Excellent article on Extradition Treaty
Dear Editor,
I have tried desperately over the past year to publish an article dealing specifically with “the purpose of laws is to seek justice in court, and if there is no justice the law in any country is useless”.
I therefore wish to congratulate Desmond Allen on his report of the Extradition Treaty Act in the Observer of March 15, which is the best I have read – free from bias and based on facts.
I want to point out that as a sovereign country Jamaica’s law is supreme , and is independent of all others.
The extradition affair between Jamaica and the USA is dragging out, and some people are looking at the issue because of any possible visa problem and not justice, politics instead of justice, and because of love for the USA instead of love for their own country. But from what I glean from some commentators and writers, particularly the reporting by Mr Allen, I came to the conclusion that the Extradition Treaty is a formal agreement made in 1993 between Jamaica and the USA, and should be treated accordingly.
I urge all readers who are seeking truth and justice to get a copy of the report from the Observer and also to get a copy of the Extradition Act and educate themselves properly, instead of listening to others who might be biased.
Mr Allen started off by saying the Dudus Coke extradition dispute with the USA has thrown Prime Minister Bruce Golding his sternest political test to date, comparable perhaps only to the Michael Manley decision to expel American Ambassador Vincent De Roulet in the early 1970s.
Mr Allen also noted that “the act provides that any person who intercepts communication in any unauthorised circumstances commits a criminal offence and is liable to imprisonment for a period of three years or a fine not exceeding $3-million or both; and that any person who knowingly discloses the contents of any communication commits a criminal offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a period of five years or a fine of $5 million”.
It is important to know the truth of the Extradition Treaty Act, as stated by the Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne, who noted section (7) (E) which says “a person shall not be extradited if it appears to the minister that his extradition is prohibited by the law in force in Jamaica. Section 8 (3) states that the minister may not issue an authority to proceed, if it appears to her that an order for the extradition of the persons concerned could not lawfully be made or would not in fact be made in accordance with the provisions of this act”.
Jamaicans, please remember our motto, “Out Of Many One People”. Remember our sovereign state, and please remember that you should not have loyalty to another country, for if you do, you are a “dual citizen”. More than anything else, seek justice instead of law resulting in technicality, and search for truth, justice and love instead of personal aggrandisement.
AR (Bobby) Coleman
Harbour View
Kingston 17