COLA/VIP Protest Outside Conference
The session, which likely would have gotten much more uncomfortable and intense for the officials of the O.A.S. and Guatemala, was cut short. But outside there was more waiting for them. A very small group of protesters including representation from COLA and the Vision Inspired by the People stood outside with placards to vent their frustration and displeasure. They say no to the ICJ and NO to Guatemala.
Geovanni Brackett, President, COLA
“We are not in support of going to the ICJ. We understand that there is a dispute that needs to be solved. COLA has written a formal document in making a proposal and we continue to say to the foreign minister….and just being in there just now as a reporter a while ago, I was very frustrated to see how the Minister Elrington keeps on making comments about those who oppose…inferring that if you oppose going to the ICJ, you are not intellectual enough, you are not smart enough. It appears to me that the only smart one dealing with this situation is Mister Elrington and everybody else seems to be dumb because he has downgraded Patrick Rogers, Moses Sulph…he has downgraded everybody who seems to oppose going to the ICJ is just not smart enough…if you listen to the comments of the Foreign Minister. And I think that he has not represented the Belizean public in the best interest and he should be removed or be recalled by the voters of Pickstock, now.”
Moses Sulph
Moses Sulph, Activist
“Bottom line is like you have your neighbour…you have your yard and your neighbour is telling you, you cannot put a dog house in your yard. This is yours; Belize belongs to Belize. Until the dispute is settled with the Guatemalan claim, Belize belongs to Belize…we aren’t suppose to allow any other country to dictate to us as an independent nation what we can build in our country or not. And if the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs don’t understand that Belize is for Belize then they should step down from where they are because then they are not representing Belize.”
Patrick Rogers
Patrick Rogers, Vision Inspired by the People
“While we deh get aggressed by Guatemala over the last couple of months, we still deh deh di appease Guatemala, talking about a peaceful conference weh we got and then we wa follow that by fi dehn kids di come and dance up dah fi we institute and fi we kids the play music…and one big happy thing, everybody peaceful. When peace just mean that you beat me into submission so I have to accept your superiority and I have to accept conditions of peace weh you lay out. We are saying hell no.”
Geovanni Brackett
Geovanni Brackett
“On behalf of COLA if this persists and it seems it will, we will mobilize nationally and that the next time when we go and take our people to the footsteps, we will show Mister Elrington the fortitude that the members of COLA has. And then we will see the battle of the intellectuals…we will really put that aside and we’ll really show what the people in the streets are thinking of you.”
