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Social anthropologist Dr Herbert Gale believes the backlash human rights watchdog Jamaica for Justice (JFJ) has received after warning Prime Minister Andrew Holness not to incite government-sanctioned killings is the result of “divided factions” among Jamaicans.
Gail, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, said citizens were stuck in a binary choice where they could only choose one or the other.
“Labor and Comrade, Gully and Gaza; whatever stupidity you come up with, they’ll fall into it without a second thought,” Gale said of the growing criticism against the agency.
Holness said Monday that the man who killed eight people and injured 10 others on Cherry Tree Lane in Clarendon on Sunday must “be judged by a judge or the Creator.” But then Judge John F. Jefferson warned Holness that his comments were dangerous.
JFJ Executive Director Mikel Jackson said the government should come up with solutions to the rampant crime in the country without compromising the integrity of Jamaica’s justice system.
However, the warning was met with disgust from government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley and social media users, who called the human rights body a “criminal sympathizer”.
FitzHenry said the Law Office of John F. Jacks should be careful about the message it sends to perpetrators of violent crimes.
The feeling of duality
Assessing the discussion, Gale said citizens’ reactions to JFJ were “tricky”, noting that there was also a sense of “duality” where they might pretend to support the government or JFJ, but in reality they were just making noise and were not genuinely supportive.
“We are very good at theatre…Jamaican people can be easily incited into madness and take sides,” he said.
Gale said Holness responded to Sunday’s shooting the way a brother or father would if something happened to a sibling or child.
“All of them will be punished and so on, but I’m sure if anyone had a deeper conversation with the prime minister he would have said ‘within the law’ and that was reflected in his comments afterwards. There was a lot of emotion coming out,” he said.
Nonetheless, Gale said the Jamaica Justice Movement party had a right to be concerned about the statement, noting that Jamaica was one of the few countries in the world to have seen an increase in state violence during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said it showed the state was capable of excessive repression.
However, he said the real problem was that Jamaicans were not politically mature enough to look at the position of the Prime Minister and John Fitzgerald J. Fidel and come up with a reasonable position.
The university lecturer said the system provides four layers of central political power. At the bottom are the media, the church, non-governmental organizations and watchdog groups, which must act in accordance with their respective responsibilities.
He said these groups cannot be silenced or told when to speak.
“You can’t tell any group that makes up civil society or the central political power base that they must not act, because who is going to protect you if they’re not there?” he asked.
The second group, Gale said, is the police, who he said are representatives of the country and must abide by the constitution.
“Above them is the judiciary, and part of the problem with repression is that the judiciary often fails to act. People are not brought to court and sentenced, which is what happens in civic democracies,” he said, noting that democracies have limits on their actions.
“The apex of central political power is the legislature. The grassroots must be respected and given the power to protect the people, whoever they are… People must understand that everyone has their own responsibilities,” he said.
In condemning the violence and offering condolences to the families of the victims of the Clarendon Massacre, Jackson said Justice John F. Jefferson recognized that there is never a right time to speak out against police brutality and government abuses.
She said we have expressed serious concerns about the prime minister’s remarks and the agency has maintained this position. “We have to ask, when should we speak?
“Should we wait until potentially negative outcomes occur before we speak? Should we wait until the number of police-involved deaths increases before we speak? Our commitment to principled advocacy remains unwavering; we show genuine empathy for victims of crime. However, it is critical that political correctness and public relations do not dictate our approach. Upholding the rule of law must always be our guiding principle,” she said.
Jackson maintained that Holness’s comments were inappropriate because they had the potential to be misinterpreted and could cause further hurt and misunderstanding within the community.
She said such statements could have far-reaching negative consequences and undermine the just foundations that Jamaica has worked hard to uphold.
“For example, we have seen videos and photos of people killed by police being shown and social media users applauding the prime minister’s comments about meeting the makers. This reflects our concerns,” Jackson said.
She said the John Fitzgerald Foundation was disappointed by “dog whistle politics” from political leaders who called the group a criminal rights activist.
She said this led to people calling the organisation and making threats and “vicious” comments about staff.
“But we will not be intimidated. I urge all Jamaicans of conscience to understand that the State cannot break the law in order to uphold it. I also ask Jamaicans to understand that supporting the rights of all Jamaicans does not equate to supporting criminal behaviour.
“I urge Jamaicans not to confuse the absolute right of police officers to self-defence when faced with gunmen with those who disregard the law. Remember the names of Matthew Lee and Nakia Jackson, and the many others who have been killed by the state and who have yet to receive justice,” she said.
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