THE CONTROVERSIAL anti-terrorism legislation has finally been passed after a five-hour intense debate on Tuesday, conducted at the highest level of parliamentary exchange, resulting in the Government agreeing to amendments proposed by the Opposition in its Minority Report.
The most important of these amendments was the narrowing of the definition of what constitutes a terrorist act. At the level of style and rhetoric, this debate demonstrates how effective a revitalised Opposition can be when it is united on an important matter of national concern.
A poignant highlight of the debate was the speech by Pearnel Charles which dramatically recounted his imprisonment for 18 months in the 1970s under the provisions of emergency legislation which bestowed too much power on the state at the expense of the basic civil rights of a citizen.
Mr. Charles' speech fleshed out and contextualised the philosophic and semantic principles with which the legislators were grappling and perhaps turned the course of the debate.
Passing anti-terrorism legislation is part of Jamaica's treaty
obligations as a member of the United Nations and the Government had been using this as a pressure point to get its wording of the bill accepted.
The Opposition, on the other hand, while accepting the treaty obligation, were of the view that particular wording and definitions should be the prerogative of individual member countries, taking into account their own circumstances and history.
Mr. Charles' internent had been part of our history and hence the sensitivity of the Opposition to the scope of what will constitute an act of terror and its insistence that the definition not infringe on the freedom of legitimate political dissent. We have shared this concern and are relieved that an acceptable compromise has been reached.
It is never easy to craft a precise balance between state security and civil liberties and although the bill as passed is perhaps the best under the circumstances, we think it is important that one of its
provisions mandates a review of its terms in two years time. This is a further safeguard which the public should welcome.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
