THE much touted peace pact between community leaders in violent August Town is now hanging in the balance after some corner leaders failed to sign the document yesterday without a guarantee from deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields that wanted men would not be taken into custody.

"I can give no such guarantee... This is not an amnesty," Shields told the Observer last night, after waiting more than two hours for the meeting to get underway.

Residents of August Town hold hands in prayer at yesterday's peace treaty meeting at the Mona Bowl of the University of the West Indies. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

The signs were clear from early evening that the treaty was in trouble.

President of the August Town Sports Development Foundation, Kenneth Wilson, kept making excuses to the large, restless crowd who had gathered to witness the signing.

However, word came that the alleged bad men refused to be captured on still or video camera, forcing a hasty meeting between representatives of the press to boycott the meeting.

As practitioners prepared to leave, it emerged that some of the men had changed their minds, but this time they wanted to be escorted to the Mona Bowl, on the University of the West Indies' campus, where the meeting was taking place.

A flurry of negotiations on cell phones between the representatives of some of the men and the official party followed.

DCP Shields was in demand the entire evening as the alleged gunmen tried arm-twisting tactics for a white flag from the police.

It did not come.

"Clearly this is a setback. This is not what we wanted. But we still have to see some positives in this. As long as the guns are not barking, as long as individuals can walk freely as they should in the community, it has to be viewed as a positive step," he told journalists.

After much cajoling and under the cloud of night, five men representing two of the five corners signed the treaty.

Under the treaty, leaders pledged to be truthful to each other, promised free movement of all persons across boundaries; no brandishing of guns and no form of shooting for the next five years. Corner leaders must also guide and counsel members against theft, extortion, domestic violence, carnal abuse, rape, and all other wrongs as well as promote respect and tolerance for all political beliefs.

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