PM Warns Of Conspiracy Of Chaos In Pressing For SOE Extensions

In making his case for an extension of sweeping security powers, Prime Minister Andrew Holness disclosed to Parliament yesterday that intelligence revealed that criminals had hatched a calculated plan to incite instability to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are organised criminal gangs who are seeking to create hysteria, who are seeking to target distribution and retail chains, who are seeking to put people in lines to chaos and to start fights.

“... Let it be known that even though we are consumed with fighting this health epidemic, we have not relented or are diverted in our efforts to fight the crime, murder and violence epidemic in this country,” Holness told Parliament yesterday.

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The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) has called on the government to immediately rescind the order which prohibits members of the media from moving about during the period of lockdown in St Catherine.

“We would be the laughing stock of the democratic world if we were to allow this to stand without protest,” PAJ President George Davis said Thursday in a news release, which was supported by editors and executives at the island’s major media houses.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the times during which members of the public can move about in the lockdown area. He said these persons include those "who are employed to the media such as journalists, television or radio presenters, camera operators, announcers, engineers, technicians, and newspaper delivery personnel between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm on Wednesdays, on Wednesday that is, today would be one of those days, the 15th day of April 2020, and between the hours of 7am and 9 pm on Saturday, (April) 18th.

"So the media is allowed to move freely on the re-stocking days, on the no-movement days no one is permitted to move. If there is a matter that requires their presence, they would have to get the permission of the ground commander," Holness said.

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The Government last night walked back an order that prohibited members of the media from moving about during the period of lockdown in St Catherine.

“The final gazette will reflect that journalists will remain exempted during the period of the lockdown in the parish of St Catherine,” a news release from the Government quoted Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

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Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued his sternest warning yet to people who landed in Jamaica during the period March 18 - 23 and have not reported to the health authorities.

The prime minister was speaking a short while ago at a digital press briefing at Jamaica House.

“These individuals will now be placed on a watch list and will be barred from leaving Jamaica.

“Why? They are the biggest threat at this time to the country's effort of stemming COVID-19.

“Further, the police will be going door to door in an effort to find these individuals,” Holness stated.

The prime minister also reminded that failure to report to the health authorities comes with a fine of one million dollars and/or imprisonment of 12 months.

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THE Jamaican Government has indicated that it will be fast-tracking the implementation of the national identification system (NIDS) as part of its response to the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, addressing Jamaicans during a digital press briefing at his offices in St Andrew yesterday, said it was clear that if the country had put in place a national system of identification prior, then it would be far easier for the Government to provide an individualised benefit system that would be to the profit of all.


“The truth is, we now don't have that system; we are behind in our implementation; we still have new legislation to bring to the Cabinet and to the Parliament but we cannot waste a crisis,” the prime minister said.

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The police last night arrested a man seen on video voicing his refusal to obey the curfew order given by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in response to the COVID-19 crisis on the island.

The curfew, which began last night, will run nightly from 8:00 pm – 6:00 am and will end on April 8 at 6:00 am.

In the now viral video, several persons can be seen congregating on a street supposedly after the curfew began, and the man in custody is heard hurling expletives at the police and prime minister.

Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor, Operations Officer for Area Four, told OBSERVER ONLINE that the video was sent to the police and the main narrator identified.

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D’Aguilar drew the wrath of some on his Facebook post, as they believed he was upholding a lawbreaker, while others agreed that Mitchell’s constitutional freedom of speech right was violated.

In one instance, D’Aguilar defending his freedom of speech stance, by saying: “So long as you are not engaged in slander, libel or criminal incitement you have a right to say any damn thing you want. Politicians chat damn irresponsible nonsense on a daily basis: Are they arrested?”

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The mayor was addressing posts on social media concerning the arrest and charge of Councillor Kari Douglas for a breach of the Disaster Risk Management Act under which an islandwide curfew was imposed in an effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The curfew began on April 1 and runs from 8 o'clock each night to 6:00am the following day. It was to end on April 8 but the Government yesterday announced that it would be extending the measure.

Councillor Douglas was stopped by police officers around 9:00 pm yesterday for being on the road during the curfew.

“I received a call from Councillor Douglas who advised me that she was pulled over by police officers who seemed intent on charging her for a breach of the curfew. She declared herself to be a councillor and advised that she was exempt under the order. She also presented her driver's license which was refused,” Williams said.

“Being the chairman of the council, I sought to aid in identifying Councillor Douglas as for me it was a matter of identification,” he added.

The mayor said he was joined by the Deputy Mayor Winston Ennis. The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) CEO Robert Hill also made contact with the Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor to verify who Councillor Doulgas' identity.

“This is something that would have been done for any councillor or employee of the council and my greatest concern at this point is that we have workers doing deliveries, working on shelters and assisting the elderly across the city who may find themselves in a similar position,” Williams explained.

“It concerns me because the councillor was clearly stated as exempted under the order, she was identified and verified as exempt but was still charged under the very order that exempts her. I am concerned that the councillors and staff and other personnel who are exempted under the order will feel unprotected and threatened going forward,” the mayor added.

The council chairman said he is also deeply disturbed about the Councillors confidential information including her address and date of birth being share by JCF officers on social media.

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A person of interest, who was being sought by the police in Westmoreland, turned himself in to detectives at the Savanna-la-Mar Police Station on Sunday (March 29), and has since been charged with creating public mischief.

Thirty-seven-year-old Zavian Patterson, of a Westmoreland address, accompanied by his attorney turned in himself to the police, after investigations revealed that he was the mastermind behind a viral voice note falsely purporting a shutdown of the parish.

The police are reminding members of the public to be responsible and not create or share false information which can cause unnecessary panic and anxiety in the public domain.

Additionally, citizens are advised to follow the Ministry of Health and Wellness bulletins, as they provide accurate and timely updates on COVID-19.

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THE Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) has questioned whether the Government has acted within the law in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to IJCHR lead and constitutional attorney Dr Lloyd Barnett, the Government has “ignored” steps outlined in the Charter of Rights on how to safeguard individual rights while responding to a public health emergency.


“The Government can start with a declaration, which states that there is an emergency period of 14 days, and then go to Parliament and extend it for upwards of three months at a time. And each of those extensions require two-thirds majority of both houses of Parliament,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday. “That has been ignored, and they have just made regulations under statute. Nothing is wrong with… having statutory provisions, but… every statutory provision is subject to the constitution.”

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Re: The Constitutionality of the Government's COVID-19 response I have seen the statement issued by the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) on March 25 (as reported in your newspaper on March 27). While one should always hesitate to disagree with Dr Lloyd Barnett on constitutional issues, I do not share the views expressed in the IJCHR statement.

We should start by acknowledging that the IJCHR has not questioned the appropriateness of the measures implemented by the Government to address the present crisis, or whether those measures meet the constitutional standards for derogating from protected rights.

The IJCHR's point is that the Constitution mandates a process for addressing situations like this and the Government has not followed that process.

I do not agree.

The restrictions imposed by the Government will necessarily infringe certain constitutional rights, including the right to freedom of movement. The Constitution recognises that in some circumstances it may be necessary to do so, and it sets out two different standards or tests that the State must meet in order to justify such infringements.

The first is in section 13(2), which provides that “save only as may be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society” the State shall not take any action that infringes any of the protected rights. The second is in section 13(9) which provides in effect, that the State can infringe certain rights by “measures that are reasonably justifiable for the purpose of dealing with the situation that exists during a period of public emergency or public disaster”.


The courts have held that the first test (demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society) is a much higher and more stringent test than the second (reasonably justifiable for the purpose of dealing with the [present] situation).

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Jamaica has been recognised among countries that were most prepared for the coronavirus by the United States-based newspaper the Miami Herald.

The herald says Jamaica, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru and a handful of others responded to the crisis with forceful measures that seemed excessive just days ago but now seem prescient.

It was noted that Jamaica was one of the first countries in the Caribbean to react to coronavirus, after seeing its first case on March 10.

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THE Jamaican Government's response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is being praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and America's top diplomat in the island.

The commendations came yesterday as the island completed work on a COVID-19 isolation ward at University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) and the same day that Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton announced new measures — including crowd restrictions to no more than 20 people, the closure of bars, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues — designed to stem the spread of the virus.

“Thank you so much for your leadership — and preparedness — for #COVID19, @christufton. #Jamaica Being ready for #coronavirus is key to pushing it back fast. Together, for a safer world!,” WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on Twitter.

Equally, United States Ambassador to Jamaica Donald Tapia said in a tweet: “We want to congratulate the GoJ and the MoHW for its timely reporting of COVID-19 cases and aggressive containment strategy. The MoHW (Ministry of Health and Wellness) has shown that one of the best defenses is appropriate public sensitization on preventative methods and the importance of early case recognition.”

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Declaring that he is well aware that the political silly season is approaching with elections on the horizon, Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday warned that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will be taking legal action against individuals who spread “fake news” libelling and slandering party officials in the process.

“In previous elections you would have seen propaganda. In today's world, with social media, it is called fake news. Now, they have something called deep fake. There is a sense that this fake news can influence how you think and how you vote; and you have to ask yourself, is it right for people to tell lies and parade lies as truth to trick you to vote a particular way,” the prime minister told scores of green-clad Labourites attending the party's Area Council Two meeting in Portmore, St Catherine.

“We have started to invest in the capacity in our party to detect and expose all the fake news that is being created and shared on social media. We know where they are coming from, and we know who are the people doing it, and as they put them up, we respond. Where they cross the lines to be slanderous or libellous we will take legal action,” the JLP leader warned.

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