Dudus' plea: a bargain for Jamaica

Dudus was saying nothing we in Jamaica never knew when he pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States (US) last week. In fact, we know those were relatively petty crimes compared to the atrocities and barbarism which characterised his ruthless rule over that incredibly monstrous and murderous Shower Posse.

Even the women in white who came out to proclaim him lord and saviour last year knew what kind of creature he was. But we could not do one damn thing about him. That is until the Americans intervened to liberate us from his criminal tyranny. God bless America! This is hard, coming from a seasoned critic of US foreign policy. But the action against Christopher Michael Coke demonstrates the value of having a Great Power strong enough to force weak states to respect the rule of law.

The fact that Dudus could have flourished in Jamaica from the early 1990s is a graphic illustration of the failure of the Jamaican State. Not only did the Jamaican State fail to nab him in his criminal activities, it actively supported him and his criminal enterprises by rewarding him with lucrative multimillion-dollar contracts - taxpayers' money. All the while washing its hands, like Pontius Pilate, saying, "I find no (legal) fault in him"; his not having been convicted in our courts.

For the last two weeks I have made a bold case for a strong, activist state. But if the state can't take care of security, what right do we have giving it any other responsibilities? my critics may well ask.

In the next few days, weeks and months, much propaganda value will be wrung out of the Coke conviction. The People's National Party (PNP) must be ecstatic. The party will gain much traction with this football and will, no doubt, score many easy goals. The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will have to strategise its own counter-propaganda, no doubt drawing attention to the fact that Coke has been around before 2007, that the PNP has more garrisons than it does, and that Clansman mobsters are no strangers to barbarities - and, sadly for us, they are still active here. The US has not taken them off our hands yet.

Narrow prism

The politicians will do what the politicians have to do. The majority in this country who have not mortgaged their minds and souls to any of the two tribes have to analyse matters outside their narrow, partisan prism. Let's start with what should be some uncontroversial, incontestable facts.

Tivoli was, as Hardley Lewin said memorably, the "mother of all garrisons". Not just in the sense of being the prototype, but qualitatively. Tivoli was unique among Jamaican garrisons for its command structure, its hierarchical rigidity, its militarisation, its extensive control over citizens' lives and its political clout. It acted as a central command for other JLP garrisons and operated a global criminal enterprise from that piece of real estate. It was a state within a state. The PNP has its own garrisons - and Kevin O'Brien Chang points out frequently that it has more than the JLP - but you can't just count garrisons; you have to weigh them. And Tivoli packed a lot of weight and was worth a number of the PNP garrisons combined in terms of sheer ruthlessness and reach.

Tivoli survived as a criminal enterprise not only because of its organisational structure, authoritarian criminal leadership and political support, but because of its clever and cynical manipulation of its persecution complex and victim status. It seduced unsuspecting people in media and civil society, especially human rights activists, into believing that the wicked, brutal and vengeful security forces were out to annihilate them, and that near to election time they stage events to beat up on poor, innocent, God-fearing Tivoli. Influential voices in both the print and electronic media were duped into swinging public opinion against any strong security force action against the criminal enterprise in Tivoli.

The PNP was, quite frankly, afraid to act. I can understand the PNP's fear, for the dynamics were stacked against it - especially after 2001. After that 2001 invasion of Tivoli, and the outrage it provoked, the PNP would have risked serious and deadly unrest and riots if it sought to send the security forces into Tivoli Gardens.

As I had written in my column of May 30 last year, 'How Dudus lost Tivoli': "The shattering and deadly assault on terrorist elements in Tivoli Gardens, which has dislodged Jamaica's most nefarious criminal networks, is years overdue. But better under a JLP administration. For years, the PNP was intimidated to confront the Tivoli threat for justifiable fear that would be construed as political malice and victimisation. There were aggressive and loud-mouthed politicians who would defend Tivoli's 'honour', always shutting down any rational assessment of the quasi-republic's status with emotional invectives of the history of aggression against that State."

I went on to say: "The July 2001 operation by the security forces, which claimed 27 lives, had such an emotional impact on the nation that it guaranteed that Tivoli would be sacrosanct for years to come. The PNP dared not attempt any such incursion into that sacred territory. Subsequently, any discussion of the fact that Tivoli housed dangerous criminal elements was dismissed vehemently as 'demonisation of Tivoli Gardens', 'the prejudice and malice against the good people of Tivoli' and 'PNP Propaganda'. But now we know!"

After last year's military blitz, which reclaimed that territory from the hands of international terrorists, I wrote in that same column after it had become clear that mercenaries from across Jamaica had been recruited to defend the 'state of Tivoli': "We now know that it is not PNP propaganda and demonisation of the good name of Tivoli that its criminal forces have deep links with gangs and terrorists across a number of communities, and that with direction from central command, it can unleash terror across a number of areas."

We had for too long been in denial about Tivoli. And even today, some, like my good friend, Lloyd D'Aguilar, are still in fantasy land about Tivoli; though, happily, he has been abandoned there by one-time resident Mark Wignall, who has seen the light. The fact of the matter is, if Tivoli had not been invaded and Coke's headquarters degraded, with occupying security presence, the convicted criminal don would not be in a New York jail today, but his robust criminal enterprise would still be in existence carrying out its murderous reign.

Organisation smashed

It is not only good that Coke is out of Tivoli, but that his criminal organisation has been smashed. Had those criminals in Tivoli still been allowed to control the territory; had they not been routed in that battle, that centre of terror would be in place today. Any atrocities carried out by the security forces there are reprehensible and should be punished, as I have written before, but I have no tears for the destruction of that criminal enterprise which was headquartered there.

Dudus had grown into a monster who could not be tamed. He was bigger than the politicians. They were expendable to him. In fact, they had become a mutual liability.

One can draw attention to the fact that the PNP was in power between 1994 and 2007 when Dudus' criminal overlordship was exercised, and when he was directing the shipment of guns into Jamaica. Let's not forget that. He was not behaving himself like a nice Sunday school boy when the PNP was in power, waiting to get back into action in 2007 when his party came to power. He ruled his empire and did his business - with aid from the PNP Government - during all those years his party was out of power. This man was bigger than any party, though facilitated and nurtured by a corrupt political system and culture of garrisonisation.

But let's face it: For a long time we just did not have the hard evidence against this man, and no witness would be foolish and suicidal enough to come forward in any court to testify against him. (High praises to Peter Phillips and his much-maligned but much-needed Memoranda of Understanding, which I had backed earlier.) We have little Duduses here today who are getting away with bloody murder (literally), but our legal system is impotent to deal with them, while human rights activists seek to put more obstacles in the way.

I have consistently been tough on crime, wherever it emanates. This country has been too ambivalent on this issue. But thank God for the Americans. And the best is yet to come.

That Dudus did a plea bargain is a grand bonus for Jamaica. We don't need to hear the evidence against him in a trial. We know what he is made of. What we need to hear are the names of those who conspired with him, those who assisted him, those who gave him succour. That's what we are eager to hear and what we hope Uncle Sam will help us to find out very, very soon.

The Americans will know how to ferret out the truth from any malicious information concocted to hurt those who did not help him. He has to give good information. If indeed some of our so-called honourable politicians, businessmen and security officers are common criminals, it would be a good day for Jamaica if they were indicted. Let the chips fall where they may.

May the Lord strengthen Dudus' singing voice. Bless his voice, Lord! If he does not even sound melodic, we will listen to the words, not the voice, as they say. Sing your heart and soul out, Dudus, so that those who have sold us out to criminality and shame can come out of the shadows into the blinding light of justice.

We have had enough rumours. What we want now is truth. And seeing that we, as a society, have proven incapable of ferreting out truth, let the Americans do it for us. And let me wish you a happy 50th anniversary of Independence when it comes!

Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and ianboyne1@yahoo.com.