St Catherine SOE to end Friday – Chang
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Following a court ruling and a lack of support from the parliamentary Opposition, the Government has been forced to end the state of emergency (SOE) it declared for St Catherine on June 17 after only two weeks.
The emergency measure will come to an end this Friday, July 1.
National Security Minister, Dr Horace Chang, informed of the decision in a ministerial statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Chang told the House that the Administration needed more time to ensure that the new Emergency Powers Regulation abide by the June 17 ruling by the Constitutional Court that found the old regulations to be unconstitutional.
While new regulations were tabled in the House last Thursday, Opposition leader, Mark Golding, made it clear on the weekend that they were still unconstitutional and would not get the support of the Opposition.
Chang said the security forces have advised that the crime situation in St Catherine is now at a level where the SOE can be lifted.
“The government has therefore reviewed the security situation in St Catherine and on the advice of the heads of the security forces we’re satisfied that the declaration of the state of emergency has allowed the security forces to bring the area under some level of control,” Chang said.
He stated that the strategy will be reshaped to maintain the current status quo in the parish.
And he warned that if there is any further change in the situation, the government will advise the nation of what further steps can be taken.
“If we need to return to a state of public emergency [we will do so] but at this point we will not ask for an extension, we’ll allow the current 14 days to expire and the security forces have pledged to use whatever current tools they have and to make strategic deployments to maintain the status quo”.
Chang highlighted that the crime situation in the parish has shown significant improvement. He said that whereas there were 15 murders in the ten days preceding the declaration of the SOE, there has been only four since the declaration and none in recent days.
The security minister admitted earlier that the landmark ruling of the Constitutional Court, which found that the constitutional rights of St James taxi operator, Roshaine Clarke had been breached, had impacted the government’s ability to move forward quickly.
Clarke, who was detained for seven months without charge and denied medical care under a 2018 SOE that was declared for St James, was awarded $18 million in damages by the Court after it found that his constitutional right to freedom and liberty as guaranteed by the Jamaican Constitution had been breached.
“The government has taken note of the ruling of the court…and welcomed the finding that the aim of the state of emergency and by extension the regulations, was to prevent and curtail the increased crime rate in the parish in question, St Catherine,” said Chang.
He added that: “There was, and still is no greater concern of the Jamaican public than that of the escalating crime rate [and] it is the conclusion of the court that the aim was in fact a legitimate aim and the government welcomes that”.
But, Chang conceded that the court, at the same time, also found that the regulations, in some instances were cast too widely and therefore not found to be reasonably justified for the aim and were consequently declared to be unconstitutional.
“The government side has since consulted with the Opposition side…and is of the considered view that although both sides of the isles are practically agreed on the changes to be made, more time is required to do a thorough review of the Emergency Powers Regulations to ensure that they are in keeping with the constitution,” the minister said.