Mr.Coke (Jamaica related)
pcmr
5,591 Posts
There is some heavy shit going down in Kingston... Hope magnetic is well
pcmr
5,591 Posts
Comments
Whoa. I read this earlier and was going to post the story. Magnetic, please post and let us know you are good. Then tell us what is really going down in the hood.
The breakaway Republic of Tivoli has barricaded all entries in and out of the community against the invading security forces.The Government claims they will regain order meanwhile all uninvolved residents were advised to leave the warzone.
Ok i was taking a little poetic license with the situation but something close to that is happening.
Truthfully the army has been deployed after 4 police stations in the west kgn
area were under siege(think Assault on Precinct 13) the Hannah Town station was burnt to the ground and looted.I figure the news reports should be on youtube by now.
I just remembered this past week when some of the Tivoli residents protested i saw a placard that read "Jesus died for us,we will die for Dudus" so it's officially on.
so Dudas is not aligned with PNP or JLP?
(i guess any time would be terrible, )
Stay safe, Maggie, and thanks for the update.
Today when i opened the daily gleaner there was a pic of the same house,it really is his actual home, they also printed out the police profile on him.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100524/news/news1.html
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100524/lead/lead4.html
All his details are public now.Seems like he was trying to be lowkey diving a 2000 model Honda wow that isn't ballin.
Name: Michael Christopher Coke, otherwise called 'Dudus'
Alias: Omar Clark
Date of birth: 13/03/1969
Address: 33 Asquith Drive, Plantation Heights, Red Hills, St Andrew
Originally from Albert Street
Telephone: (876) 847-4573
School: Ardenne High
Mother: Patricia Halliburton
Address: Building 25, Seaga Boulevard
Girlfriend: Stephanie Gayle
Address: 33 Asquith Drive, Plantation Heights, Red Hills, St Andrew
(Born, grew up in Tivoli Gardens)
Vehicles: 1994 Blue Nissan Bluebird
2000 Silver Honda CR-V
Brothers: Omar Coke, Everton Jones, otherwise called 'Corn Pipe',
Andrew Coke, otherwise called 'Liviti'
Businesses: Incomparable Enterprise Limited
Address: 59 Spanish Town Road, Kingston
Type: Construction
Directors: Michael Christopher Coke, otherwise called 'Dudus',
Justin Ogilvie, Everton Russell
Trading company: Presidential Click - Entertainment Promotions
Passport expired: Passport will be obtained by the National Intelligence Bureau.
Driver's licence: He has no driver's licence. He said he had one in the name Omar Clark, but it was confiscated (he could not remember the date). His explanation for not having a driver's licence is that if he is stopped on the road by police and they see the name, he may be harassed.
I read today that he is aligned with whatever party of the current prime minister and that is why they were initially stonewalling the extradition order.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100526/lead/lead11.html
Also it has been reported 19 people were killed in St.Catherine yesterday.
Sad thing after all this Tivoli will still vote back for JLP.
Dear friends,
Thank you to all those who have emailed me expressing your concern given the current situation in my country - I am very appreciative of this and I am grateful to be able to report that my family are all well and safe. We are fortunate to live in St. Elizabeth a parish that is over 3 hours away from Kingston where the actual violence is taking place; my family in Kingston also lives several miles from the downtown areas highlighted in the news, although given the nature of Kingston, flare ups have been happening in various areas of the city over the last few days including in Grants Pen, a community about five minutes from my sister's house.
The truth is, none of this is really a surprise to us, it was always a matter of when not if this situation would explode. With her permission, I am forwarding to you a short summary that my sister got from her/our good friend and political analyst Diana which Ash updated a bit yesterday (in italics)...please keep our country in your prayers, we are good people in need of better leadership at a critical point in our history which will reveal much about our future as a people and, on a personal note, mine and my children's future here.
Here are the variables:
1. Jamaica has a long-standing problem, 30 years in the making, of well-armed criminal gangs and networks, most of them who make huge amounts of money in the international drug trade. Most, if not all of these gangs have affiliations of some sort to the two major political parties, though it would not be correct to say that they are controlled by the political parties (at least not anymore).
2. The U.S. last year issued a warrant for the arrest of one Christopher ?Dudus? Coke, who they say is one of the most dangerous and powerful drug lords in the world. For a number of reasons (including many say their affiliation - for eg his lawyer up until a few days ago was a Govt Senator - and what he knows about them but also legal issues as to the nature of how the wiretapping was done) the Jamaican government did not extradite him right away, bringing immense US pressure on Jamaica that manifested in a number of ways, and which ultimately brought a near unanimous public voice here in Jamaica pressuring the government to hand Dudus over to the US. (one of the first times in our recent history when civil society was unanimous in their call for immediate action)
3. Dudus?s home base is a small area of downtown Kingston called Tivoli Gardens, the creation and political base of former Prime Minister Edward Seaga. When Seaga retired, our current prime minister, Bruce Golding, took over the constituency, and inherited the problem of Dudus. Tivoli Gardens has long been considered a ?state within a state?. Just to say that the residents (most of whom are lawabiding citizens) depend on Dons such as Dudus for benefits, protection and their livelihoods and have expressed their willingness to defend him at any cost...in many ways a function of the incompetence of the State to provide these basic needs over many years.
4. One week ago, bowing to public and U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Golding announced that he had given instructions for the extradition to proceed. What this means is that a local warrant was issued for Dudus? arrest. Dudus had the option of turning himself in (which is what usually happens when an extradition request is processed) and if he failed to do that, he would be sought by the security forces and arrested.
5. Ahead of Monday's invasion of Tivoli, and in light of the mushrooming violence (such as the bombing of a police station on Sunday), a state of emergency for Kingston was announced on Sunday night. What this means is that the security forces have extraordinary powers to arrest, search and detain individuals (where as normally they?d need warrants, etc.). However, the government are yet to detail these powers or limitations - for eg no cufew has been announced and the PM says business as usual although there is no way in hell that it is so and there is a de facto curfew through most of the city given the heightened fear amongst all
6. The current violence, comprising attacks on police stations, and gun battles between gun men and state security forces as well as some random, gratuitous violence, is a result of the marshalling, ostensibly by Dudus, of other criminal gangs, to challenge the state?s attempt to arrest him. Reports so far are that several policemen and soldiers are dead along with some 40 civilians as a result of this violence, and many others wounded. It is these occurrences of violence that have basically shut the city down, as they are sporadic and unpredictable, and have occurred all over the city, not just in downtown. Many businesses and schools have not opened today as a result of this aspect of the situation. It is unclear what will happen tomorrow, this week, next month....
7. There is also, in Tivoli Gardens itself, a battle between the army and Tivoli gunmen. The army entered Tivoli yesterday to search for Dudus in order to capture and arrest him. There are no confirmed reports, but there are likely to be numerous casualties as a result of this operation, both civilian and security forces, as well as the gunmen themselves. Nearly 48 hours later, they have not been able to capture him yet and they do not even know if he is still there - he also owns a mansion in the hills above Kingston. Some would say that this is no longer even about Coke, it is about the destruction of Tivoli and all that it stands for. Let us hope that the security forces and the ailing ruling party (who are almost guaranteed to lose the next election having almost no political currency) have the resolve to do so.
8. As you have seen, US and UK media have been covering the story and hopefully they have been honest in terms of the scope of the affected area - if you are a tourist in a resort town you have nothing to fear. This is strictly a Kingston/St Catherine problem and is expected to remain so.
9. In terms of US support, there are some reports of drones and jets overhead but these are unconfirmed. As a Jamaican, I would have no problem with assistance from external forces - after all, this is a situation that has been fuelled by the naroctic and arms trade not to mention the US and UK's policy to deport hundreds of criminals back to Jamaica regardless of the fact that most of these criminals spent their formative years over there.
On a final note, Diana made a point at the end of her posting on Facebook that I would like also to include here as it completely reflects how I feel as well (this is all so hard to explain if you've never lived it):
"You might be wondering how I can be so calm about this. I grieve for the lives lost?all the lives lost, whether they be of security personnel, civilians, and even suspected criminal gunmen. There is a story and a family and the potential for hope in every individual?s life, and when that is snuffed out, it is a tragedy.
It is hard to move on from that overwhelming fact to then rationalize what is happening. Forgive me if I sound trite; I don?t feel trite about it.
Communities like Tivoli constitute an ongoing challenge to the ability of the state to assert its authority and maintain law and order in the country. And that challenge has been, and continues to be, the most formidable obstacle to the country?s economic and social development. I am not condoning the death of civilians by the security forces, and I will not be surprised if and when reports emerge that the security forces abused their powers, but Dudus (and those of his ilk) cannot remain above the law.
I hope this helps you to understand a bit better what?s going on, and why I?m not in a state of panic. I am deeply concerned abo ut the situation, not just for my own personal safety, but also for the loss of life and destruction to property and the stalling of every day life that has happened and that is bound to continue."
It is so hard to imagine that all this could be happening only 3 hours away down the coastline of southern Jamaica when just yesterday afternoon we (Jason, Seya Max and I) watched the most spectacular sunset we've seen in a while -- and that's hard to top considering our location. There were rain showers in patches all over the plains like curtains dropping from the sky, and huge blooming cumulus clouds tinged with gold and yes, silver linings. It was amazing. This said, please note that Jamaica is the size of Connecticut and that what happens in Kingston does not reflect what is happening elsewhere around the island, everywhere else, it's business as usual -- you can only imagine the effect that this (and the ensuing sometimes speculatory and sensational news coverage) is having on the tourism industry -- so please feel free to forward to friends and family who you think might want some clarification-- and send any questions or comments you might have. I'd be happy to see if I can answer them.
Much love to you all and again thanks for your concern.
Laura
Absolutely.....great stuff.
I'm always puzzled when law enforcement or governments have to announce ahead of time that they are going to capture someone instead of just doing it quietly and covertly using discretion instead of warnings.
and still aren't allowed in after they have secured the community,is real telling to me that they want to suppress what info gets out concerning the injustices meet out on the citizens in there.
I just saw a news report on a local station here cvm where they have detained over 200 people and are keeping them at the National Arena. While on the scene the reporter showed footage of 2 truckloads of detainees being brought there they counted 62 males,included in that number a large portion are just young boys.
44 dead in the Tivoli & West Kingston area.
19 dead in the St. Catherine area.
40 injured.
260 Detained.
and a unclassified number of dead being buried in a mass grave in the adjoining Cemetery.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1991821,00.html
73 dead and 28 injured from the security forces.
and 560 people being detained at the Arena.
4 rifles recovered with 7000 rounds of ammunition.
This is looking ridiculous so many lives lost for 4 guns wow!
The former Prime Minister Seaga spoke out and said that the current Prime Minister Golding lacked rectitude in the dealing with the situation.
Had to make a quick correction just saw the figure scroll across the screen.
Seaga really did say #BlameBruce to "wheel and come again".
Yes i heard it.
And they just granted limited access to the press today, disgraceful.
Oh shit! Seaga said the JLP is a dis-functional party at present.