Show Notes
On June 19, 1976, Jamaica's governor general declared a state of emergency. Prime Minister Michael Manley said political violence had reached a scale unique in the country's history. Many members of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party were detained, along with a few from Manley's own party. His critics said the emergency was used to detain opposition members during an election year. The election was held on December 15, 1976. This episode tells what the record shows and what each side said. Sources: the Jamaica Observer's retrospective on the 1976 state of emergency, the Jamaica Gleaner, a CIA daily brief of June 21, 1976 from the agency's reading room, the Library of Congress country study, and reference histories of the Gun Court and the 1976 election.
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