Stephen Vasciannie

Last week, I reproduced the 'ganja' aspects of my speech to the Jamaica Regiment on the occasion of the Regiment's annual Victoria Cross Dinner in honour of Sergeant William Gordon and Lance Corporal Samuel Hodge, the first non-Europeans to receive the Victoria Cross. Today, I set out some human rights issues from that speech.

The Jamaica Regiment, as the successor to the West Indian Regiment, and on its own, has had a rich history of activity, and is known to many of us for its 'can-do' attitude and culture. This is important for Jamaica, not least because many of our institutions are vulnerable to the criticism that they are dedicated to the furtherance of talk and inactivity, rather than to the achievements. The Jamaica Regiment thus falls fully within the tradition of action.

But it also falls within the tradition of respect for institutions of State, and acceptance of civilian political authority. This, too, is of the first importance to Jamaica: An army marches on its stomach, but it must think with its brain. The Jamaica Defence Force must be sensitive to the needs of Jamaican society and must work with the civilian authorities to alleviate the problems of the poor and the suffering of the weak - problems and suffering that are all too apparent and real.

Crime and Violence

Among other things, this will mean making sure that Jamaica's greatest problem - crime and violence - is firmly tackled. In this regard, as infantrymen on the frontline, you will have to be aware of human rights and humanitarian law issues.

To be sure, I am singing to the choir on this point, and so I will sing briefly. Jamaica's problem with crime and violence, and especially with gun violence, continues to tear apart some areas of society. Some of you know more than I can even imagine that this has influenced methods of law enforcement. The security officer operating in a low-crime environment may make assumptions about personal safety that are not available to the officer in a place where the gun rules, and murder is a regular part of life.

In some high-crime areas, therefore, security officers have been accused of relying on shooting as the first line of attack. This accusation, raised by both local human rights groups and others, has brought Jamaica to the forefront of international attention. More specifically, the question of extrajudicial killings in Jamaica continues to plague the society. This is a problem that we will have to address; for, if the perception prevails that some security officers kill in circumstances that do not amount to self-defence, we will undermine the rule of law in our society.

Greater Balance needed

But here I wish to be careful. Some human rights groups rely on publicity for their oxygen, and are therefore apt to describe almost every incident as an abuse of human rights. And, because the underlying principles of human rights are virtuous and desirable, some international bodies, when faced with an allegation of human rights abuse, may possibly be inclined to presume that the State is wrong until the evidence shows otherwise. This kind of presumption of guilt by accusation does little to advance the rule of law or fairness in society.

My call tonight, therefore, is for greater balance in the pursuit of justice on matters concerning human rights - and if at all possible, greater cooperation between the arms of the State, including the military, human rights groups, and the citizens of Jamaica.

I would make another call. There is real and profound poverty in the world - the top 500 wealthiest people in the world are as wealthy as the 416 million poorest. We probably can't do much about this individually. But, as we make progress in life, as we are promoted up the ranks, we must not lose our sensitivity to the poverty around us. We must work to make concern for the poor more than a question of rhetoric. The Jamaica Regiment, with its can-do perspective should continue to be of great assistance in this regard.