Dear Editor,

It is not only the truth and the over 70-odd Jamaicans who lost their lives during the Tivoli incursion that have become casualties of the controversy surrounding the Manatt/Dudus affair.

It is now clear that Jamaica’s image has been seriously damaged internationally as a result of the way in which the so-called Memoranda of Understanding have been treated at the Commission of Enquiry taking place at the Jamaica Conference Centre. How can any Jamaican government be trusted from now on by those countries with whom it has signed treaties which demand strict protocols that may be deemed “secret”, after this ignominious debacle?

It is no secret that crime fighting in and outside of Jamaica often necessitates intelligence-gathering which, by its very nature, is not something to be bandied about in the public domain. The ruling Jamaica Labour Party had better beware that in its bid to create more red herrings, it does irreparable damage to Jamaica’s credibility. Indeed, why is it the focus to burn down the house in order to get at whom they perceive to be “a rat”?

Many well-thinking Jamaicans both here and abroad are becoming increasingly concerned that the terms of reference of the Dudus/Manatt Commission of Enquiry are being subverted and that in the final analysis, it is not the truth that is of premium value but political one-upmanship and obfuscation.

One suspects that in the long run it is the “Court of Public Opinion” that will pass the final verdict.

Lloyd B Smith

Montego Bay

St James