ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Even as the police imposed a 48-hour curfew in the Cockpit Country bordering south Trelawny and northern St Elizabeth, embattled Accompong Maroon Chief Richard Currie doubled down on his claim that his people own the land in the protected area.

The curfew, which was imposed on Monday, follows a stand-off between residents of Quickstep and Forestry Department workers on the weekend.

“The Maroons are within their right to defend their territory, to defend the forest. Chief Currie is not a ‘lumberer’. Chief Currie is a defender of the earth… defender of the culture. That is all I have been doing since I have come here and I have been asking for dialogue to resolve long-standing issues. Particularly, the one with Quickstep and the illicit lumbering [there],” Currie said on Instagram Monday morning as he again denied being involved in illegal logging.

Police said the curfew, which covers Quickstep and its environs, including the Pullet Hall main road and the Forest Reserves, is to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of the community while an investigation is underway into the theft of Government property, and abduction and obstruction of forest agents who were on duty in the area on the weekend.

Seven Forestry Department workers were allegedly barricaded in the Cockpit Country as they reportedly disrupted a major illegal logging operation in the community of Quickstep.

According to the Forestry Department, its workers were impeded in conducting their lawful duties by more than 200 community members and illegal loggers.

Currie, who questioned the actions of the Forestry Department over the weekend, reiterated his claim that he has been trying to de-escalate tensions between residents and the authorities.

“We are here in Accompong and it has been a tense moment for us and everybody in the adjoining communities. I have been assiduously working since morning to prevent any escalations of tensions with the dispatch of several [police] officers into the Quickstep community this morning,” he said in the Instagram post.

“It hasn’t made it any easier to try and quell the temperature of the people when they see such an aggressive show of force in the Maroon community, particularly Quickstep. I saw that there has been some challenge as to the ownership of Quickstep and that Quickstep is a Government-owned property… Go and look up in your history book about the Land of Look-Behind. This is the heart of Cockpit Country. Tell me which part of the Cockpit Country the Government of Jamaica owns land. Explain that to me, so whoever has that claim should bring that claim forward and should table it and let us have a discussion,” added Currie.

He pointed out that the Maroons have asked the Government “to provide an understanding as to the process of Constitution reform”.

“What does it mean to Maroon ownership of land and ownership for the indigenous people on the island of land and the rights that extend from the ownership of such land?” he asked.

“These are real-time topics and this is now coming forth. The Government is challenging for Quickstep because, of course, the rich supply of lumber that sits in the heart of the Cockpit country, it is important to note the community is called Quickstep of Accompong a part of the land of look behind,” added the Accompong chief.

Currie, since being elected as head of the St Elizabeth-based Accompong Town Maroons in March 2021, has been sparring with the Government over the 1738 treaty the Maroons signed with the British Government. The relationship between Currie and the Government has since been strained.

On January 9, 2022 Prime Minister Andrew Holness dismissed the rhetoric of the Accompong Maroons that they are a sovereign people.

“Under my leadership, not one inch of Jamaica will come under any other sovereign authority,” Holness said.

On Monday, Currie accused the Government of exploiting the Cockpit Country.

“I am here to bring light to much of the darkness which has been haunting the Maroon village across Jamaica. It is not just Accompong, it is Flagstaff, it is Moore Town, it is Scott’s Hall, it is Charles Town. We have been played and riddled by coercion, stress and force by various arms of the Government. Various acts of the Government that seek to establish protectionism measures, but are actually used as exploitation measures to siphon resources from the Cockpits under the eyes of the people…” he claimed.

Meanwhile, in a post on Currie’s Instagram page, a woman who identified herself as Tamica Taylor, and claimed to be the Minister of Security for Accompong, said the “Maroons are not enemies of Jamaica” and the police force.

Sources later told the Observer that Taylor, a detective sergeant, has been on suspension from the Jamaica Constabulary Force for some time after she was charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act (for marijuana possession).