Business Senator Asks Belizeans to Reflect on “Urban Terrorism”

Mark Lizarraga

The first matter discussed in the Senate this morning was not the Budget or even the Superbond – those came later. Business Senator Mark Lizarraga opened the sitting with a short statement on crime, paying tribute to the families of Police Constable Marvin Locke and other murder victims from this past weekend. He issued a call for the Police Department to get its act together and mend its frayed relationship with the media and the community, to keep the Jewel off what he referred to as a “path of urban terror” that is causing further damage to an already strained economy.

Mark Lizarraga, Senator, Business Community

“Mr. President, we have been experiencing, sadly, in this country, an urban terrorism. And in this terrorism, what is scary is that we have utter silence from the Police. We all have a role to play in the development of our nation, Mr. President, and a free press is one of the major pillars of any vibrant democracy. Our citizens and all must begin to realize that we play a vital role in the development and economic development of our country, Mr. President, and all of these things do nothing – these murders do nothing to attract more tourists, to give confidence for people to come to our shores, or for people to invest. It also kills our economic activity in the City, in the villages and towns, where people are afraid to come out at night. So I would hope, Mr. President, that we all seriously contemplate on what has happened this weekend – lives apparently have very little value – and we all do what we can to ensure that Belize does not continue down this path of terror.”