OPPOSITION Leader Andrew Holness said last night that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has not yet taken a decision on whether it will participate in the commission of enquiry into the security forces’ operation in Tivoli Gardens in 2010.

“No such decision yet,” Holness reacted in a message seeking a response on the issue. However, he admitted that the JLP had not participated in the process of formulating the Terms of Reference of the enquiry.

There has been speculation since yesterday that the Opposition would not participate in the process, following a statement made on radio by the general secretary of the JLP, Dr Horace Chang, that the party saw the enquiry as another step in the process of stigmatising the people of West Kingston, a JLP stronghold.

Public Defender Earl Witter tabled an interim report in the House of Representatives on May 1, after nearly three years of investigations into the conduct of the security forces during the incursion. He claimed unavailability of evidence to fully support his findings and recommended an enquiry to explore the issue further.

The Cabinet approved the request on Monday, May 6.

But the Opposition has expressed fears that the Government is seeking to politicise the process, a fear they said has been reinforced by the draft Terms of Reference for the enquiry issued by the Government earlier this month, inviting public comment.

The public defender said that 77 people, including a soldier, were killed when the security forces entered the community using “excessive” force in an effort to capture then fugitive, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who was wanted by the United States.

Coke has since been extradited and was sentenced to a 23-year prison term in the United States, a year ago, on racketeering charges.