Gang leaders' proposal to reduce crime
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
FORMER Bahamian gang leaders have put a proposal to government to help bring crime under control and peace back to our streets.
Their proposal sounds reasonable, but we agree with National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest that government cannot provide financial backing for the programme without "accountability and transparency."
Much accountability and transparency will be required if unwittingly pockets of garrisons and dons, loyal to a particular politician or political party is not created, as happened in Jamaica. This Jamaican misadventure came to a head in May last year with the storming of Tivoli Gardens in which 73 Jamaicans were killed, and Tivoli's drug lord "Dudus" Coke was arrested. A few days ago "Dudus" pleaded guilty in a lower Manhattan court to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. He will be sentenced on December 8 and could get the maximum 23 years in prison, after which he will be deported to Jamaica.
Christopher "Dudus" Coke, known as the president of Tivoli, took care of that ghetto's residents, giving them jobs, paying for the schooling of their children, and pledging Tivoli's loyalty to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) at election time. The survival of many in Tivoli and Western Kingston depended on the drug lord. Under US pressure, the Jamaican government reluctantly moved to extradite "Dudus" to the US to answer drug and gun running charges against him there. Tivoli's residents, whose loyalty was to "Dudus" and not to the government, resisted the security forces. Gunmen from across the island, also loyal to "Dudus", rushed to Tivoli to assist residents in what ended in a bloody battle against the government.
We are not suggesting that this would happen in Nassau, but the same ingredients that existed in Jamaica many years ago that eventually ended in Tivoli, are here.
We saw a hint of it in the extradition to the US of "Ninety" Knowles, who became a "folk hero" in his neighbourhood. From his jail cell in Fox Hill, Knowles, for six years, employed every legal tactic to avoid his extradition.
However, when the order eventually came for him to go it created a furor in Nassau, and even drew out placard-carrying demonstrators when then foreign affairs minister Fred Mitchell signed a warrant of surrender before Knowles had exhausted his legal appeals. The Court of Appeal recorded its "serious concern" at the manner in which Knowles had been sent from the Bahamas to face trial and eventual jail in the US.
However, legally right or wrong, it was the best decision for the Bahamas. Already Knowles, like Dudus, was building his little empire of supporters. He was generous with his ill-gotten gains, which he distributed liberally among the poor.
We are not attributing these intentions to any of the drug leaders who recently met with Mr Turnquest with a proposal to bring peace to our streets. We are certain that they want to see peaceful communities as much as we all do.
Mr Valentino "Scrooge" Rolle, one of the spokesmen for the group, said they were no longer going to be political pawns. He said that every five years at election time political parties rally them to mobilise the community and keep the peace. "We are not into that anymore," he said.
However, from the very mouths of gang members our readers would be surprised at some of the names we have been given as to who had engaged them, not to keep the peace, but to lead demonstrations to create chaos and disorder. Invariably when our reporters interviewed some of the demonstrators they admitted they did not know the reason for the demonstration, but that they were being paid to carry their placards and make noise.
If it is this rowdiness that they are now putting behind them with a proposal to bring peace to the streets we congratulate them.
United Against Crime (UAC) - as they are now to be known -- proposes that government employ community leaders to do full time community work -- mediating conflicts, building side walks, cleaning the community, landscaping and performing other tasks, rather than employ outside companies to do the work. In other words give the contract to the little man in his own neighbourhood.
Another suggestion to stimulate economic activity is the creation of training centres in the community to provide training in wood work, arts and crafts, plumbing, small boat handling, engine repair, and other skills.
These are suggestions that are well worth exploring as long as the watchwords - with every transaction and at all times - are "accountability and transparency."
September 05, 2011
tribune242 editorial
Caribbean Blog International
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