The Minister of foreign affairs, AJ Nicholson as well as PNP hackers in the media and commentators are adamant that Jamaica should not go the way of a referendum to make the CCJ Jamaica’s final appellate court.
They have all claimed it’s way too expensive and the government should therefore be allowed to make that decision on our behalf.
News have been emerging in the last few months of scores of Jamaicans who have been denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago and that country is where the Caribbean Court of Justice is located, how ironic is that.
AJ Nicholson, please tell us, how we (Jamaicans )are going to get justice from the Caribbean Court of Justice, if we cannot even enter Trinidad and Tobago.
I want you to answer that question for us.
This is more reason for us not to trust the government to act on our behalf, because we simply cannot trust them to do what is right for the people of Jamaica.
To date, the Jamaican Government has done nothing to address the poor treatment we received when we travel within member states of Caricom, yet AJ Nicholson continues to pretend that Caricom hold good for Jamaicans.
Filed under: Justice |
Warren's Blog 
dem nuh like we and we nuh like them !!!
Caricom is one big charade
Lol meh jus don undastan uno
AJ Nicholson, please tell us, how we (Jamaicans ) are going to get justice from the Caribbean Court of Justice, if we cannot even enter Trinidad and Tobago.
Really? Could you share with us the percentage of Jamaicans who attempted to enter Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) who were denied entry over the past 12 months? Given that group that was denied entry, how many of them had one way tickets, was unable to provide definitive answers to questions posed by T&T immigration officials and fall in the “suspicious” category by these T&T officers? I fail to see what one issue has to do with the other. In case you fail to realize, it is their country and it is within their god given right to deny entry to whomever they please, especially Jamaicans that fit a certain profile. Do you remember the days when entire planeloads of Jamaicans was denied entry into the UK and was summarily booked on the next available flight back to Jamaica? Correct if I’m wrong, but isn’t the The Privy Council located in the UK? I think Jamaicans are now required to obtain a Visa to visit the UK. Any doubts as to the dispensation of “Juctice” by the Privy Council as a result of those past actions?
Caribbean Court of Justice is comprised of justices of different Caricom countries and I fail to see how denying a select few (Jamaican) will ultimately impact the delivery of “Justice” by the CCJ. Isn’t this conclusion a bit of a stretch of your imagination? I guess any identifiable issue that can be invoked at will to cast negative aspirations on the PNP or their “hackers” is fair game in your book, even when it exposes deep flaws in your reasoning abilities. BTW, how many times have you been denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago? If I’m not mistaken you are a Jamaican and you have traveled to Trinidad and Tobago on numerous occasions? Or maybe these denial-of-entry is a new phenomenon and you have not made any recent visit to the Twin Island Republic (even to partake of their delectable lizards 😀 )?
CARICOM IS NONSENSE
Published in Observer
Caricom can’t even play by its own rules
Regional organisations are created to foster political and economic cooperation among states within a particular geographical boundary. Therefore, in order to achieve their goals and objectives these organisations will need transformational leaders whose strategic vision and capable leadership will facilitate development.
Caricom was created to facilitate the development of the region, but during the last 30 years a serious implementation deficit has plagued the organisation. This deficit has not only hindered the development of the region, it has also rendered most of its institutions useless. Further, innumerable reports have been commissioned to examine the reasons for the lacklustre performance of Caricom, these include: The West Indian Commission and the recently concluded Landell Mills report — both reports alluded to the inherent weaknesses of Caricom’s governance structure.
Since, regional leaders know the problems affecting Caricom, it is their responsibility to chart the course for the region’s development, however due to the culture of insularity and parochialism of various islands this will be unlikely. Most member states are not willing to put regional interest above national interest.
For example, Mrs Persad-Bissessar stated three years ago that Trinidad will only provide assistance to disaster-affected countries if Trinidad benefits. So, if these countries require houses Trinidadians must be employed as builders. In addition, successive secretary generals have often complained about the lack of support which the Secretariat receives from heads of government, but nothing will be done to create a stronger Secretariat, because this will infringe on the autonomy of individual states.
Furthermore, free trade is an integral aspect of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, but Trinidad and Barbados have violated this agreement on countless occasions in order to protect their domestic market. Additionally, the free movement of skill workers is a policy of Caricom, but over 1,420 Jamaicans have been refused entry into Barbados over the past five years. The Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) is also a cause for concern. Originally the CSME was expected to come on stream in 2008, but the date was changed to 2015. According to Caricom’s Secretary General Mr Irwin Larocque that deadline is too ambition, so the 2015 target will not be met. So, Caricom can be described as an organisation which sets lofty goals and never achieves them.
Any organisation which does not adhere to the rules which it created will never survive. Conversely, the Bajans know that it does not suit them to sign onto the CSME agreement, because most members states are relatively poor and the Jamaican dollar, in particular, has depreciated over the years. Caricom will never be successful because, regional leaders are too short-sighted and insular in their thinking and since most countries are not committed to regionalism, the organisation should be dissolved.
Caricom does not benefit Jamaica and we should not allow the current administration to keep Jamaica in Caricom because it members are in love with idea of regionalism. Any institution which finds it hard to play by its own rules, is a like a pariah state waiting to be destroyed. Jamaica should seriously re-evalaute its relationship with Caricom
Lipton Matthews
The CCJ is an traveling court. It can have sessions in Jamaica just as it did with the Myrie case. The Privy Council on the other hand tried to be such a court with sittings in the Bahamas until the chief law lord decided to put an end to that nonsense along with ensuring that cases from other Commonwealth countries got heard by lowering level judges so that the top judges would have more time to hear cases from the UK (you know, the country for whom the Privy Council was originally meant to serve).
Because we are just hearing about it does not mean it is not something that has been happening. Some persons are just too embarrassed to reveal it. If it was not for William Mahfood we would not have heard of this one.
Isn’t one of the complaints about the Privy Council the difficulty in getting visa to go to England, so if T & T do not want Jamaicans there, isn’t there going to be a difficulty. People who are in a box and can’t envision the possibilities and have them fixed before will always get kicked in the rear. No stretch there – needs to be addressed because it is going to be an issue sooner or later.