Government urged to include Maroons in Constitution talks

The Government is being warned that it is missing an opportunity to modernise its relations with the Maroons by not involving them in the constitutional reform process.

That is the assertion from attorney-at-law Marcus Goffe, who represents the Yamaye Council of Indigenous Leaders, which comprises the Jamaica Hummingbird Taino community, The Maroon Indigenous Women’s Circle, the Moore Town Maroons, the Charles Town Maroons, and the Scotts Hall Maroons in Eastern Jamaica.

“What we are saying is that we need to look at this in a modern context. W e can’t continue to ignore that the Maroons exist or to say that they are no different from anybody else. We want to see a renewed type of relationship, something that we can embark upon through mutual discussions and negotiation,” he told The Gleaner.

He urged the Government to utilise the treaties of 1738 and 1739 between the British and the Maroon as a starting point.

“The treaty is very old … parts of the treaty have been obsolete, but certainly, the main parts that the Maroons now continue to be very adamant about is the extent to which it recognised Maroon autonomy, self-governance, and land rights. And those parts we say are immutable, unchangeable,” he said.

He lamented that the Maroon leaders were not given a seat at the table to participate in the constitutional reform process. He further emphasised that this was unlike the precedent set in other countries where indigenous peoples exist.

“In this day and age, where indigenous rights are globally recognised, where tribal community rights, Maroon rights, are being globally recognised, it’s difficult to understand how the Government can hide behind this rhetoric that Jamaica is a unitary state and, therefore, there is no need to consult with the Maroons. That’s really a lame excuse and it doesn’t show an appreciation of modern day contemporary human rights,” he said.

Maroons want to be included

Maroon leaders contacted by The Gleaner said the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) has not reached out to them and has ignored their efforts to be included in the process.

“We have not been contacted or informed in the process. We have written to the committee twice and have reached out otherwise with no response,” Chief Richard Currie of the Accompong Maroons in St Elizabeth told The Gleaner.

Colonel Lloyd Lattibeaudiere, of the Scotts Hall Maroons in St Mary, also shared that he had not been contacted by the CRC, adding that it was concerning.

“Ever since the Independence from 1962, when they wrote that Constitution, the Maroons were never included and we always wanted to be included because there is rights that the Maroons supposed to have that we don’t have anymore … as far as land rights and other privileges that were never included. So yes, I am concerned, but I don’t know if there is anything we can do about it,” he said.

Jamaica’s Constitution of 1962 gives no special recognition to the Maroons.

In the meantime, Goffe shared that Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte was invited to be a speaker at the Scotts Hall Maroon Town’s yearly celebrations recently but did not attend.

The issue of the Maroons’ inclusion in the constitutional reform process was highlighted by Steven Golding, president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), during the question-and-answer segment of a constitutional reform discussion at The Mico University College last week.

However, his question resulted in an exchange between him and Malahoo Forte, who asserted that Jamaica was a unitary state, and that the CRC had been engaging with all Jamaicans.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com