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strong opposition to Coke’s arrest and extradition,
(“Leave Dudus Alone”)
•
that they were loyal and devoted to him, (“Next to
God, is Dudus”)
•
they would lay down their lives for him, (”We will die
for Dudus”).
6.33.
This last cited message must have suggested to the
security forces that they could reasonably anticipate a violent
confrontation. Mobilisation against the arrest and extradition of Coke
was characterised by multiple methods of resistance including the
creation of barricades not only in Tivoli Gardens but elsewhere in West
Kingston, and attacks on the JCF on 23 May. Resisting arrest and
extradition had morphed into an open and violent assault against the
State of Jamaica and its law enforcement agencies.
6.34.
Barricades and embattlements were part of a larger system
of fortification which had at least 3 components, namely, the physical
fortification of Tivoli Gardens and its environs; the use of high-rise
buildings as staging posts for offensives against the security forces;
and the use of human beings and electronic technology for the
purposes of surveillance and early warnings. It is indeed very likely
that the surveillance system found by the JDF at 15A Dee Cee Avenue,
may well have assisted in Coke’s escape from Tivoli Gardens.
Who Erected the Fortifications?
6.35.
The main sources of information on this aspect of the Terms of
Reference were the members of the JDF and JCF who testified. As we have
reported elsewhere, these witnesses provided us with a wealth of video and
photographic material that have assisted us greatly. ACP Clifford Blake said: -