Hours after decrying an ‘illegal’ raid on farms in its territory, chief of the Accompong Maroons Colonel Richard Currie launched another broadside at the Jamaican Government on Thursday (August 12). 

Currie, in an Instagram TV video, rebuked statements made by Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang on Nationwide Radio on Wednesday, where he claimed that Maroon lands ‘don’t exist’.

“I am a bloodline descendant of the island’s first people. I’m proud to say that I hold their traditions of independence, freedom and self-sufficiency. This land of my people is ours and ours alone. Our ancestors fought bitterly from the time of the Spanish up until 1738 to defend this land and we will never stop defending it,” he began.

“We will never stop honouring the ways of our ancestors and the sacrifices that they made to ensure that we had a place to call home. This is not land we begged for and this is not land King George II gave to us but rather land that we have possessed since prehistoric times,” Currie added.

Speaking with Nationwide News as outrage swelled over allegations of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) repeated trespassing on lands owned by the Accompong Maroons, Minister Chang reportedly lauded the actions of the plain-clothes officers, adding that to his knowledge, there is ‘no such thing as maroon land’. 

Immediately after the comments were publicised, Currie slammed the rhetoric and disclosed that Maroons in the Cockpit Country were “profoundly disappointed” with Chang’s utterances. 

The initial reply, captioned “Ignorance is not an excuse”, also shared the treaty speech from outgoing United Kingdom High Commissioner to Jamaica, Asif Ahmad, who spoke of respecting the sovereignty of Accompong at the Annual Maroon Festival back in January 2018.

“My reason I’m here with you is to honour and remember that firm treaty that my predecessors made with you 281 years ago. Yes, there were times when we broke our promises, but the memory lingers on. In this world today, we should remind ourselves of the sanctity of treaties between sovereign nations and we should never forget that when one country gives its bond to another, people are watching, history is watching,” Ahmad was heard saying at the time.

In the nearly six-minute reply, Colonel Currie declared that as indigenous peoples of Jamaica, Maroon rights are ‘Creator-given’ and not bestowed by man or government. 

“Freedom is our culture. Self-governance is our culture. Sovereignty is our culture. Not just singing, not just dancing—the Maroons are not clowns. We’re not entertainment for tourists, we are a distinct people with a living history and we will do our utmost best to protect the inheritance of our ancestors that they left for us,” Currie argued.

“As the duly elected representative of my people, I am also charged to be their protector and defender. To lead them fearlessly in the face of adversity and to be the first line of defence for their rights,” he said.

With a piercing gaze, Currie pointed out that in the case of emergency, a Maroon would never call to or seek help from Jamaican government services. 

“When the Maroons are in need, they do not seek to call 119 or any string of numbers, they call their chief. The members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) are not elected by my people, I am. In the Cockpit Country, we believe in democracy and the political freedom of the people,”

‘BATTLE LINES DRAWN’

The 40-year old Accompong chief then used the forum to declare to “the entire Jamaican public”, that he isn’t “seeking permission to defend” his people, and any leader would be duty-bound to do the same. 

Acknowledging that Maroons are no longer in the age of “bows, arrows, spears and slingshots”, Currie added that he and his people will play the ‘modern warfare’ game if the Government of Jamaica continues to infringe on its independence. 

“I unequivocally reserve my right to defend my people using modern means as this is my right. I do not seek permission to execute it. The protection of my people, and their property, is my fiduciary duty. And there is no power on Earth—temporal or spiritual—that can separate me from my duty and my undying love for my people,” Currie asserted.

“I urge the Government of Jamaica to keep the peace and to allow me to look after my people in peace and to allow my people to live comfortably in their ancestral homeland as we trouble no one and deprive no one of their rights by doing so. Thank you very much,” he ended.

Tensions are still high among the Maroon community in Accompong, following a confrontation between Bethsalem farmers and armed men. 

Currie, who bemoaned what appeared to be a ‘covert operation’, said that that rogue JCF members were repeatedly targeting Maroon farmers in the area in an extortion racket. 

The Maroons say they are being asked to pay off rogue officers and, in exchange, their marijuana and other crops of sustenance would be left undisturbed.

High-ranking superiors from police divisions near the Maroon enclave have purportedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the trespassers, while the Police High Command has opened a probe into the Monday, August 10 incident.

Additionally, the FLA indicated that it has launched its own investigation into Colonel Currie, who it states may have acted in contravention of a shotgun licence issued to the Accompong chief. 

Currie, who confronted the alleged rogue elements, had a shotgun strapped to his back as he sought to de-escalate frayed nerves among irate Maroon farmers. The weapon was also on Currie’s person in the Instagram TV address.

• Related article: Armed extortion racket? | Colonel Richard Currie, Maroons raise alarm at ‘rogue JCF trespassers’