By Matthew Falloon,Staff Reporter
Richard Ashenheim (left), Director Emeritus of The Gleaner Co. Ltd., receives a plaque from Collin Bourne, Company Secretary, at a function to honour Mr. Ashenheim on his retirement as a board member. The function was put on at the Terra Nova Hotel, Waterloo Road, St. Andrew. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
RETIREMENT IS well deserved for some and few could dispute that Director Emeritus of The Gleaner Company Richard Ashenheim has earned his. At his Kingston home last month, Mr. Ashenheim took The Gleaner through fifty years in the legal profession, and across a life that has been spiced with travel, sport, an ongoing dedication to press freedom and efforts to define the role of this newspaper in modern times.
Relaxing in a large, stately decorated living room, the diminutive, but animated, Mr. Ashenheim sat in his armchair, crossed his legs and puzzled over the idea of an in-depth interview briefly, he clasped his fingers together. I suggested we start at the beginning and we travelled through post-World War II England where a young Ashenheim had rubbed shoulders with war veterans and through the early, tentative years of his distinguished legal career.
It started with a bang, stepping in for the late Norman Manley to cover a case for, who else, The Gleaner. This start was to prove prophetic, as he followed the family link to the nation's oldest newspaper, representing the company in the law courts on many occasions and developing an intense interest in the importance of the free press. The press is fundamental to a healthy democracy, he believes.
"I'm not sure that the public have got it into their minds that we (the press) are a very important cog in the democratic process," he explained, raising his voice sharply. "It is for their benefit."
"I think we try to do a good job, I really do, but I'm not sure that it is getting through to the public," he continued, before lamenting the polarity of Jamaican democracy.
"If The Gleaner writes something about a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) politician, the JLP people don't like it," he sighed. "If they write something about a Peoples' National Party (PNP) politician, PNP people don't like it, but that's basically what it should be. You shouldn't be a yes-man in a democracy." He shuffled forward in his seat as the maid sped across the room.
"I think that the public are not sticking up for their democratic rights," he said calmly, casting a wider view. "I think that the Constitution basically gives them a significant right of freedom of expression."
Mr. Ashenheim referred to the 1976 State of Emergency as an occasion that afforded The Gleaner an opportunity to defend this right in the face of strict restrictions being imposed by then Prime Minister Michael Manley.
A DEFINING MOMENT
"One of the big problems was always going to be what do we publish and how do you treat people like the Leader of the Opposition," he said, looking back over the turbulent period with what seemed like a flash of mischief in his eyes. "We took the view that it was not right to publish only one part of what was going on."
"We tried to get the Leader of the Opposition of the time (Edward Seaga) to make his speeches in Parliament, and to issue statements, as the Leader of the Opposition, rather than the leader of the JLP," he grinned. "He didn't take too kindly to that!"
"I think they (the Manley government) went too far," he said. "I think they realised they had probably gone too far."
He sat up in his chair and leant forward. "What you need to be able to do is to give the public news and views about important issues that involve the country," he said. "I think the public has a right to know."
With Prime Minister P.J. Patterson vowing to pursue the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Justice in this term of governance, Mr. Ashenheim is eager to point out the shortfalls of the prospect, offering a defence that a regional court of appeal may not be sympathetic to press freedom.
"I'm very much against it, and first of all, I don't think the case for removal (of the Privy Council) has been put up properly," he said, parting his hands. "How can you justify going from one foreign court of tribunal to another foreign tribunal? Let's face it, Trinidad is as foreign to Jamaica as Britain." For now, he feels the Privy Council is "doing a reasonably good job".
"I have more confidence in them because I'm not sure that the other people in this region, anymore than in Jamaica, have in mind the thought that anybody should have the right, for example, to criticise a government," he charged, a characteristic, perhaps lawyer-derived, polite comment that disguises true bite.
The competitive energy that drives these opinions is borne out in a life-long involvement in athletics and horse-racing. It is a characteristic he identifies in all parts of his life, including the law courts in which he plied his trade for nearly half a century.
"I like to see the competitive nature of sport, that's where my enjoyment really is," he said. "When you go to court, you are really competing with the guy on the other side. It's all part and parcel of competition."
In recent times, Mr. Ashenheim has witnessed the commercialisation of athletics with mixed feelings. The immense earnings of some athletes are deserved, according to the ex-Jamaica athletic team manager.
"I think if one is sure that they are not using drugs to get where they are, I think they probably do deserve it," he said. "I think they are providing what is undoubtedly entertainment for the people. I don't see why an athlete who is performing and entertaining a crowd shouldn't get a share of the sponsorship."
His love of athletics has taken him all over the world to Asia, Europe and the far reaches of the Americas. These experiences have given him a first hand view of the effects of the mass media on sport. The increased television coverage of major events has had a crippling effect on live crowd sizes and atmosphere. "Athens
in 1997 (IAAF World Championships) was almost empty on each of the eight days," he said, "which is madness."
"Even in Edmonton (2001 IAAF World Championships), the crowd, at least at the start, wasn't all that good," he elaborated. "I know that the IAAF is very, very anxious to get the sport popularised from the spectator point of view in the western hemisphere."
Mr. Ashenheim is also concerned that drug use is more widerspread than is known. "I'm not sure the testing procedures go far enough," he reasoned. "I'm not sure how to eliminate it, I say take the bull by the horns and say, all right, everybody is to be tested." Despite the rocky present, Mr. Ashenheim maintains that "athletics remains unscathed".
"I think people still get excited about reading or seeing, say, 9.8 for the 100 metres," he grinned.
Time is drawing to a close with the afternoon sun beginning to dip over Kingston and we have barely touched on his renowned fascination with horse-racing. It has engulfed nearly every Saturday and public holiday of his life, with staunch regularity at Caymanas Park. However, as a past steward at the track and lawyer for the Jamaica Race Horse Commission, he has rarely risked a bet.
"I never seem to have the time to sit down and work out the form," he smiled. Perhaps as he eases into his retirement, Mr. Ashenheim might locate a copy of The Gleaner Company's Track and Pools and find the time to scrutinise the form so that he feels confident of a healthy return.
