The danger of a state of emergency
Jamaica Gleaner
October 20, 2003
THE LAST few weeks have seen a number of calls for the introduction of a state of emergency. In The Sunday Gleaner dated October 12 2003, Professor Don Robotham put forward the intellectual argument for a state of emergency and, as expected of any trained academic, outlined the arguments against such a course.
The arguments against a state of emergency, according to Professor Robotham, are: (1) the fear that a state of emergency would lead to dictatorship and a permanent or temporary abuse of human rights; (2) that community policing would provide a better answer to crime and allow the police to access the intelligence needed to fight the crime lords; and (3) that the police do not know who the seven or eight leading crime lords in the country are. He, however, chose to ignore the most pressing concern, apart from the very real fear of human rights abuses, and that is that, in a highly partisan political environment, a state of emergency would be used to settle political scores as has been our experience in previous emergencies.
CONSENSUS
An advocate for a state of emergency like Professor Robotham, is ready to press ahead with the imposition of a state of emergency even if the Opposition "refuses to participate". A state of emergency that lacks the full consensus support of the main political parties in Jamaica is doomed to repeat the abuses and excesses of the past. Many of the criminal gangs, drug lords and extortionists of today were fostered and nurtured by political tribalism.
A not unlikely scenario in the enforcement of a partisan state of emergency would be the detainment of crime lords, extortionists and area leaders aligned with the Opposition while crime lords, extortionists and area leaders friendly to the ruling regime are told to lie low until it is business as usual.
The critical situation posed by this mega-tsunami of crime that is rushing over Jamaica today should be seen as an opportunity to dismantle a political system which gives the party winning general elections the exclusive and unlimited right to distribute the spoils and benefits of state power. A state of emergency directed against crime in Jamaica would only make sense in a context where such an act would constitutionally require the consensus or unanimous support of all parties in parliament.
REFORM
Constitutional reform in Jamaica is not an idle exercise for armchair intellectuals. In the partisan and tribal environment of Jamaican politics, it is an essential weapon in defeating the army or criminals and political gunmen that are laying siege to our society today. In a partisan political environment, the actions of the state and its armed representatives will always be regarded as partisan. A constitution that requires consensus support in parliament for controversial decisions such as the introduction of a state of emergency would help to allay the real fears of political persecution held by political opponents of the ruling regime.
A constitution that entrenches independent judicial systems of review to examine all cases of political corruption would put an axe to the feeding tree for extortionists and political gunmen. The selection of these independent judicial review panels could be confirmed by a two-thirds majority or a unanimous vote in parliament. This would help to allay the real fears that the power of the state would be used to lock up politicians, criminals or gunmen who are members of or close to the political opposition while allowing those in or friendly to the government to go free. A constitution that entrenches an independent judicial system of review for all human rights cases would allay the fear that the guns of the state and the ruling regime, legal or illegal, would be turned solely against Opposition communities in the course of a state of emergency.
When the current advocates of a state of emergency place themselves at the front of the campaign to introduce a constitution that entrenches truly independent judicial systems of review of all cases of political corruption and human rights abuses by the ruling party and the state, then their voices will attain political credibility. When these political advocates begin to champion a constitution that allows real checks and balances on the powers of the state and ensures that national decisions, like the introduction of a state of emergency, requires some form of national consensus in parliament, then their political opinions will acquire the political legitimacy they crave.