As President-elect Barack Obama meets with former Vice-President Al Gore to discuss how the new administration can properly address environmental issues, Prime Minister Bruce Golding is reported as saying that he will not allow environmentalists to dictate to him how to address environmental issues. As time goes by the Golding government is coming more and more to resemble the previous anti-environmental administration of the PNP, and to sound like George W. Bush.

It was not the JLP which claimed it would be "new and different", but they did campaign that they would be "changing course". At the beginning of his term, Prime Minister Golding met with environmental lobby groups and gave the impression that he would be different. I was there, and his speech did give hope; but all that seems far in the past. As time goes by, this JLP government sounds like 'same old, same old'.

I take offence at Mr Golding's remarks, and I call upon him to state publicly which environmentalists are dictating to him, and how precisely they have done so. We have environ-mental laws in this country, which bind the crown; plainly put, the Government has an obligation to obey its own laws; i.e., the law is a shackle. I and others have pointed this out. If this is what the prime minister calls "dictating to him", I am sorry he takes it that way. Does he also believe that human rights activists are "dictating" to him on security matters when they point out the high rate of police killings?

Breaking the law

There is no doubt the Government is breaking its own environmental laws. Two environmental lobby groups took the government to court, claiming it had not followed its own laws and procedures with respect to the Bahía Príncipe hotel, and won the case. Other cases may be cited, though they have not been the subject of court decisions.

Numerous cases

I have waited in vain since that case for the Government to publicly apologise for the environmental damage resulting from their malfeasance. There are numerous - possibly hundreds - of other documented cases where the government has not investigated and enforced its own permits, laws and regulations, which has directly resulted in environmental destruction. Does Mr Golding expect environmentalists to remain silent in the face of all this?

In the speech mentioned above to a group of foreign tourism investors, the prime minister emphasised that some environmental breaches were mere misunderstandings, and that dialogue with Government on a timely basis can prevent them. Either the prime minister is being disingenuous or he is grossly misinformed.

Why is he pandering to foreign investors in this way? Very many gross violations of permits have occurred, too many to blame on "mere misunderstandings" or language differences. In a speech before such a group I would expect the prime minister to say something like: "We Jamaicans value our natural heritage, and know it is our forests, beaches and coral reefs which attract visitors here. We appreciate your investment in our country, but we ask you to respect our laws and the integrity of our natural environment; do not do anything in Jamaica that your own laws won't allow you to do back home."

Listening to foreigners

Prime Minister Bruce Golding is reported as saying that he will not allow environ-mentalists to dictate to him, but many will find it easy to conclude that he is allowing foreign investors to dictate to him how to address Jamaican environmental issues.

In that same speech, Mr Golding further stated that some suggestions from these environmental lobbyists were like going back to the days of the Tainos. According to the press report, the prime minister said he has no qualms about the preservation of the environment, but in these modern times, the country cannot go back to operating as in primitive times.

Again, I take personal offence at Mr Golding's remarks, and I call upon him to state publicly which environmentalists are making such suggestions, and what those suggestions are. I know of no Jamaican environmentalist who is against development; we are committed to 'sustainable development', which is the Government's own policy. What is clear to me is that either the Government is disregarding its own policies, or it does not understand what the word 'sustainable' means.

This whole speech seems like a declaration of war by Mr Golding upon the environmental community, an indication that he has not changed the course of the previous government. Because he campaigned on an anti-corruption, anti-crime platform and initially raised our hopes so high, he is being held to a higher standard than the previous government. And the way things are looking he is likely to be an even bigger disappointment.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and environmental activist. columns@gleanerjm.com