The Bruce Golding administration is being challenged to call fresh elections amidst blistering criticisms by the U.S. state department over its handling of the Christopher Dudus Coke extradition request. The call was made by university of Miami professor of law, David Rowe during an exclusive interview. Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said the request has not been honoured because U.S. authorities violated the wiretapping law in obtaining evidence against coke, but Mr. Rowe has flatly rejected this argument, saying the courts should decide this. Meanwhile, the Jamaican-born attorney says it now is unlikely U.S. president Barack Obama will visit Jamaica, arguing this is due to the government's stance on the extradition request.
Meanwhile, the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica, PSOJ, has voiced its discontent over the government's handling of the extradition requests from the United States. In a strongly worded release the PSOJ called on the government to allow the courts to decide on extradition requests. The PSOJ says the courts are best suited to deal with such matters, as there are sufficient safeguards in the law and in the independent judiciary, to protect the constitutional rights of all Jamaicans. The PSOJ says it's concerned about the implications for the country, and it's urging the government to expeditiously take the necessary steps to allow the Jamaican courts to access and determine the merits of any outstanding US extradition requests. The call follows the release of the US state department's narcotics control strategy report which has chastised the government for its failure to extradite Christopher Dudus Coke whom the US calls a high profile crime lord. The state department believes the delay "highlights the potential depth of corruption in the government".