At the time of writing (Tuesday, February 16, 2010), I was very confused. Most of the news items seem to indicate that sometimes we wish to respect the rule of law and sometimes we do not.

The saga of Air Jamaica continues. The Office of the Contractor General (OCG), in a media release, advised the lawyers representing JALPA that any abandonment of the competitive tendering process for the sale of Air Jamaica would be unlawful. Therefore, the continuing demand of JALPA, and to some extent the public, that the prime minister should intervene seems to suggest that we hold him to be above the law.

The media release goes on to state that the ESOP Plan Law of 1994 does not supersede the Government tendering process, and to proceed in that line of argument could “usurp the competitive divestment process”. In the current situation, if the Government’s negotiations with Caribbean Airways cannot be concluded, then the Government would have to go back to a new public tendering process. Therefore, JALPA would not be able to “jump the line” but would have to follow the guidelines of the process without undue influence.

This suggests that JALPA has no inherent right to own the airline other than by a successful public tender. Secondly, Caribbean Airways, who seem to be acting in good faith, could be embroiled in a long legal argument, which it did not bargain for. Thirdly, the Government of Jamaica is the one who sets these rules, and has a duty to uphold, obey and, if necessary, eventually amend these procedures. Fourthly, the IMF conditions cannot be used as a reason for subverting the rule of law. In the meantime, the airline is still losing money, the staff may be taking illegal industrial action, and an Industrial Disputes Tribunal ruling may be required.

There’s a lesson to be learnt here. The due process needs to be observed at all times. We are not a “banana republic”, and we must act in accordance with the democratic traditions which we continue to espouse. To do otherwise would make us the laughing stock of the world. In a similar vein, extradition proceedings and other similar international agreements must be grounded in law and subject to fully transparent disclosures. On every occasion that our governments seek not to act in an honest and transparent manner, they set themselves up for brutal and warranted criticisms.

Minister Dwight Nelson’s utterances have drawn severe criticisms, and our legal luminaries have quite rightly questioned the seeming disregard for the separation of the executive and the judiciary. But on the other hand, what about those protests carried out in our streets that seem to question the validity and/or popularity of judicial rulings and sentences? This is the two-handed legal profession. It is these same legal luminaries who wish to stop the Finsac Enquiry based on what they are contending to be the fit and proper status of a retired judge. So I continue to be confused about who wants what, as some of these same lawyers have objected to emails, faxes and tape recordings being admitted as evidence in this the 21st century and because of this, some of them have lost their battle, for rather hefty fees, and the client laughs all the way to the brewery.

These mixed signals prompted me to reread the historical highlights in both daily newspapers as it seemed that the 16th of February was a day that extraordinary things happened. I found the following:

* 1942 – German submarines fire upon oil refineries in Aruba

* 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba

* 1962 – Anti-government riots break out in Georgetown, British Guiana

* 2005 – Iran’s intelligence minister (possibly an oxymoron) accuses the US of flying surveillance drones over Iranian airspace to spy on nuclear and military sites and threatens to shoot them down.

* 2009 – France’s top judicial body formally recognises the nation’s role in deporting Jews to Nazi death camps during the Holocaust – but effectively ruled out anymore reparations for the deportees or their families.

Meanwhile, here in Jamrock:

* 1949 – Negus, one of the big lions, escapes from his cage at the circus at the Kingston race course. Front-row patrons seek the exit, while others, unable to get out of the lion’s way, stand stock-still as the big cat uses his tawny head to make a path for himself among the spectators.

* 1960 – Minister of Trade and Industry gives an explanation as to the reason for his ban on the importation of dogs and dog-racing equipment into the island: “…not because I believe it is morally wrong, and not because I believe it is more sinful than horse racing, but at this time of our history, the economy of the nation does not allow us to saddle the people with an extra form of gambling”.

* 1978 – A number of teachers from the Jose Marti School at Twickenham Park, St Catherine, leave for a one-week visit to Cuba. The institution is closed until Wednesday, February 22, and all students have been sent home until school resumes.

These unrelated events suggest a number of unique, although fanciful solutions to the problems. The first one that comes to mind is that Fidel Castro probably should have taken over Guyana and Jamaica. All this legal dissidence would have long been silenced.

Iran’s “intelligence minister” subtly reveals that the country does have nuclear intentions, possibly related to military sites.

France, in typical “macho” style, proudly admits that it has screwed not only the Haitians but the Jews as well, and does not intend to pay for either.

Here in Jamaica, the thrill of the circus has now moved from the Kingston race course to Gordon House where lions continue to roar but not bite. I am persuaded to mount a legal campaign against the Government, for blatant discrimination against local talent, as everybody here knows that common dogs can run too. “Brown dawg” racing would have by now surpassed the Greyhound.

No one has ever doubted our ability to argue ourselves into the ground. Even our political dialogue has been representative of the rhetoric that gets us nowhere fast. But still we continue to argue while shooting and killing one another, with the exception of those who hold the power of action in their hands. Peter Tosh said, “Everybody want to go to heaven and nobody waan fi dead.” In Jamaica today “cock mouth kill cock’, so who will volunteer to be the first rooster in heaven?