Jamaica: ex primer ministro declara ante la Justicia
Former Jamaica prime minister to appear before “Dudus” Commission
Former prime minister Bruce Golding will appear before a Commission of Inquiry later on Monday probing the events of May 2010 in West Kingston that left several people dead when law enforcement authorities went to arrest Christopher “Dudus” Coke who was facing extradition to the United States.
“I will go there, (and) I go there prepared to answer such questions as may be put to me that I’m capable of responding to,” Golding told the Gleaner newspaper, as the Commission, chaired by prominent Barbadian jurist, Sir David Simmons, resumes after a break of almost two months.
“I simply have been asked to provide a witness statement because the commission indicated, in its letter to my lawyer, that they consider that, given my position at the time, I can assist the commission, and I go there with that understanding,” Golding said.
The Commission will sit for two weeks and the secretary, Maria Jones, said “the Commission is proceeding to call witnesses in a chronological order relating to how the events of May 2010 unfolded in West Kingston, starting with the former prime minister, going back to the residents”.
Former national security minister Dwight Nelson, will also testify before the Commission.
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) which missed two previous deadlines last month, has now submitted a significant number of statements to the Commission.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force has provided 164 statements regarding activities during the search for Coke, who was wanted in the United States on drugs and gun trafficking charges.
Coke waived his right to judicial proceedings in Jamaica and was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals service and the DEA. Coke was flown to New York on June 24, 2010.
Last month, the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) criticised the high cost associated with the Commission, but the government dismissed the statement.
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