US embassy cable - 05KINGSTON1919

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001919 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA 
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, AND EB/IFD 
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA (RUTH BRANSON) 
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP (OWEN) AND WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI) 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR TABERNAKI 
CUSTOMS MIAMI FOR LOWEN AND MAHABIR 
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS, FAS, AND LEGATT 
STATE PASS USTR FOR A. GASH-DURKIN 
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ R LIPMAN 
TREASURY FOR L LAMONICA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EFIN, ECON, EINV, KCRM, PHUM, JM, TIP 
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: JULY 22 - AUGUST 12, 
2005 
 
1. This week's topics: 
 
-- U.S. Trafficking Report a Wake-Up Call, Says PM 
-- Two More Officers Charged in Crawle Case 
-- Six Police Officers Charged in Flankers Case 
-- Murder Rate Continues to Soar 
-- Jamaica to Miss Inflation Targets 
-- Tourism Bookings Tumble 
-- Hurricane Damage Near USD 33 Million 
-- Cheaper Internet Access for Jamaicans 
-- Jamaicans Paid for Copyright Infringements 
-- Poultry Producers Concerned with Customs Loophole 
-- GOJ to Support New Agricultural Industries 
 
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U.S. Trafficking Report a Wake-Up Call, Says PM 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
2. Prime Minister PJ Patterson on August 9 said that the U.S. 
Department of State's 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 
Report "served as a wake-up call for Jamaican society," and 
that a public education program would focus on how to address 
the problem.  Patterson made the comments at the launch of an 
awareness campaign designed by the country's recently formed 
anti-TIP task force, which presented the Prime Minister with 
bumper stickers and posters that will help sensitize the 
public on the subject of trafficking.  Anne-Marie Bonner, who 
heads the task force, said the group is operating with a 
12-month budget of more than USD 40,000, but had appealed to 
international organizations for funding assistance. 
Patterson appealed to all Jamaicans to become aware of 
trafficking and to end the exploitation of children. 
 
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Two More Officers Charged in Crawle Case 
---------------------------------------- 
 
3. On July 21, two officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force 
(JCF) were arrested and charged with accessory to murder and 
obstruction of justice in the case of the 2003 police 
shootings of four people at a home in Crawle, Clarendon.  Six 
JCF officers, including Reneto Adams and five of his 
colleagues in the now-defunct Crime Management Unit, were 
originally charged in the case with four counts of murder. 
The two officers arrested in July are accused of planting a 
handgun at the scene of the crime following the shootings to 
give the appearance that the victims were armed.  Current 
Deputy Commissioner in charge of Crime, Mark Shields, was a 
member of the Scotland Yard team that traveled to Jamaica to 
assist with investigations into the 2003 killings.  The two 
officers, Sergeant David Ballen and Corporal Terrence 
Tingling, were released on bail and prohibited from leaving 
the country.  They are scheduled to appear in court on August 
22. 
 
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Six Police Officers Charged in Flankers Case 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
4. In another controversial 2003 police shooting case, the 
Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) on August 10 charged 
six policemen in the killing of two elderly men in Flankers, 
St. James.  The ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions 
comes nearly two years after the incident, but the details of 
who has been charged will not be made public until 
Commissioner Lucius Thomas has reviewed the case file. 
Detectives from Scotland Yard also assisted in the Flankers 
investigation. 
 
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Murder Rate Continues to Climb 
------------------------------ 
 
5. Opposition spokesman on security Derrick Smith on August 4 
criticized National Security Minister Peter Phillips for 
neglecting the country's crime problem.  Smith accused 
Phillips, who is also a candidate to succeed Prime Minister 
Patterson in the next general elections, of being preoccupied 
by his active campaigning and responsibilities as leader of 
the House of Representatives.  Smith's criticism came as 
Jamaica's murder rate soared to 1,017 by August 7, or nearly 
five per day.  Annualized, murders are on track to reach 
about 1,700 in 2005, approximately 15 percent more than in 
2004, which represented the highest murder rate in Jamaica's 
history.  At the same time, criminal arrests have fallen by 
more than 1,000 in the past year.  Phillips' office assured 
Smith that the minister "remains determined to solve the 
difficult issues of crime and violence." 
 
--------------------------------- 
Jamaica to Miss Inflation Targets 
--------------------------------- 
 
6. Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Derrick Latibeaudiere on 
August 11 said that Jamaica's inflation rate, which was 13 
percent in 2004, could reach 15 percent this year.  The BOJ's 
inflationary targets for 2005 were originally in the single 
digits, but Latibeaudiere said that rising oil prices, 
hurricane damage, and the rising cost of domestic 
agricultural production have made those goals unrealistic. 
While he expects the country to be able to stabilize core 
inflation in the absence of any further major external 
shocks, Latibeaudiere said that the significant foreign 
investment Jamaica urgently needs will be difficult to 
secure, given the country's dilapidated infrastructure. 
(Septel). 
 
----------------------- 
Tourism Bookings Tumble 
----------------------- 
 
7.  Influenced by the passage of two hurricanes in July, 
tourism bookings to Jamaica for late summer and fall have 
dropped by almost 15 percent compared with the year before. 
This has prompted tourism officials to launch an advertising 
and marketing campaign, via newspaper and radio, offering 
reduced airfares to Jamaica.  In addition, the Jamaica 
Tourist Board has opted to begin flying in travel agents for 
seminars earlier than usual.  Jamaican hoteliers have said 
they will offer free hotel rooms to travel agents invited to 
the island. 
 
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Hurricane Damage Near USD 33 Million 
------------------------------------ 
 
8. The damage caused by Hurricane Dennis is estimated to cost 
Jamaica more than USD 33 million, including almost USD 18 
million for infrastructure repairs.  A large part of the bill 
will also be due to damage to the agriculture sector, 
according to damage assessment data presented in July by the 
Planning Institute of Jamaica.  With damage assessment 
analysis ongoing for Hurricane Emily, this figure is expected 
to increase even further. 
 
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Cheaper Internet Access for Jamaicans 
------------------------------------- 
 
9. In a move to capture a growing share of the market, 
Jamaica's leading Internet service provider, Cable and 
Wireless Jamaica, has announced an up to 40 percent cut in 
the price of its high-speed Internet service, now available 
for as little as USD 29.95 per month.  The firm's new 
president and CEO, Rodney Davis, said the move was also 
designed to help Jamaica exploit the technology's potential 
for economic growth.  According to Davis, the reduced price 
for broadband is comparable to service providers in South 
Korea.  With the reduced price, he said Cable and Wireless is 
aiming to have at least 50,000 broadband customers by the end 
of March 2006, up from the current 13,000 users.  In 
addition, to increase the number of Internet users in 
Jamaica, Cable & Wireless has introduced a "Personal Internet 
Communicator," a small and inexpensive all-in-one personal 
computer designed to work easily with the company's broadband 
service.  The computer costs USD 299.00 and does not include 
the price of Internet access. 
 
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Jamaicans Paid for Copyright Infringements 
------------------------------------------ 
 
10. About 180 Jamaican artists are expected to benefit from 
the more than euro 1 million in royalties won from two 
collection agencies that represent musicians in France. 
According to French lawyer Andre Bertrand, who specializes in 
copyright issues, the royalties were due to Jamaicans whose 
work was featured in broadcast in France during the last 12 
years.  The settlement comes only two months after a French 
court awarded judgments against French record company Culture 
Press in cases involving two other Jamaican singers. 
Bertrand, who has set his sights on other European collection 
societies, was also successful in getting a court order to 
stop the sale of a Bob Marley DVD after it was discovered 
that the rights holders were not receiving any royalties. 
 
 
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Poultry Producers Concerned with Customs Loophole 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
11. Since the imposition of a temporary ban on the 
importation of chicken backs and necks from the United 
States, Jamaican importers have, according to poultry 
producers, moved to exploit loopholes in customs regulations 
by importing seasoned chicken leg quarters for sale in the 
domestic market as fresh (unseasoned) product.  In response 
to allegations of the widespread fraudulent declaration of 
chicken leg quarters (which carry a 260 percent import duty) 
as duty-free chicken backs and necks, the GOJ imposed a 
temporary ban on the importation of the latter, pending 
investigations. Consequently, importers have begun importing 
large quantities of seasoned chicken leg quarters (which 
carry a 40 percent duty) to compensate for the decline in 
unseasoned imports.  The Ministry of Agriculture has said 
that it is evaluating the situation with an eye toward 
lifting the current ban. 
 
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GOJ to Support New Agricultural Industries 
------------------------------------------ 
 
12. In an address to thousands of farmers who attended 
Jamaica's premier agricultural show in Clarendon on July 30, 
Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke heralded the need for 
immediate agricultural sector reform in light of the changing 
EU agricultural trading regime for sugar and bananas imported 
from African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries.  Clarke 
outlined the GOJ,s commitment to spend millions of dollars 
to support the development of specific export-oriented, 
non-traditional agricultural industries, including citrus, 
oysters, lobsters, ornamental fish, ornamental horticulture, 
and apiculture. 
TIGHE