State of Emergency in Kingston

This afternoon the Government of Jamaica issued a state of emergency in Kingston after two officers were killed, a police station was burned to the ground, and gunshots rang out downtown. The media is being careful not to release specific information, maybe because they don't want it to look as though they were severely wounded.

For a while now the US government has been trying to extradite Christopher "Dudus" Coke on gun and drug smuggling charges. The issue is further complicated by the fact that Dudus is seen as a gangster affiliated with the current -- Pro-American -- political party in power; the JLP. Until now the Jamaican government has managed to keep him in the country but pressure has been increasing from the US government. The most recent attempt, what many on the street say is related to the extradition case, has been to revoke the visas of Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Mavado, and other artists.

On Monday, speculation that the Jamaican government had signed the extradition request caused a brief panic in downtown Kingston, forcing many businesses to close down early and severely slowing traffic.

It seems that many of the people here are either against the extradition or indifferent about the situation. Those who oppose it recognize that Dudus is most likely involved in illegal activity but don't believe he played a major role in drug and gun smuggling in America. Others still are worried that extraditing him will create instability in his community, as local gunmen vie to take his place. Some have even speculated that he has fled the country but it is hard to imagine where he would go seeing as most countries will likely extradite him if he enters their borders.

The Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, addressed the Nation at 8:00 pm assuring everyone that everything is to continue as normal but being under a state of emergency, it's a little easier said than done. When I left Kingston just the other day everything seemed normal, except for heightened police presence. Now with the state of emergency, the government his the legal power "to restrict the freedom of movement, search premises, and detain persons suspected of involvement in unlawful activities without a warrant.

The government is currently advising residents of Tivoli Gardens to evacuate and providing them with bus service to a "safe, undisclosed location." It will be interesting to see how many people actually leave and if the police force will use this as an opportunity to raid the community to get Dudus out. Dudus has filed an appeal through his lawyer. Could this be Jamaica's OJ Simpson trial of 2010?