WESTERN BUREAU ­ THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) has decided to file a constitutional action seeking compensation for breaches of the constitutional rights of some of the street people forcibly removed from Montego Bay.

A release from Party Leader Edward Seaga said the action would be made on behalf of those who had authorised the JLP legal team to act on their behalf. The legal team, headed by Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, was established to act on behalf of the more than 30 people rounded up off the streets three weeks ago and released in St. Elizabeth.

The JLP's decision to take action followed reports by Deputy Leader Edmund Bartlett and General Secretary Audley Shaw to the Standing Committee on their investigation of the issue.

Mr. Seaga added that the JLP would not stop until "those responsible for this illegal and unconstitutional action against the unfortunate people are known and brought to justice".

Outside pressure is also building on the Jamaican Government to solve the mystery of the circumstances surrounding the removal of between 32 and 38 street people in the wee hours of Thursday, July 15.

Amnesty International yesterday called on Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to establish an independent inquiry into police action during the illegal sweep.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Amnesty's Americas Programme Director, Javier Zuniga, asked that Government "examine the use of force by police officers and the unconfirmed deaths in police custody (and) investigate the arbitrary detention and deprivation of liberty" of the city's street dwellers.

Amnesty added that it was "deeply concerned" about the reports, especially allegations that the people kidnapped were taken to the edge of a mudlake and that some may have been duped into running into it.

Mr. Zuniga also urged Government to offer protection to the street people recovered, in light of reports of death threats against those who are speaking up.

The Office of the Prime Minister had no immediate comment on the letter, but press secretary Huntley Medley said Mr. Patterson's address to the nation last Thursday still stood.

Meantime, CUMI reports that its survey shows that 31 street people have been recovered from St. Elizabeth, while one remains in the infirmary there. Another, a female, has left the city and has been seen in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, said CUMI.