Press Release on the Issues surrounding the foolish deportation of Abu Bakr This is a call upon Jamaicans to take note of the full import of the decision by the Jamaican government, lead by the Ministry (Minister) of National Security, to ban Abu Bakr from Jamaica. Jamaicans concerned about freedom of speech and freedom of movement and the right to travel within CARICOM should demand that a fulsome explanation be given as to what was the threat to national security posed by Abu Bakr. If this is not done expeditiously it only emboldens Trinidad and Tobago, for example, to continue to abuse Jamaican travellers to that country. This policy of silence and lack of accountability should be condemned. It was silence which accompanied the forced retirement of former police commissioner Owen Ellington possibly for his command responsibility for the Tivoli massacre, the Clarendon death squad, and possible association with a known criminal before the US criminal justice system. In the present case, Abu Bakr claims to have been invited by Louis Farrakhan to his Million Man March event being staged in Jamaica. Louis Farrakhan obviously poses no threat to Jamaicas national security and one wonders why someone who has the blessings of the government would be inviting someone who poses a threat to the national security of the state that is hosting him. IF Louis Farrakhan demonstrates bad judgement then shouldnt he be sanctioned by the government which has trust in him? How many other Abu Bakrs could he have invited? The banning of Abu Bakr demonstrates the amateurishness of the Minister and the security forces; for example the casual way in which persons of interest are called upon to turn themselves in; the abuse of the word intelligence which suggests ignorance; mass arrests in innercity communities so that investigations can be carried out (a hangover from the days of the Suppression of Crime Act); not to mention the daily violation of the constitutional right to protection from arbitrary stop and search which lead to the death of Mario Deane. As a citizen of the CARICOM community, the violation of Abu Bakrs rights is a threat to the rights of everyone else. Indeed the arbitrary and foolish nature of this deportation order caused the government to spend four million dollars of scarce resources to transport Abu Bakr to his home. Scandalous when health and education is so underfunded. Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, should finally recognize the principle of taking responsibility for what happens under his watch. This is one more example of the need for Bunting to step away from a portfolio for which that he is clearly not suited. Lloyd DAguilar Tivoli Committee Campaign for Social and Economic Justice
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 23:29:24 +0000
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