SECURITY officials were clear and precise in their ‘orders’ laid down to journalists and media representatives who were assigned to tour violence-wracked Tivoli Gardens yesterday, in response to a request by the Press Association of Jamaica.

“Local media representatives are to meet at 8:00 am on Seprod’s compound off Marcus Garvey Drive, from where members of the security forces will escort the media into Tivoli Gardens,” was the first rule laid down.

The military was in charge of the tour and anyone who understood the discipline associated with that institution knew that turning up late could result in them going on a tour of another kind, elsewhere.

Journalists began gathering close to Seprod, which is being used as a makeshift army operations base, from 7:30. There was a steady trickle of members of the Fourth Estate toward the prescribed location as the time drew nearer.

At 7:49 am, in true military style, a Jamaica Urban Transit Company bus, driven and manned by soldiers, and a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) jeep slowly made their way toward Seprod, a clear indication that they were positioning themselves for the 8 o’clock deadline.

By 7:56 am, another team of soldiers and a Constabulary Communication Network sports utility vehicle with the head of that division, Inspector Steve Brown, emerged.

Yet another team of soldiers drove up two minutes later, this time accompanied by an ambulance in the convoy and highlighted by the presence of a woman soldier, her face covered in the style of Muslim women in the Middle East, with eyes that indicated that she was not even in a mood to offer a genuine hello as she drove by.

The time for action had drawn near. The media would be briefed, and Brown, in his usual authoritative style of communicating, set about his task by holding an impromptu meeting before the tour began.

His opening words were not quite what some media representatives expected.

“In order for you to go on this tour, you must have an ID,” Brown said, spurring murmurs of surprise.

“You cannot enter a war zone without an ID,” he said.

Some were not as prepared to take along the precious commodity. Almost immediately, cellular telephones sprung into action, as Brown appeared not to be in a mood to back down.

Some without IDs were prepared to return to their media organisations, others thought that a way could be found through negotiation.

The “no ID, no entry” position remained at the point of boarding the bus. However, last-minute talks resulted in a change of heart by Brown and his colleagues, and all media representatives without IDs were allowed on the bus.

It was now 8:28 am and the journey into the place that formed the most topical discussions across Jamaica and in some parts of the world had begun.

Arguments for and against the necessity for IDs filled the air during the short journey. One journalist even jokingly promised to unleash a Mohammed Ali special knockout punch on another who argued for the use of IDs, to keep him quiet. The offer was not taken lightly.

The route chosen — right, along Marcus Garvey Drive; another right, along Industrial Terrace — was familiar to many.

Another right, into the fortress of West Kingston, as some termed it, across from the Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School and the group soon parked up close to Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s constituency office, by 8:32 am.

The tour was definitely on.

Soldiers perched atop buildings formed a perfect action movie scene.

The army’s Major Richard Blackwood met the group on arrival. In typical military fashion, Major Blackwood advised the media that the scene was still an operational one.

“There is still some amount of danger. At any time the ground commander thinks that it is not safe, we will end the tour,” Major Blackwood said.

The major was to remind media representatives of the “ground rules” set out before the tour, oftentimes shouting to the local ‘tourists’, “Come on, you have to keep on moving; let’s go. You have to move a bit sharper than this. I am trying to ensure your safety and ours. You need to move briskly.”

At other times his verbal interjection reminded the media of how serious the situation was.

“Five minutes, five minutes,” or “come on people, we have to remember the rules,” when media personnel decided to work overtime in a particular area.

Among the regulations laid down: journalists were not allowed to remove any item from the area, and were not allowed to interview more than one resident at a time. No more than 12 interviews were allowed to be in progress at the same time, although no one was counting.

Major Blackwood also stressed that the faces of security personnel should not be captured through photography, videography and be published.

The tour, though not opening all the doors that journalists had hoped, ended at 9:27 am, and those involved were now charged to tell what they saw in their own words.