US$20,000 or J$1.7 million Reward For Capture of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke

A reward of US$20,000 or J$1.7 million is been offered by the police for the capture of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, the former gang leader of Tivoli Gardens.

The police would like to find Coke to execute a warrant of arrest issued by the Courts of Jamaica for him to face extradition proceedings. Coke is wanted by United States law enforcement agencies for drugs and gun running.

Persons knowing the whereabouts of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke can contact Operation Kingfish at 811, Crime Stop at 311and Police Control at 119.

Michael Christopher Coke – who is 41 years old now has many aliases. The President, Pressie, Shortman (due to his stature), Mikey and of course, Dudus. Wanted by the US on drug and gun charges, still at large.

Dudus is the classic Robin Hood type figure in his home turf in west kingston, jamaica – listen to people who know him and have met him here.

The US asked for his extradition in Aug 2009 and were damning in their criticism over corruption and failure to hand him over in the 2010 Narcotics report.

So when the pressure on PM Bruce Golding became too much to bear, he signed the extradition request in a televised address to the nation, following nine months of foot dragging.

The roadblocks went up around Tivoli and they prepared for a police shoot out which came a few days later.

Jamaican To Be Sworn in as CCJ judge

THE Caribbean Court of Justice will have its first Jamaican on the bench when Professor Charles Winston Anderson is sworn in as a judge at King's House today.

Professor Anderson, who is the executive director of the Caribbean Law Institute Centre in the law faculty at the University of the West Indies (UWI), was selected by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission which is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where he will take up his appointment.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding will deliver a short address after Professor Anderson is sworn in by Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen.

Professor Anderson was born in Brittonville, St Ann and attended the Ferncourt High and St Andrew Technical High schools. He is a holder of a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of the West Indies and a Doctorate in Philosophy in International and Environmental Law from the University of Cambridge. He has been called to the Bar in England, Barbados and Jamaica.

He was appointed lecturer at the Cave Hill-based law faculty in 1994, and later appointed professor in 2006. Professor Anderson served on secondment from UWI as General Counsel of the Caribbean Community for three years between 2003 and 2006.

Professor Anderson has written extensively on International Law, Private International Law and Environmental Law. His major publications include The Law of Caribbean Marine Pollution, Elements of Private International Law and Private International Family Law.

source:Jamaicaobserver

Canada Invites Jamaica and Haiti To G8 Meeting

Canada has invited Jamaica and Haiti for talks on development and security on the periphery of this month’s G8 meeting here.

In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the two Caricom countries would be among several African, Caribbean and South American countries that he has invited to the talks.

The others include Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Colombia.

The two-day G8 meeting, which takes place from June 25-26, will be followed by another two-day G20 meeting in Toronto, from June 26-27.

“The G8 has a long tradition of developing credible solutions to global challenges in partnership with Africa and others in the international community,” said Harper, adding that the meeting would “broaden representation and maximise results on international development and peace and security issues.”

Canada’s invitation to Jamaica and Haiti comes on the heels of last week’s meeting in Barbados on security and other issues between United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CARICOM community leaders and foreign ministers.

Over the years, Haiti has been plagued by security issues and, recently, Jamaica has had to contend with the outbreak of violence between its security forces and armed civilians loyal to fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who is wanted in the United States on drugs and gun-related charges.

6,000 Jamaicans In Danger Of Being Deported From US

Jamaica should brace itself for a wave of deportees from the United States as the number of locals in Uncle Sam's jails has swelled. Clifford Chambers, security attaché at the Jamaican Embassy in Washington, told The Gleaner that more than 6,000 Jamaicans were now in US custody facing deportation proceedings.

Chambers, however, said he could not estimate how many of this number would eventually be sent back as each case would be considered on merit.

"In recent times, we are faced with an influx of Jamaicans in US custody who are facing deportation, and that has to do with the beefing up of staff in the immigration and customs sections by the US authorities," Chambers said.

He added: "The majority of them are not really felony charges. The majority of them are people who come here legally and have overstayed their visas."

Between 2002 and 2009, more than 13,000 Jamaicans were deported from the US, the Jamaican Embassy says. Last year, the US showed the red card to more than 1,400 persons.

Chambers said many persons fighting deportation were tasting success.

"In recent times, we find that a lot of these persons are being allowed to stay because of the reasons and circumstances behind their applications," Chambers said.

Time for dual citizenship

Mindful of the situation, Jamaica's ambassador to Washington, Audrey Marks, said it was an issue of great concern.

She urged Jamaicans living in the US, and who were eligible to become citizens there, to pursue that process.

Marks said she aimed to work with expatriate Jamaicans to help restructure diaspora organisations to give more support to the island'sdevelopment agenda.

"We have to get very involved in persuading people to become citizens of the US, as they can have more political influence," Marks said.

The ambassador argued that citizenship would be a shield for Jamaicans against deportation.

"There is so much protection in the system that people are not using out of ignorance," Marks said.

She told The Gleaner that some persons virtually spend their entire lives in the US without obtaining citizenship and get booted back to Jamaica because of traffic violations.

"We have to get into some strong negotiations in looking at the way people are separated from their families," Marks said.

She added that it was "amazing that the families of non-felons are disrupted" because of violations such as traffic offences and has pledged to work towards ironing out agreements on how to proceed with such deportation matters.

source: go-jamaica.com