Dear Editor,
We must all be very pleased that INDECOM has denied the suggestions made by the public defender that there was an inability on the commission's part to secure the weapons of the members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) involved in the 2010 Tivoli operation. INDECOM goes on to say that the JDF has been "...very cooperative in the investigations".
As one who has had the privilege of being a member of the JDF I expected nothing less and would encourage the present leadership to preserve the legacy of transparency and truthfulness of the JDF, even under the most difficult of conditions.
I will continue to maintain that the Tivoli inquiry, once it gets going, can be one of the better things to happen to the JDF for its future. However, this will very much depend on the focus of the inquiry and the JDF's own attitude to the proceedings. Any attempt at deception or cover-up could lead to a loss of credibility and public confidence, and naturally resultant is ineffectiveness.
Having said that, if the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry are not precise enough and, as a consequence, open the conduct of the proceedings to becoming a grand witch-hunt of individuals to be put on trial, then it will become an adversarial-type tribunal as opposed to an inquisitorial. In other words, this inquiry should not be to establish the guilt or innocence of individuals, but to establish the truth of what took place in Tivoli Gardens that resulted in the deaths of over 73 civilians. If the commission proceeds to be adversarial, the commissioners will have to rely on parties to present opposing views, and at the end of the day they will have to rely on only that evidence provided by the opposing parties, and then declare on who has won the legal contest, possibly without establishing the truth.
We must have the truth if we are to prevent a recurrence and to preserve the integrity of, in particular, the JDF.
Colonel Allan Douglas
Kingston 10
alldouglas@aol.com
Tivoli enquiry must seek nothing but the truth
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We must all be very pleased that INDECOM has denied the suggestions made by the public defender that there was an inability on the commission's part to secure the weapons of the members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) involved in the 2010 Tivoli operation. INDECOM goes on to say that the JDF has been "...very cooperative in the investigations".
As one who has had the privilege of being a member of the JDF I expected nothing less and would encourage the present leadership to preserve the legacy of transparency and truthfulness of the JDF, even under the most difficult of conditions.
I will continue to maintain that the Tivoli inquiry, once it gets going, can be one of the better things to happen to the JDF for its future. However, this will very much depend on the focus of the inquiry and the JDF's own attitude to the proceedings. Any attempt at deception or cover-up could lead to a loss of credibility and public confidence, and naturally resultant is ineffectiveness.
Having said that, if the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry are not precise enough and, as a consequence, open the conduct of the proceedings to becoming a grand witch-hunt of individuals to be put on trial, then it will become an adversarial-type tribunal as opposed to an inquisitorial. In other words, this inquiry should not be to establish the guilt or innocence of individuals, but to establish the truth of what took place in Tivoli Gardens that resulted in the deaths of over 73 civilians. If the commission proceeds to be adversarial, the commissioners will have to rely on parties to present opposing views, and at the end of the day they will have to rely on only that evidence provided by the opposing parties, and then declare on who has won the legal contest, possibly without establishing the truth.
We must have the truth if we are to prevent a recurrence and to preserve the integrity of, in particular, the JDF.
Colonel Allan Douglas
Kingston 10
alldouglas@aol.com
Tivoli enquiry must seek nothing but the truth
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