attempt to avoid facing what may very well be the "inconvenient truth".

Lingering questions

Lewin's statement of Dudus being tipped off is verifiable. Justice and truth as demanded by our national anthem dictate that an instant probe be made in the allegations made by the former commissioner. Did Dudus flee his uptown abode on August 24 last year within 15 minutes of Lewin's meeting with Minister Nelson? Did he beat a hasty retreat to Tivoli Gardens and encamped there for most of the time since that day? Did Dudus ever return to his uptown abode between August 24 and whenever he was captured? Was Dudus under surveillance by the security forces during August 2009, including on the 24th the day of the meetings, first with Minister Nelson and later the prime minister? Is wiretap evidence available which can confirm or disprove the former commissioner's allegation that Dudus was tipped off? If he was indeed tipped off, is there a recording of the voice of the tipster in possession of the intelligence community? If yes, is the voice recognisable?

The answers to these questions would be instructive. They would lead us to be able to assess the truth or falsehood of the former commissioner of police's comments. Interestingly, as commissioner of police, Admiral Lewin was in a position to know the answer to all these questions. Did he speak, as he did, knowing the answer to these questions?

The Bruce Golding government, and more so, our citizens who are interested in truth, should be focused on getting an honest resolution of this imbroglio. Vilifying a truly honourable and patriotic Jamaican who has served his nation with distinction for well over three decades of loyal service in the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force leads away from truth seeking. Nor can the search for truth be found in the obfuscation inherent in an archaic Official Secrets Act - the weapon of choice preferred by Minister Dwight Nelson. Citizens like Hardley Lewin, to whom honour and truth mean so much, are owed the duty of a thorough investigation of his 'whistle-blowing'. The Government has an obligation to initiate such an investigation. Will they?

The prime minister has called on Lewin to prove his allegation that Dudus was tipped off. I agree with the prime minister on this one. However, it is incumbent on the prime minister to provide the mechanism to allow the former commissioner to prove the truth or otherwise of his comments. I hope the prime minister will agree that a commission of enquiry would be the best place for such allegations to be ventilated. If the Government is confident that there is no truth in Lewin's allegations, then let in the full glare of sunlight through such a commission of enquiry. Let us have illumination.

Let us stop avoiding the truth. Let that commission of enquiry investigate the entire debacle surrounding the Government's inept handling of the Dudus Coke extradition matter. Jamaica's good name has been dragged through the mud; our citizens have faced scorn and embarrassment in the international community. Based on comments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it would appear that the members of the political directorate do not think anything went wrong in how the Government handled the extradition affair.

State Department report

The US State Department said the following about our country in March of this year: "Until August 2009, the extradition treaty between the United States Government and the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) had been actively and successfully used by the United States to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests were routinely and timely processed by Jamaican political and judicial authorities. The GOJ's unusual handling of the August request for the extradition of a high-profile Jamaican crime lord with reported ties to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which currently holds a majority in Parliament, on alleged drug and firearms trafficking charges marked a dramatic change in GOJ's previous co-operation on extradition, including a temporary suspension in the processing of all other pending requests and raises serious questions about the GOJ's commitment to combating transnational crime.

"The high-profile suspect resides in and essentially controls the Kingston neighbourhood known as Tivoli Gardens, a key constituency for the Jamaica Labour Party. Jamaica's processing of the extradition request has been subjected to unprecedented delays, unexplained disclosure of law-enforcement information to the press, and unfounded allegations questioning US compliance with the MLAT and Jamaican law."

Only a commission of enquiry will resolve the divide and allow the nation to face the unvarnished truth about the events started on August 24 last year and included the killing of nearly 80 Jamaicans over a 48-hour period in a very small geographical location. In any decent country where respect for truth dominates, honour is espoused and trust is held at premium by Government, there would be no equivocation as to whether a commission of enquiry would be established so that lessons may be learnt from the errors of the past and we never walk this sordid path again.

Lambert Brown is president of the University and Allied Workers Union and may be contacted at labpoyh@yahoo.com or feedback sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.