10th supporters protest Carnival conflict

Even as a deluge of holiday decorations flood downtown Belize City, battle lines have been drawn in the war for exclusive rights to the Tenth Day of September 2005. This morning the Saint George’s Caye Day Society held a press conference in Battlefield Park to express outrage at a decision made by the September Celebrations Committee to also hold Carnival on the Tenth. The small group of stalwarts are firm in their belief that the imported event would mar the historical significance of the day. According to Sharon Pitts Robateau, everyone who says carnival is a good thing since “Tenth dead”, has another thing coming.

Sharon Pitts Robateau, Chair, St. George’s Caye Day Society
“We are not playing the numbers game. People have trying to kill Tenth, but Tenth has to do with our ancestry and national pride and maybe it’s the missing link why we don’t see that our youths are connected to this territory and our ancestors made the sacrifice. We are not going to let them down; history will not show us disrespecting our history. We prefer to have, and we insist we will have our pomp and ceremony, our formal, official Belizean parade. Carnival is an import… Actually, what has been dying and is moribund is Carnival and we are not playing the numbers game, we want to be sure what we are celebrating.”

“We maintain our position and protest for the record, we are prepared to stand up for this on behalf of the people of Belize, come what may, whatever the odds.”

According to Pitts-Robateau, the Saint George’s Caye Day Society will be holding a rally this Saturday in Battlefield Park as another expression of protest at the Carnival celebrations being held on the tenth. We understand that the September Tenth parade 2005 will be held under the theme: “Diverse People, Diverse Views, One Goal; Betterment for All.”