Defence Board says no to intelligence release

The Defence Board has refused to authorise the release of the name of the head of the Military Intelligence Unit (MIU).

This decision, according to secretary of the Defence Board, Dianne McIntosh, was taken during a special meeting convened yesterday by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who is also minister of defence and chairman of the board.

McIntosh later wrote to the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry saying: "Disclosure of the information being sought could severely hamper the operations of the Jamaica Defence Force's (JDF) Military Intelligence Unit and the security of the nation."

She added: "Accordingly, I have been directed to advise that neither Lieutenant Patrick Cole nor any other member of the JDF is authorised to disclose the identity of any person currently or previously assigned to the MIU."

Ridiculous decision

In a response yesterday evening, Delano Seiveright, president of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) affiliate group, Generation 2000 (G2K), declared the decision of the Defence Board as "ridiculous".

"It goes against common practice in many democratic societies, and is, frankly, highly undemocratic," Seiveright said in a statement sent to The Gleaner.

"We are taking the 'compromising national security' concerns way too far. It is a very slippery slope," he added.

The JLP affiliate group urged the Government to reconsider its position saying it did not "augur well for democracy".

Attorney-at-law Frank Phipps, who is representing the JLP, had sought the name of the MIU head during his cross-examination of Cole last Thursday.

His request was communicated to the Defence Board a day later, but not before several attorneys cautioned their colleague to ensure that national security was not compromised in the pursuit of the truth.

"At the end of this enquiry, there is a country that is going to continue," warned attorney Lieutenant Colonel Linton Gordon, who is representing past and present members of the JDF.