State of emergency in parts of Kingston over ‘Dudus’ fears

KINGSTON, (Reuters) – Jamaica declared a state of  emergency in two parishes of its capital Kingston yesterday  after shooting and firebomb attacks on police stations by  suspected supporters of an alleged drug lord who faces  extradition to the United States.  

“A state of public emergency, limited to the parishes of  Kingston and St. Andrew, has been declared and will come into  effect at 6:00 p.m. (2300 GMT) today,” the government’s Jamaica  Information Service (JIS) said.  
The limited emergency in the popular Caribbean tourist  destination covered districts of the capital where gunmen yesterday fired on two police stations and set fire to another. At  least one policemen was injured. 
The attackers were suspected supporters of Christopher  “Dudus” Coke whom the government has called on to surrender to  face a U.S. extradition request on cocaine trafficking and  gun-running charges. 
 
Streets into the poor Tivoli Gardens area of West Kingston,  where Coke is believed to be hiding, were barricaded  yesterday  in defiance of a police call for Coke to hand himself over,  witnesses said.  

The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel alert  warning its citizens of the possibility of violence in  Jamaica’s Kingston Metropolitan area. 
 
Tensions in Jamaica rose over the last week after Prime  Minister Bruce Golding announced he was starting proceedings to  extradite Coke. U.S. prosecutors describe Coke as the leader of  the infamous “Shower Posse” that murdered hundreds of people  during the cocaine wars of the 1980s. 

Relations between Jamaica and the United States grew  strained when Jamaica initially spurned a 2009 extradition  request for Coke, who is a supporter of the ruling Jamaica  Labour Party and wields influence in the volatile inner city  constituency that Golding represents.  

JAMAICA FOLLOWING IMF
LOAN PROGRAMME  
The violence comes as the government is moving ahead with  an International Monetary Fund loan programme.  

The IMF in February finalized a $1.27 billion loan for  Jamaica, its first loan from the fund in 15 years, to help the  Caribbean nation address deep-rooted weaknesses in its economy  and make it less vulnerable to economic shocks, such as last  year’s financial crisis. 

The United States requested Coke’s extradition in August  2009 but Jamaica initially refused, alleging that U.S. evidence  against him had been gathered through illegal wiretaps.  

In its annual narcotics control strategy report in March,  the U.S. State Department said Coke’s ties to Jamaica’s ruling  party “highlights the potential depth of corruption in the  government.” 
 
Golding acknowledged in parliament earlier this month that  he had been aware that his party hired a U.S. law firm to lobby  the Obama administration against pursuing Coke’s extradition.  

He had initially denied knowledge of the hiring but later  said he had sanctioned it in his capacity as leader of the  ruling party and not as prime minister.  
The admission prompted demands for the resignation of  Golding, who is midway through a five-year term.