Death in Tivoli

[Q3210]

Five men are dead on Sunday after police and soldiers swooped down on a house in Yankee Corner in Tivoli Gardens.

The operation, which began just before midday and is still underway, was reportedly designed to ensnare two wanted men.

However, the operation escalated and a policeman and a soldier were also shot during what the police say was a shoot-out.

It was reminiscent of April 2007, November 2006 and the defining catastrophe of July 2001 when the police and the military went into Tivoli Gardens on Sunday.

They say they wanted two men and they knew the house they were in.

A few went into the house and hundreds of others swarmed the area.

The similarities with the incidents of previous years were apparent....angry residents, adamant that innocent people were killed...police and soldiers ill at ease and desperate to maintain order.

This time around the soldiers appeared to be using the helicopter to control the crowds.

Each time the crowds seemed to be getting too thick or too unruly the chopper hovered close...so close that its blades swept dust into the air, which proved too much for the residents who had to scatter.

Director of Communications in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Karl Angel, who spoke with our news centre a short while ago said five guns were seized.

Meanwhile, the Councillor for the area, Desmond McKenzie has suggested that the police were just doing their job.

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080114/lead/lead1.html

At the nearby Madden's Funeral Home in Hannah Town, a boisterous crowd gathered to view the bodies of the dead men.

Many of them were anxious to see if their relatives, or friends, were among the deceased.

Karlene Hall, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably, made her way from Tivoli Gardens to the funeral parlour where her worst fears were confirmed. Her son, Kwesi, was among the five men killed.

She said her daughter told her that Cunningham was inside the house at Keith Avenue when the shooting occured.

The death of Ms. Hall's second child came almost one year after her two younger sons, 10-year-old Ikel Henry and seven-year-old Shadder Henry, drowned in the Rio Cobre River in St. Catherine.

Yesterday, the Opposition Spokesman on National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, came out in support of members of the security forces.

"It is important to the stability of our democracy and for the survival of our country that members of security forces are able to conduct their lawful activities in any part of the country without fear or favour, or without the interference of anyone," Dr. Phillips.

Yesterday's incident was the latest in a series of controversial confrontations in West Kingston between security forces and alleged gunmen from Tivoli Gardens.

The most infamous took place in 1997 and 2001. In the latter, 27 persons were killed in a three-day standoff.

In October 2005, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, then head of the JDF, described Tivoli Gardens as 'the mother of all garrisons'. He made the comment after a joint police/military operation in that community in which four persons were shot and injured.

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

The operation, he said, was ongoing "as we intend to get the men who we came for".

Brown said he could not say whether the men the police went in search of were among the five killed. He also said a number of men were detained, although he could not give an exact number.

"I cannot give you the quantity now because of processing, but as soon as they are processed they will be released, I am almost certain about that," he added.

Brown also declined to divulge the names of the men the police were looking for.

Asked to address a rumour that the raid was conducted specifically to flush out members of the Montego Bay-based Stone Crusher Gang, Brown was very evasive in his response.

"If you get the rumour on the ground, then the rumour on the ground must come from the people," he said. "If they told you we are searching for members of the Stone Crusher Gang, then it could well mean that members of that gang are here, but what we are telling you is that we are searching for wanted men in the community."

Tivoli Gardens, a community that is fiercely loyal to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), has been the focus of a number of police raids over the past 10 years, with the most memorable being that of July 7, 2001 when 27 people, including a policeman and a soldier, were shot dead.

At the time, its political representative, Edward Seaga, claimed that the violence was orchestrated by the then ruling People's National Party (PNP) to rekindle the perception of Tivoli as a violence-riddled community, thereby painting Seaga as a man of violence and not fit to lead Jamaica.

Yesterday, however, there were no shrill protests of political motivation from the JLP, as Desmond McKenzie, the mayor of Kingston and the JLP councillor for the Tivoli Gardens Division in the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, said the raid was carried out in a professional manner.

"I would say that the security forces in part conducted themselves in a professional way," McKenzie said. "It is unfortunate that persons have lost their lives, but we support the work of the security forces as long as it is done in a professional manner and the rights of the residents are respected. And in this case there were one and two isolated incidents of abuse by some members but I can't say they acted unprofessionally."

He said, too, that some residents complained that their homes were vandalised by members of the security forces. "Persons have lost personal belongings. We have in fact made contact with the police high command and have learned that an effort is being made to investigate the circumstances under which the things were removed from the homes in question," McKenzie said.

He also told the Observer that despite the loss of five lives, the presence of Bruce Golding, the prime minister and member of parliament for West Kingston - in which Tivoli Gardens is located - was not yet necessary.

"I don't think this would necessitate the prime minister coming down here," McKenzie said. "As the councillor for the area I think I am probably capable enough to deal with what is happening on the ground."

Last night, Opposition spokesman on national security Dr Peter Phillips voiced his support for the security forces involved in yesterday's operation, while expressing sympathy to the policeman and soldier who were injured.

Phillips also urged the citizens of West Kingston to support the security forces in their attempt to restore order in the communities affected by the operation.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080113T190000-0500_131383_OBS_DEADLY_RAID_ON_TIVOLI_.asp

[sistactry]

Re: Death in Tivoli

Q, a who dem a call President??

de yute dem a say a cause Bruce waan get out de pressy??, why im send police and soldier down a garden???

a who dem a taak??

[Yuriatin]

Re: Death in Tivoli

More sadness, death and despair.

Sitting here reading & listening to the reverberations on the radio.

What a thing Q!

The most distressing thing about it to me, is that nothing will come of it, it'll fade to black not too long from now - replaced by a newer fresher tragedy and miscarriage of justice.

Can't help wondering if there'll be any hope left for our homeland.

Aye sah. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70361-embarassed.gif[/img]

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

Prezi, is the one don from garden. You know who it is.

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

Listen out for more as the story unfolds.

[sistactry]

Re: Death in Tivoli

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Q3210</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Prezi, is the one don from garden. You know who it is. </div></div>

no me no know [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

why everybaddie dont waan call im name [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SistaCtry</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Q, a who dem a call President??

de yute dem a say a cause Bruce waan get out de pressy??, why im send police and soldier down a garden???

a who dem a taak??
</div></div>

Remember the story behind Claudie Massop`s elimination.

[sistactry]

Re: Death in Tivoli

yeah, me memba it, but me no too know de details?? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

[RichD]

Re: Death in Tivoli

i think is dudus dem a talk

[sistactry]

Re: Death in Tivoli

a who de hell name so,

who ever im be, wha kinna treat im can be to bg? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

[sistactry]

Re: Death in Tivoli

u waan know honestly how me feel,

if a gunman dem go fe get, well by any means necessary a juss so it go,

wha de big bawling bout???

me see some video and see some man a yaad whey fe get tek out, fe real,

and me juss seriously tink dat de police naa go kill innocent ppl..straat!

wha me no like is how dem tek dem up and throw de body dem inna de back of de van fe de whole world fe see,

it did deh pan tv [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img]

[Q3210]

Re: Death in Tivoli

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SistaCtry</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yeah, me memba it, but me no too know de details?? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img] </div></div>

The leaders having problems leading the same people and fearing who is the more popular.

Dudus hasn`t been eliminated yet, so the Prezi lives on.
I do not think that this latest attack has anything to do with getting at the Prez.
If they want him, they can get him. Look what has happened to most of them from Massop, Father Jim Brown, Jah-T.
Dudus is like Yasser Arafat, a great survivor.

You think Tony Welch is going to survive the third re-trial after having hung jurys in the 1st two.
After awhile, they become liabilities more than when they were assets.

[neutral]

Re: Death in Tivoli

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SistaCtry</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a who de hell name so,

who ever im be, wha kinna treat im can be to bg? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img] </div></div>

Whoever him be it look like dawg nyam him suppah,...especially if a BG pint him out.