THE government said yesterday it had received no requests for the exhumation of the remains of reggae icon Bob Marley.

At the same time, the government made it clear that such a request would have to follow a strict legal process.

"It has to be a court decision," Information Minister Burchell Whiteman told the Observer. "There has to be an application for the exhumation and there has to be good reasons to do so," he added. The information minister added that there would also have to be an agreement with the receiving country.

There have been mixed reactions to the report of a planned exhumation of Marley's remains by his widow, Rita.

According to an Associated Press report on Wednesday, Rita announced that she was working on taking her late husband's remains from Jamaica to his 'spiritual resting place' in Ethiopia - a remark that drew the ire of many Jamaicans.

According to the report, the burial would occur after February
celebrations in Jamaica and Ethiopia marking Marley's 60th birthday.

Yesterday, efforts to get a comment from the Bob Marley Foundation (BMF) bore little success with a member of staff from the Kingston office saying that the office was awaiting an official reaction from its counterpart in New York.

"We were informed that an official press release would be forwarded to us and until then, we have no comment," the staff member told the Observer.

But an AP report yesterday, said the BMF maintained that the decision on whether to rebury the reggae legend in Ethiopia is private and depends on the family.

"There is no plan on February 6 to return the remains of brother Bob Marley. Further, this is a private decision that the family will be involved in," the foundation's managing director Desta Meghoo-Peddie, was quoted in the AP report yesterday.

"Of course, Mrs Marley. will be the one to help administrate any such decisions but no one is making those plans. No body is being exhumed as we speak," she added.

Meghoo-Peddie said the furore was diverting attention from month-long celebrations to mark the reggae legend's 60th birthday.

"We just feel like we just want the attention where it needs to be, which is on this event and helping Africa, helping build Africa, and show Africa in a positive light," Meghoo-Peddie said.

The festivities aim to raise money to combat poverty in Ethiopia.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS