Claude Mills, Staff ReporterAS THE debate mushrooms around the impending Terrorism Prevention Bill, local human rights and special interest groups are requesting an extension of the deadline for the public to comment on the legislation.
Government tabled the bill on Tuesday and announced a December 31 deadline for comments and concerns to be forwarded to Parliament.
But a joint release from five groups said the time frame was way too short to allow for substantive inputs in the discussion and examination of the bill.
The Association of Women's Organisations of Jamaica, Families Against State Terrorism, the Farquharson Institute of Public Affairs, the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights, the Jamaican Bar Association and Jamaicans for Justice have charged that the haste in this and other legislation reflects "a lack of genuine desire for public input."
"We are concerned about the unrealistic period of time that has been set between the announcement of the Joint Committee's request for submissions to be made, and the deadline for such submissions as occurred in the Charter of Rights Bill in 2000, and the Access to Information Bill in 2001," a release from the five said.
LEGAL DOCUMENT
"On each of these occasions, the time period allotted has included the Christmas/New Year holiday season, as it does in this case a period of five weeks including the Christmas holidays will not allow sufficient time to ensure maximum public input on what is a dense legal document," the release said.
Government is also facing criticisms on the bill from Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, who suggested on Thursday that the Patterson administration could well use the legislation to put down any unrest that may arise as the economy heads deeper into crisis.
Justice Minister A.J. Nicholson moved swiftly to ward off the suggestion, accusing Mr. Seaga of "scare-mongering."
FAITHFUL
Nicholson said yesterday that the bill was designed to balance the desire of the Jamaican people for peace, order and security from terrorism with the constitutionally protected human rights of all citizens as well as the protection that is embodied in international human rights instruments.
"The Government asserts that it has been faithful to those strictures and challenges the Opposition Leader to prove otherwise," the Minister said.
On Thursday, Mr. Seaga charged that the government was frantically trying to push 'draconian legislation' through Parliament, and that the Government was using both the anti-terrorism and the Charter of Rights bills as smokescreens to cover for the major economic crunch the country now finds itself in.
