Devon DickRECENTLY, RESIDENTS of Manchioneal, Portland, stoned the members of the Police Force, after the large cocaine discovery valued at $496 million.
This is not the first time that the legitimate authority of the State has been challenged by stoning.There was the stoning of the Denham Town Police Station by students and a stoning of a police station in Spauldings. These are serious confrontations of important institutions, that to use Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams' words of another context, but relevant to this, 'Jamaica will pay dearly for.'
However, there is a new and even more dangerous trend in the stoning at Manchioneal, in that, it was in defence of the monster of illicit drugs, cocaine. Cocaine is very addictive and will get people stoned and even a bright and successful person as Hugh Crosskill Jr., got caught in the web of cocaine addiction.
Cocaine is detrimental to society, harmful to the people, family relationships, the productive sector.
The danger is getting greater since the first conviction of a Jamaican for cocaine possession and trafficking in 1975.Now there are enormous amounts of cocaine in and passing through the island. In August of this year, two Colombians were held and a sub-officer implicated for a 1,543 kg cocaine bust at Port Royal valued at $453 million. In October last year 1,237 kilos (2,700 pounds) of cocaine was seized in a drug bust in Belmont, Westmoreland. Frighteningly, the murder rate has increased in Belmont since that drug bust.
The cocaine trade is high-risk business and can be deadly when money is lost. Drug smugglers have lost their lives because pellets swallowed have burst. There have been three major shipments of cocaine seized by the police since last month weighing 6,247 pounds including a seizure of 1,056 pounds of cocaine in Trelawny three weeks ago.
The seizure of recent major shipments of cocaine give an indication of the scale of the drug trafficking being directed through the island.The traffic has reached alarming levels of tonnage and street value, which suggests that local consumption is a minor part of the business and the bulk is transhipped. This means that the country is awash with dirty money. Finds so far have been in excess of $600 billion!Money laundered here could have serious consequences for policing and politics.This danger was realised from 1994 when the West Indian Commission in Time For Action stated, "Nothing poses greater threats to civil society in CARICOM countries than the drug problem and nothing exemplifies the powerlessness of regional governments more."
This point was re-enforced by the knowledgeable president of the PSOJ, the Honourable Oliver Clarke at the opening of Emancipation Park when he encouraged tackling the modern slave masters of drug dons. It was also encouraging to hear on a news clip Prime Minister the Right Honourable P.J. Patterson telling the PNP rally in Portland on Thursday last that cocaine is dangerous.This is the message that should be coming from the political platform.There was a time when it was not so.
In the run-up to the 1989 General Election, the Hanover Ministers Fraternal had drafted a political code of conduct and part of the mandate of the Fraternal was to monitor the utterings from the political platform to ascertain whether remarks were in conformity with the Code.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
So I attended a PNP rally in Hopewell, Hanover, only to hear a Councillor lauding the benefits of the drug trade. I wrote a letter to the then PNP General Secretary, Dr. Paul Robertson, who claimed that the Councillor's view did not reflect the party's view and that he would be spoken to.
There was a time when a noted political scientist and Gleaner columnist would advocate the benefits of the drug trade. It is clear that there are persons who have a soft spot for the drug trade because of the perceived economic benefits. That is the reason police in the process of securing the bales of cocaine came under attack from residents in Manchioneal, apparently peeved that they had been beaten to the treasure of 1,760 pounds.
Some three years ago, also in east Portland, villagers made the most of a cargo of cocaine in a boat washed ashore near Boston. In subsequent days merchants in Port Antonio had a bonanza of heavy shopping of items ranging from 'deportee' cars to furniture and home appliances. People are being blinded by the economic benefits without recognising the corrosive influence on people and institutions.
The country ought also to be concerned about drug money financing the political campaigns.This is a hard one to tackle but it is not impossible. A positive aspect of this election campaign is the amount of free airtime and print space that is dedicated to electioneering. This is good so that so much money does not have to be found for dissemination of information. This will reduce the need for drug money. Another thing that the media could do is to have half -hour highlights of political rallies etc. The political parties need to re-visit the idea of disclosure of campaign financing.
The NDM is committed to it and NDM and its other partners should set the example and be more accountable. The major parties should see that it is also in their interest to declare their sources so as to prevent undue and unfair influence from drug money.
In the fight against being 'stoned' by the drug trade, the politicians, police and people need to unite to destroy this monster.
The Rev. Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church.
