Dudus enquiry stalled
Published:Friday | January 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
Only 52 minutes after the start of yesterday's proceedings, the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry came to a halt at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.
A package of highly classified memoranda of understanding (MOU) between Jamaica and the United States, which is believed to be relevant to the enquiry, continued to elude the commission and incense some attorneys.
Four secret documents were reportedly produced by the US during the diplomatic row which was sparked by the extradition request for accused drug kingpin Christopher 'Dudus' Coke in 2009.
They were expected to be featured in evidence yesterday.
But this was not to be, as word emerged that it was the Ministry of National Security, and not the Ministry of Justice or Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, that has them in its possession.
The commission was told that the MOU between Jamaica and the US were executed in 2004.
Evadne Coye, the permanent secretary in the foreign affairs ministry who made reference to them, had signalled that they did not originate from her office and stressed that she knew nothing of their contents.
Another wasted day
Coye told the commission last week that a search for them in her ministry yielded nothing.
Once again, attorneys representing witnesses were angered by "another wasted day".
Coye, who had initially raised the issue of two secret documents, was scheduled to return to the witness seat and she did.
It was Curtis Cochrane, the representative from the attorney general's office, who disclosed that there were four classified memoranda.
Cochrane suggested that while he was not averse to disclosure of the contents of the memos, it should be done on a limited basis.
Commission Chairman Emil George suggested that if the documents could not be disseminated to all attorneys, the contents could be made available to the three commissioners.
This did not go down well with K.D. Knight, the attorney representing the People's National Party.
"To see the documents at the exclusion of others would seem to be highly irregular," argued Knight.
But George refused to back down.
"I suppose we could use our powers under Section 10 of the act," he countered.
Hugh Small, the lawyer representing Prime Minister Bruce Golding, appeared just as impatient with the uncertainty that shrouded the commission's work.
"The commission must access the memoranda. I want to known when this will be done," Small demanded.
He suggested that Monday would be in order, a proposal with which George found favour.
Frank Phipps, who represents the Jamaica Labour Party, said it must be determined whether the documents were subject to approval by Cabinet and, ultimately, Parliament.