D.K. Duncan A MOST significant aspect of the Report of the National Committee on Crime and Violence is that the leaders of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP) have publicly received, accepted, endorsed and signed the document. Referred to as "A National Consensus on Crime, this document was signed on Tuesday, June 11, 2002.
Another important feature of the document was the agreement on five major "root causes of crime and violence." Two of these as stated in the Executive Report are:
1. Political tribalism that has bred a dependency syndrome in many of the nation's citizens and divided communities along party lines.
2. Non-traditional community leadership that has its roots in tribal politics and drug culture.
Accepting this clear consensus that political tribalism is a 'root cause,' it may be useful to reflect on the origins and some aspects of the early development of this feature of Jamaica's brand of Westminsterism.
There have been two major political parties contesting 12 general elections since the introduction of Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944. The PNP was formed in September 1938 and the JLP was launched in July 1943.
Both major political parties have developed strong trade union arms. The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) had its origins in the May 1938 explosion. It is the direct antecedent of the JLP. The National Workers Union (NWU) was formed in 1952 as a result of the expulsion of the leaders of the trade union wing 'left wing') from the PNP. The leaders of the 'expelled left' took with them the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which up to that time was the union arm of the PNP.
The TUC emerged in early 1939 with the demise of the Trade Union Advisory Council (TUAC). The TUAC was formed as an umbrella organisation for all trade unions - as a response to an abortive general strike called by Bustamante. When Bustamante abandoned the TUAC in April 1939, it retained control only over those unions led by PNP supporters.
From April 1939, both the BITU and the TUC began the struggle for territory - except for the period of Bustamante's detention - September 1940 to February 1942. During the period of his detention and with his agreement, the PNP led the reorganisation of the BITU.
Following Bustamante's release in 1942, he announced his intention to form a Labour Party, denouncing the PNP in the process. Bustamante's split from the PNP left the party without an organised working class base. The PNP immediately reactivated the TUC. In 1943, when the JLP was launched as an extension of the BITU a new feature was introduced into Jamaican politics - what George Eaton calls - "Political unionism."
Early development
This interlocking of union and party (political unionism) was to create the basis for party tribalism with its two main features - political violence and patronage/clientelism. All this on the foundation of a developing, exclusionary two-party system.
After the first General Election of 1944, the TUC energetically went into action. It sought in particular to organise local government employees and public sector workers. As it gained success, Bustamante made it known in a speech in the Legislature that "I am the only leader in this country and the only leader of a union that protects the people."
Gone were the days when, as in 1940, both PNP and BITU supporters marched together from the BITU office to Tivoli Gardens. Instead, with the establishment of the BITU/JLP and PNP/TUC parties, working class supporters of each organisation fought pitched battles on the streets, especially on Labour Day.
Trade union violence reached its climax during the years 1946-1951 when the TUC grew stronger and was in a better position to challenge the BITU.
The occasion of a strike at the Mental Hospital (then called the Mental Asylum - now Bellevue) became a flash point. In February 1946, a TUC-affiliated union, The Government Hospital and Prison Employees Union, went on strike. The Government refused to negotiate until the workers returned to work. In an ensuing struggle BITU supporters accosted a PNP supporter. The man shot and killed a BITU supporter in the fracas. They beat him to death.
Responding to the situation at the 'Asylum,' the TUC called out other workers on strike. This led to pitched street battles between BITU/JLP and PNP/TUC supporters. In the end three men were killed and scores wounded. The tribes had set upon one another. The Government declared a State of Emergency three days after the strike.
Between 1946 and 1947, the struggle between the two tribes intensified. Mobile pickets were the order of the day. When the PNP/TUC marched with the unemployed in October 1947, a clash ended with a BITU/JLP supporter dead in Trench Town. The Government in response, passed bills restricting protest marches and amended the Gunpowder and Firearms Law, restricting the use of firearms.
Arising out of inter-union rivalry, both parties now had their armies.
Patronage & victimisation
In 1947, Local Government elections were held for the first time on the basis of Universal Adult Suffrage. George Eaton describes some of the consequences of the election: "...Local Government and politics became then the medium for dispensing political patronage and largesse as well as training ground for budding national politicians..."
Eaton continues: "...as the political power of the JLP was being used to further the interests of the BITU through preferential hiring and job discrimination, the (PNP) Opposition began to dramatise the situation by resorting to protest marches against the House of Representatives and the main employment agencies of central and local government."
In many cases, construction sites became fortresses. As more authority passed into the hands of central government, partisan distribution of public housing became a centrepiece of the system of patronage. The political garrison became its most obvious manifestation. By the decade of the 1950s the major features of 'two-party political tribalism' were in place.
The consensus document on crime and violence is premised on a treatment plan that "...If the problem is killed at the root then the effects we don't want will go away."
Who will be the executioner?
Former PNP General Secretary and Government Minister in the PNP Administration of the 1970s, Dr. Duncan - a dental surgeon, recently established "The D.K. Duncan Political Institute". E-mail: dktruth@hotmail.com
