Long days ahead

Paul-André Walker, Rural Editor

There will be long days ahead for those persons detained in the struggle to restore order to the west Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens.

After trying to get into Tivoli, The Gleaner happened on a group of young men captured by soldiers.

The detention location cannot be disclosed because of security concerns but those men will be waiting until it's time to wrap up operations.

The captives were shirtless and sat in a line taking instructions from a soldier who seemed to be in a no-nonsense mood. He had earned their respect.

Whether those young men were part of the battle between the security forces and gunmen is not known, but they did not look much like gunmen at the time.

When the Gleaner team tried to get a picture of what was happening, we were told "no", though a quick-fingered photographer had already managed to reel off a good shot, unknown to the soldiers.

The area had, for hours, only been affected by spatterings of gunfire and didn't seem too dangerous a venture.

Resounding 'no'

Our team continued to try, though. When we approached another entrance point to Tivoli, there was another resounding "no" from troops.

There, a burning building could be clearly seen, and around the corner, the Darlington Street Police Station was in ruins, razed by thugs.

The rubble told the full story of an attack against the State and the blue of the constabulary force - now blackened - spoke of the struggles now past.

After being repeatedly told, "No! You cannot go any further", our news team decided to return to our base. On the way, we caught up with some policemen in downtown Kingston who were ensuring that the Tivoli conflict would not be used as an opportunity for persons to burgle business places.

paul-andre.walker@gleanerjm.com