AfriKa CRY BLOOD

by PHILLIPPE AIMEY

I want to state categorically that the Police Force does not enforce the law by targeting any groups. We carry out our duties without fear or favour and with sensitivity. We are willing to engage with any group in the society. We are the Police Force of Barbados and all communities.

- Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, SUNDAY SUN April 25.

RASTAFARI profiling is real!

So say members of the Rastafarian community.

But it goes beyond the police force, they said in an interview with the SUNDAY SUN last Friday. Such profiling, they say, extends to the main social institutions and it is a problem that will not go away easily, unless the movement is endorsed fully by the Government.

“This has not now started and it will not finish anytime soon. Outside of the police force, there is profiling within the education and health system and even our own families.

“This is and has been a reality for us,” said Sister Asheba Trotman, chairperson of ICAR and co-chair of the Caribbean Rastafari Organisation (CRO). (more…)

READERS OF THE NATION’S online edition have mostly empathised with the call by Ras KudosSage-I to stop the profiling of members of the Rastafarian religion.

Speaking at the African Liberation Day celebrations, KudosSage-I, a representative of the Ichirouganaim Council For The Advancement Of Rastafari (ICAR), spoke of the “scourge called religious intolerance, which the Rastafari community finds itself head to head with”.

He called “on our brothers and sisters in faith to help us to combat this scourge and this offspring called Rastafari profiling”.

On NATIONnews.com, some readers shared their own experiences of profiling.

(more…)

by YVETTE BEST

A CALL has gone out to all faiths to help stop Rastafari profiling.

Speaking at Monday’s celebration of African Liberation Day in Jubilee Gardens, Ras KudosSage I said it would call for people to speak in one voice.

“As we set about to eliminate the remaining vestiges of racism, let us be mindful of the fact that there is another scourge called religious intolerance, which the Rastafari community finds itself head to head with.

“And we are calling on our brothers and sisters in faith to help us to combat this scourge and this offspring called Rastafari profiling,” he urged.

The representative from the Ichirouganaim Council for the Advancement of Rastafari (ICAR) said his brothers and sisters were still being persecuted.

“Rastafari finds itself in a position where we are continually persecuted for the way we practice our worship and for the very things that define us as Rastafari,” he said.

Noting that the African black man was similarly persecuted and rose from that position, Ras KudosSage I said “it is my hope and dream that Rastafari will do the same”. (more…)

by Phillipe Aimey

APOLOGISE!

That’s what members of the Rastafarian community want the Royal Barbados Police Force to do before there is any meeting between the two bodies to discuss a long list of issues.

This was only one of the conditions outlined by the Justice Committee at a Press conference held at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre, Tweedside Road, St Michael, yesterday.

It was called to respond to Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin’s invitation to meet and discuss the issue of “Rasta profiling”. (more…)

The Coroner’s Inquest into the death of I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney begins today in the Coroner’s Court, Roebuck Street, St Michael.

Maloney died June 17 at Landlock, St Lucy, where, police have stated, the former engineer jumped to his death. The police have denied they had any physical contact with him.

Since then there has been much concern from the public and Maloney’s family surrounding the circumstances of the former Barbados Exhibition winner’s death, with his family citing what they said were numerous inconsistencies in the police account of what happened on the day of the incident. (more…)

by Enricco Bohne (www.barbadosadvocate.com)

This was the plea yesterday at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre in Tweedside Road as the Justice Committee formed to promote, protect and defend the late Ras Tacuma I’Akobi Maloney’s case, met with various media houses to publicise the status of Maloney’s case.

Tacuma, whose demise at Landlock, St. Lucy on June 17th was met with much controversy, was represented by Committee members KudosSage I (Secretary of the Justice Committee), Brother Heru (Director of I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre and member of the Justice Committee) as well as Ras Lumumba (Priest of Church of Haile Selassie I), and Tacuma’s brother Mandela Maloney.  Also present was the mother of I’Akobi and other Rastafari Elders. (more…)

by Philippe Aimey (www.nationnews.com)

MERE DAYS before the Coroner’s inquest into the death of former Barbados Exhibition winner I’Akobi Maloney , the Justice Committee has upped the ante in its fight to get an independent investigation.

Clearly stating it was not questioning the office of the Coroner, members of the committee said they specifically believed the information that would be analysed during the November 10 inquest should come from an independent body outside of the Royal Barbados Police Force.

Speaking during a Press conference at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre, Tweedside Road, St Michael, secretary of the Justice Committee, Ras KudosSage I, said 5200 signatures had been submitted to both the office of Prime Minister David Thompson and Attorney-General Freundel Stuart on Wednesday, citing the independent investigation as critical if justice was to be achieved. (more…)

by Peter Thorne (www.cbc.bb)

Secretary of the Justice Committee, Ras KudosSage I, called for an independent investigation to be conducted into the death of former Barbados Exhibition winner and Engineer, I’Akobi Maloney.

He lauded the late Rastafarian as a man of exemplary character and moral standing. He says the Committee will resist any attempt to vilify Maloney’s character and his adherence to standards of excellence.

He made the call at a news conference at the I’Akobi Youth Resource Centre at Carrington Village in St. Michael. (more…)

by People’s Empowerment Party

ACCORDING TO A REPORT in THE NATION newspaper last Wednesday, Attorney-General Freundel Stuart cavalierly dismissed the People’s Empowerment Party’s call for an effort to be made to stage a demonstrably “independent” investigation into the death of I’Akobi Maloney by quipping: “Mr Comissiong was not down there [at the St Lucy scene of the death] as far as I am aware, and none of the people who are shouting were down there.”

Mr Stuart then proceeded to state that he had received a written report from the police on Maloney’s death; that there was “no recording of anything out of the ordinary” in the report; and that the normal course of events would follow, with the usual Coroner’s Inquest being held.

The PEP is disheartened that our new attorney-general is seemingly unwilling to think “outside of the box”, and to reach for the substance of justice, rather than its mere form. (more…)

by PHILLIPPE AIMEY

The Justice Committee announced yesterday that it has accumulated more than 5,000 signatures in support of its call for an independent investigation into the death of former I’Akobi Maloney.

Assisting the lobby group was Independent parliamentarian Hamilton Lashley who gathered more than 500 signatures from residents in The Pine and Wildey areas which he represents in the House of Assembly.

Lashley handed over the signatures following his arrival at Parliament yesterday to loud cheers from over 30 of the lobby group’s members who adorned him with ‘red, gold and green’ scarf, similar to the one he wore during the budget debate in July.

“I want people to know that this is not just names on paper,” Lashley said, “it has value that lends support to one of the most serious matters in the history of Barbados. (more…)

Video courtesy Bongo Lights Video Productions.

by Mr. Cummings (Secretary - Hamilton Lashley M.P.)

At an emancipation ceremony held on August 8, 2008, I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney was awarded posthumously as a positive role model for the youth and for his outstanding work in the country and community. Margaret Maloney, mother of I’Akobi, received the award on his behalf from Mr. Hamilton Lashley M.P.

Among those awarded for their emancipatory contributions to the Pan-Afrikan movement included David Comissiong, Buddy Larrier, Olutoye Walrond, Trevor Prescod and Elombe Mottley. Throughout the proceedings, high accolades were sent to the Justice Committee for the work it was pursuing.

Mr. Lashley said that he would further support the efforts of the Committee by soliciting signatures from his constituency for the petition. The ceremony at the Meadow Road Pavilion in Wildey, St. Michael was well attended and proved to be an impactful close of the 2008 Season of Emancipation.

by Wayne Quintyne (Director/Head Instructor - Unified Martial Art Academy)

I cannot speak to the events immediately preceding the death of I’Akobi Maloney. Only those who were present at that time can say for certain what circumstances led to his unfortunate and disturbing demise. What I can say is that a life full of promise and potential has been lost to us - both as a community and as a people. Personally, I am still coming to grips with the news of I’Akobi’s passing and I am sure the same can be said for other students of the Unified Martial Art Academy to which I’Akobi just recently became a member. (more…)

by SS (Heat Newspaper - Issue #139)

Emancipation Day celebrations at Bailey’s Plantation took on even greater significance for many Barbadians, some still grieving the untimely death of a promising young Barbadian and member of the local Rastafarian community.

There was a strong presence from the Justice Committee formed in the wake of the recent passing of I’Akobi Tacuma Hembadoon Maloney, and many other Barbadians braved persistent showers to show solidarity with the principles of emancipation. (more…)

We demand a fair investigation and trial. We demand elimination of the scourge of Rastafari profiling, stereotyping and victimisation. We demand equal rights and justice.

“Dissatisfied and disgruntled; disappointed and distressed, this is how we feel about all recent police reports related to the I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney case.” Such was the general sentiment of community members who raised their deep concerns once again at a Town Hall meeting on Monday night, June 28, 2008, only a couple days after police returned Tacuma’s haversack and its contents to mother, Margaret Maloney.

The community has agreed to take their demonstration to the streets. There will be an unannounced march in protest of the current investigation being conducted (by the local police) on the unusual death of Ras Tacuma. The demonstrators will seek to raise public awareness and express collective dissent with the current standard of justice being served. We demand a fair investigation and trial. We demand elimination of the scourge of Rastafari profiling, stereotyping and victimisation. We demand equal rights and justice.

On Friday, August 1, 2008 the community will canvas the public with brochures, flags, badges and other memorabilia while collecting petition signatures from diverse supporters. The time has come for real change. Click here for more details on the emancipation activities.

by PEP (www.nationnews.com)

THE PEOPLE’S EMPOWERMENT PARTY (PEP) is calling upon Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin and Attorney-General Freundel Stuart to carry out an independent investigation into the “mysterious” death of 23-year-old I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, by bringing in police investigators from a jurisdiction outside of Barbados to take charge of the probe.

I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, a young man of impeccable reputation, died on June 17 at Landlocks, near Cove Bay, St Lucy, while in the presence and custody of several officers of the Royal Barbados Police Force. Spokespersons of the force have since alleged that police officers had interviewed Mr Maloney, before he suddenly and inexplicably ran and jumped off a cliff to his death.

Where a death has occurred in such circumstances, (more…)

Rastafari Community of Barbados
July 2008

In pursuit of social justice and the elimination of further Rastafari profiling, we, the Rastafari Community of Barbados, clearly publish the following demands and collective interests: (more…)

by Philippe Aimey (www.nationnews.com)

The committee set up on June 30, states on its website that it intends to clear the name of Maloney from any involvement with drugs, among a wider mandate that deals with the right of Rastafari people.

There is also a petition on the committee’s website, which can be signed online, or tributes sent in.

Yesterday, in Bridgetown, under the watchful eye of police, family and friends of Maloney marched with placards to raise public awareness. (more…)

Rastafari Community of Barbados
PETITION

This is dedicated to the defense of human rights and equal recognition before the law and those blossoms that were cut off when blooming brightest

AfriKa CRY BLOOD

WHEREAS rumours associating the most untimely death of a most priceless and cherished member of the Rastafari Community of Barbados, Ras I A’Kobi Tacuma Maloney to the interception, proliferation or possession of drugs are wholly inaccurate and totally unjustifiable; and,

Whereas Ras Tacuma was a very law-abiding citizen, and a recent graduate of St. Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies, Trinidad, who has no history of drug possession or trafficking; and,

Whereas reference to drugs degrades the status of this most honoured and valued young and gifted member of the Rastafari Community to that of a common criminal; and,

Whereas such a status is deemed to be unworthy and unmeritorious to this sacred individual and such an association will only serve to vilify the character of The Late Ras Tacuma and also to tarnish his hitherto spotless image and reputation; and,

Whereas those institutions which lay claim to standards of excellence and efficiency must also maintain and adhere to standards of excellence and efficiency; and,

Whereas relevant authorities should either provide just and adequate evidence to confirm this ghastly and obscure loss of life in connection to drugs or uncompromisingly remove all question marks and any element of doubt surrounding the character, the name and the reputation of the late Ras Tacuma as it relates to drugs and their proliferation;

We, the undersigned people of Barbados and the friends of Barbadians all over the Caribbean and the world, call on the Government of Barbados through the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to engage private and independent investigators to fully investigate the death of I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, and bring the perpetrators to Justice.

August 2008