Editorial - Spotlight on garrison politics

THE controversial Haggart funeral at the National Arena has served the useful purpose of sparking debate about the links between politics and crime.

That debate, continued in the Public Affairs article elsewhere on this page, points to the role of the "don" or "area leader" vis-a- vis the Member of Parliament as political leader. In effect what needs examination is the operation of the garrison constituency.

The role of MP in this context deserves scrutiny and an answer to the question: How come after all these years the quality of life in these depressed communities remains mired in squalor and degradation.

Sharing constituency control is the Don who may be defender, ombudsman, or general arbiter of the "runnings". He presides over a process which distorts the norms applying elsewhere in the society; in effect, mini-fiefdoms exert their own autonomy.

In this milieu, expensive ostentation marks occasions of entertainment or solemnity ­ as in the recent elaborate funeral at the National Arena. And no credible explanation is offered on how this is afforded amid the depressed conditions of the inner city.

In the times of conflict the dark side of the garrison comes to the fore as guns take over. We think it remarkable that through years of sometimes heavy-handed police raids the supply of guns and ammunition seem inexhaustible. But then we are reminded that drug-trafficking is lucrative; so is extortion.

To the extent that crime and politics are bedfellows, MPs in garrison constituencies must be held accountable. Turning a blind eye may be part of an inescapable compromise; but that is not good enough.

There is a basic fallacy in the party-political ploy of finger-pointing when gun violence flares: the shooting cannot be one-sided. Indeed both sides would have had to arm their shooters as a sensible precaution against attack.

It would be tragic indeed to revert to the old-time politics that a former practitioner such as Bruce Golding has repudiated. One answer is to abandon the garrison tactics for a political war of words, without guns or bottle-bombs.

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