A time of political ferment

Daniel Thwaites

THIS IS a time of great political ferment in Jamaica. Part of the reason for this is that after the N.E. St. Ann by-election the country was warned by Mr. Seaga that he would wait for the opportune moment to call an election. Since then, at the height of the disturbances in West Kingston, he made the call. But he has the disadvantage of not being Prime Minister at this time.

All the same, he has put elections firmly on the agenda and the focus hasn't shifted since. The formation of the United Peoples Party will also contribute to heightened political sensibilities. Antonette Haughton is articulate, progressive, and friendly to new ideas. She deserves admiration for moving from behind the microphone into the trenches of political activity. This puts her head and shoulders above those who prefer to conduct their politics exclusively and safely away from the people.

Still, the formation of the UPP, along with a number of other human rights and citizens' organisations, raises a number of issues for the PNP. Perhaps Antonette Haughton is not entirely correct in saying that the two big political parties are like cars whose engines have "seized up", but the observation and analogy is more than a satisfying witticism.

There is indeed an urgent need for spare parts and some garage work to be done on them. But the repair work cannot begin unless there is first the recognition of a problem, and that will take some large doses of humility. For instance, what is wrong with the PNP when progressive movements and organisations do not find a home under its tent? What causes a group to determine that they have to form another political party to propose policy changes and to engage the people with honesty and openness?

These are questions that must be in the forefront of the PNP's mind when they watch a new party being launched that openly expresses its admiration for the person and thinking of Norman Manley.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and Mr. Seaga are to meet today to discuss a range of issues. The most pressing matter must be that every attempt be made to bring the violence in West Kingston to an end. The Commission of Enquiry will no doubt also be high on the agenda, though it is difficult to see how the matter can be advanced in the face of the unreasonable objections to the Commission's composition.

To my mind, the Commission should get along with its business. By all indications, three competent, intelligent people have been put forward, and there is not a shred of evidence that any of them has done anything in the past to disqualify them.

And of course the Governor-General must remain patient, despite the intemperate remarks by Mr. Seaga, who has publicly expressed a refusal to discuss the impasse.

In yesterday's editorial The Gleaner has had reason to call Mr. Seaga's behaviour "ungracious", and noted his well deserved, "unfortunate reputation of lambasting public figures who fall from his favour".

The National Commission on Ganja

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception the report of the National Commission on Ganja will get.

The issue could become highly charged politically, but let us hope that the basis for consensus has been set. Mind you, many of the issues that galvanise hard-core political party supporters are of little or no significance to many others in the electorate. And many of those who normally just ignore the political system will perk up and pay some attention to the ganja issue.

The Commission's report is quite conservative in the sense that it does not argue for a radical overhaul of the country's ganja laws, but merely asks that weed for personal use be regulated rather than wholly prohibited. It does not attempt to change the illegality of ganja cultivation and the ganja trade, and it is just as well that the issue be approached thus.

It heightens the chances that the Commission's report will find consensus. So too do the findings that ganja use ought not to be encouraged as it is at least as dangerous as cigarettes. But the bottom line is that we cannot continue to criminalise so many of our people by sustaining a law that is completely out of sync with the culture and custom of the country on a matter that is hardly the most pressing.

Ganja use sets up a cycle of hatred between citizens and police that is unsustainable. The United States may well be upset if the government acts on the findings of the Commission and decriminalises personal use of marijuana. But that is all to the better. We ought not miss the opportunity to defy them. We are merely following the lead of other progressive countries (and some States in the US) and heeding the results of the Commission set up to advise us about the best way of proceeding.

Daniel Thwaites is involved in teaching and writing.

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