A show of dismantling

In December 1991 my wife and I took part in a peace walk through western Kingston led by the church, the New Beginning Movement, of which I was a convenor, and we began at the St John's United Church in Hannah Town, walked through the Matthews Lane area, and then approached the entrance to Tivoli Gardens.

A kerkuffle ensued as we were at first denied entry, and it was Archbishop Samuel Carter (of blessed memory), Anthony Abrahams and Trevor Munroe who negotiated at some length with the gatekeepers, after which we entered the enclave and walked through the community with our message of peace. Based on my experiences. I submitted two articles to this newspaper which were published on successive Sundays on the editorial page, and my career as a weekly Gleaner columnist began two months later.

Over the many years I have been writing this column, I have plugged away at the subject of garrisons and garrison constituencies and the need to dismantle them, but it has been like watering a dry stick. Whether it was the People's National Party (PNP) or the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in power, there was little interest in the subject. Write as I might about attendance at the funerals of political thugs, about gun salutes in cemeteries, about the naked award of contracts to the dons, about unpaid water and electricity bills, and the like, the subject gained little traction.

Indeed, the garrison phenomenon deepened, as Hannah Town - previously a mixed community - was garrisonised, and there seemed no shame, and no end in sight. It seemed that the two major political parties had woven the garrisons irretrievably into the very fabric of their existence. It seems like forever that the JLP party leader has presided over a political garrison, and then when the PNP leadership contest boiled down to one of three garrison MPs, it was clear Jamaica's politics had taken a big turn for the worst.

We are now at a critical juncture in our young nation's history, as it seems that many Jamaicans have had enough. The chorus of calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Bruce Golding from across civil society - including from the Church and from the private sector - aided no doubt by pressure from the international community, has forced him to announce his intention to dismantle the garrisons.

Sceptical of commitment

But you must excuse me if I am quite a bit sceptical about the depth of the present commitment of the JLP as a whole to this goal, judging by the lack of public statements by JLP stalwarts in support of the PM's position. If the JLP was genuinely committed to ending the garrison phenomenon and garrison politics, I would expect Babsy Grange and Pearnel Charles and Mike Henry and Ruddy Spencer to mention it at every opportunity, on every public platform and on the talk shows. The silence is deafening!At the same time, the PNP, which has three times as many garrison constituencies as the JLP, is even more silent. They made garrison politics stronger on their watch, and there is no evidence that they have changed course on this one.

Clearly, the prime minister's back was against the wall when he agreed to the incursion into Tivoli Gardens, and to initiate the process to extradite his supporter, Christopher Coke. He did not agree to these steps freely, but caved in under extreme pressure. It is not unreasonable to expect that he and his government will try to make as big a dismantling show as possible without actually dismantling anything.

The departure of Mr Coke has left a vacuum for, by all accounts, he was generous with his resources, providing work and sending children to school. If the Government just sends in money to provide work and to send children to school, this by itself will not dismantle the garrisons; all it does is changes the face of the don, and will reinsert the MP as the 'One don inna de area'.

Mr Golding's unprecedented moves may have burnt some bridges; there will be some in his constituency for whom he is now irredeemable and, therefore, he might be well advised to put some serious thought into genuine dismantling.

I hope that from this episode civil society will have learnt the important lesson that they have real power, and that they will not ease up, but will hold Prime Minister Golding to his promise to put an end to the evil system he and his colleagues have created. Can't you, in your mind's eye, see the New Jamaica?

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and a Roman Catholic deacon. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.