PM defends action on Commission of Enquiry

PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has released copies of letters written by Edward Seaga when he headed the Government of the 1980s, to buttress his position that he did not overstep the law in advising the Governor-General of the proposed members of the Commission of Enquiry into the recent violence in West Kingston and other matters.

In a statement Thursday night, Mr. Patterson insisted that Mr. Seaga, during his tenure as Prime Minister in the 1980s, established four Commissions of Enquiry ­ the terms of which he determined.

For the Commission of Enquiry into the conduct of the Local Government Elections in 1986, Mr. Patterson said Mr. Seaga advised the Governor-General as to the terms and composition of the Commission without consulting anyone.

"At no time did Mr. Seaga consult the Leader of the People's National Party, Rt. Hon. Michael Manley, as to the terms or the membership of the Commission," Mr Patterson said. "Nor was the Governor-General expected or allowed to constitute a Commission, after serving as a broker between the heads of the two political parties."

On Wednesday, Mr. Seaga objected to the Prime Minister's naming of the Commissioners, arguing that the Commissions of Enquiry Act gave him no such power and that he was usurping the role of the Governor-General.

"This is a prerogative of the Governor-General, as conferred on him by the Commissions of Enquiry Act," Mr. Seaga said in a statement.

But, the Prime Minister's statement on Thursday, was accompanied by four letters sent by Seaga to the Governor-General establishing Commissions of Enquiry.

The Prime Minister suggested that Mr. Seaga's four letters clearly outlined the practice employed over the years in naming Commissions of Enquiry and that it was this same practice he had abided by in naming the current Commission.

Said Mr Patterson: "I have found it necessary to bring this to public attention, so that the commencement of the Enquiry is not derailed by any political side-show and that there be absolutely no doubt as to the practice that has been consistently pursued by successive Prime Ministers."

He added that the Governor-General cannot exercise the power to appoint a Commission of Enquiry, in the absence of advice from the Prime Minister.

The Commission is to be chaired by former Federal Court of Canada Justice, Julius Alexander Isaac and includes sociologist Dr. Hyacinthe Ellis and Rev. Dr. Garnet Brown.

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