THE EDITOR:
THE Panyard Sensations series went to a different level on Sunday, September 17, at the Southern Marines Pan Palais Marabella.

What this unconventional, indeed radical, band did was to structure a show around, not big name performers, but (beside the guest steelband Our Boys from Tobago), every performer on the show was from Marabella and surrounding areas.

In addition, the Southern Marines Steel Orchestra accompanied all the performers, so that the oil drum called throughout the night.

It was fantastic to see Mighty Power break down the place with his master kaiso, The Culture of Trinidad.

Fred “Composer” Mitchell, looking every inch the African patriarch with his snow-white beard, transformed the Pan Palais into a jumping, jamming sea of revellers.

Performers like Crystal Daniel and Lady Adanna were a revelation to those from outside the community, as was the PRO of Southern Marines and deputy Mayor of San Fernando, Malika Blair, who performed her own composition.

Aficionados were riveted by the performance of pannist Junior “Wiggy” Hinds, a product of Southern Marines, who has already begun to spread his wings and arrange for other bands.

Equally as fascinating was Makesi Joseph, one of T&T’s finest up and coming jazz musicians, whose complex variations on a simple theme were simply mind-blowing.

Take a bow Southern Marines.

You get an A-Plus.

THE EDITOR:
THE reports of Marlon Aguillera’s suicide at the Trinidad Family Court, has moved me to write this letter.

Marlon’s case fell within the realm of juvenile justice.

The order made for his remand to the Youth Training Centre (YTC) was made under the archaic juvenile justice law in the Children Act of Trinidad and Tobago, enacted in 1925 and amended from time to time.

In 2000, a Regional Juvenile Justice Symposium, organised by UNICEF Caribbean Area Office in collaboration with the UNDCP and Penal Reform International, was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trinidad.

At the end of that symposium, of which I was the co-ordinator, a number of recommendations, termed the Caribbean 2000 Consensus on Juvenile Justice, were made.

I wish to highlight some of these recommendations, which, had they been implemented, Marlon would have been alive today.

They are:

1. “That legislation be enacted in all jurisdictions to abolish status offences, which are acts that are deemed offences when committed by juveniles, but are not considered such when perpetrated by adults.”

Marlon was before the court for a status offence, that of being an uncontrollable child.

Had this recommendation been implemented, Marlon would not have been placed before the court, but under the supervision of a probation officer or other social worker or agency.

2. “That all juveniles be provided with legal representation at the earliest stage of proceedings.”

Who was there to speak for Marlon to explain to the magistrate his reason(s) for wandering away from home, his reason(s), for not wanting to return to YTC, the experiences he might have had during his previous sojourn at that institution, his reason(s) for not listening to his mother?

Who was there to negotiate or mediate a behavioural plan or contract which could have resulted in his agreeing to certain boundaries or limitations on his conduct?

Who could explain on his behalf how the possible absence of a meaningful father/son relationship was impacting his life?

3. “That deprivation of liberty be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time within the juvenile justice system.”

Marlon’s mother came to the court asking for one relief, that of his detention at YTC, and the court obliged.

Were other options considered and/or recommended?

Another recommendation of the symposium was that “a variety of measures be utilised in all jurisdictions to divert juveniles from the criminal justice system.”

Were the mother and magistrate aware that YTC does not extend its rehabilitation programmes to youths on remand, but only to those who are committed to the institution?

Is there any separation of youths who are on remand for committing serious crimes from those who are institutionalised for being beyond control?

Another of the recommendations made at the symposium was that “the issue of training of personnel throughout the Criminal Justice System be accorded priority action.”

In the course of my research into the juvenile justice system in Trinidad and Tobago, I visited every one of the mainstream juvenile justice institutions -- St. Michael’s Home for Boys, YTC, St. Jude’s Home for Girls, the St. Dominic’s Children’s Home and the St. Mary’s Children’s Home.

The personnel of these institutions had not been trained in and were totally unaware of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, although they were expected to act in accordance with these Rules.

I observed many breaches of these United Nations Norms and Guidelines in juvenile justice in the policies of these institutions and detailed them in my Report.

The Government is expected to report on training programmes for juvenile justice personnel in every Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

During the symposium, every agency was given a package of all the documents which comprise the United Nations Standards and Norms in juvenile justice, which included those mentioned above and also the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Rules for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.

One wonders what has happened since then.

Another recommendation was that “the issue of juvenile justice reform be placed as an urgent item on the agenda of the meetings of Caricom Legal Affairs Committee, the Council for Human and Social Development and other relevant organs of Caricom.”

In July of this year, six years after the symposium, I was invited to a meeting in Port of Spain organised by CARICOM to present the recommendations of this symposium and regional developments in juvenile justice since the symposium.

These are signs that as a region we are now determined to get serious about the matter of juvenile justice, perhaps, even to implement the recommendation that “all States ensure the provision of sufficient human, social, financial, administrative and physical resources for the effective functioning of the juvenile justice system.”

I wonder, though, how many Marlons must die and how many Amys and Sean Lukes must be killed before the rhetoric is translated into action.

In all of these tragic cases, the emphasis should not be on the need for absolution from blame, for all the actors in the scenario must share some blame, but on the need for urgent solutions to reform the system of juvenile justice.

Regional governments, please, do not continue to fiddle, while our children’s hearts, souls and bodies burn.

THE EDITOR:
I AGREE with Basdeo Panday that the departure of the Congress of People (COP) dissidents is major relief for the United National Congress (UNC).

The dissidents were primarily responsible for the UNC being out of Government and now in disarray but they are blaming Panday for the ills of the party.

The dissidents were the advisors who closely surrounded then Prime Minister

Panday advising him to give Ramesh Lawrence the booth in 2001.

Then they wrongly told Panday they would win a snap general election in 2001 without Ramesh on the team although polls showed otherwise.

The UNC lost one seat.

Then they accompanied Panday to sign the Crowne Plaza agreement and not one of them gave opposing recommendations. If Ramesh was with Panday in the 18-18 tie, he would not have allowed Panday to sign an agreement giving up power.

Since the party lost office, not one of the COP dissidents made an effort to rebuild the party or to canvass the constituencies to encourage supporters to keep the faith.

Instead, they have been running around attacking the party and preaching disunity.

Instead of building, they were destroying.

So the dissidents are the ones responsible for the UNC being out of Government and are responsible for the internal strife in the party.

Now that they are gone, Panday and Ramesh are collaborating and pulling massive crowds at meetings.

The COP dissidents are intimidated by the Panday-Ramesh alliance which will take us back to Government.