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2.52.
There was and is a co-existing cynicism about Commissions of
Enquiry and indeed this Commission. This cynicism is rooted in the notion that
Commissions of Enquiry are:
(a)
mechanisms of delay in and diversions from
dealing with important matters of public concern with respect to the conduct of
political administrations and State institutions;
(b)
are likely unwilling tools of
political partisanship;
(c)
have little corrective impact on the issues they
investigate; and
(d)
their financial costs outweigh any potential benefits flowing
from investigations.
2.53.
We did not and do not accept those views. Commissions of
Enquiry can and often do have a cathartic effect and may indeed be
transformative. In the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Report of the
Moyne
Commission
(1937) laid the foundations for widespread social, economic and
political change in the region. In Great Britain, the Report of Lord Saville’s
Commission of Enquiry into events in Northern Ireland in 1972 – the “
Bloody
Sunday Massacre
” – revealed that the conduct of the Armed Forces was both
unjustified and unjustifiable. In most cases, the sequel to a Commission of
Enquiry depends upon the political will to act upon the findings and
recommendations of the Commission.
2.54.
We sincerely believe that, by the conclusion of the public hearings
of the Commission, it had gained widespread public support and respect. This
opinion is reinforced by the turnout of residents of West Kingston who indicated
a desire to testify and the relatively large number who voluntarily testified.
When the Commission visited Tivoli Gardens on the 24 April 2015, the masses of
residents who interact with the Commissioners was in every respect a humbling
vote of confidence in the Commission.