APAMO says protest not out of the question if offshore drilling not banned

edilberto romero

For its part, APAMO, the Association of Protected Management Organization, which is the umbrella organization for all related environmental groups, reiterated its point in spite of the P.M.’s statement. Edilberto Romero, APAMO’s Chairman, went one step further today and indicated a protest is a possibility to pressure the government to step in line with the ban.

Edilberto Romero, Chairman of APAMO

“As APAMO we stand by our position that oil exploration in the offshore should be banned because it’s a huge risk. Yes, there has been errors in offshore oil exploration as well as in land exploration of oil; and those errors are things that can happen. It’s a risk and in our opinion, it’s a high risk. It only needs to happen once and with all the things that and all the technology that the U.S has it has happened in the Gulf of Mexico. In the case of Belize we know how sensitive our barrier reef is. We know how sensitive our coral reef is. It is even more sensitive than the ecosystems in the Gulf of Honduras and so we have a lot to loose from our natural resources, from a tourism standpoint, from a Fisheries standpoint and so it’s a huge gamble. I don’t think  that the country should gamble with things like the Barrier Reef, and the Coral Reef, and the atolls and things like that.”

Jose Sanchez

“The government doesn’t seem to be leaning in your direction, because there is so wealth, so much can be done with money from oil. How far is APAMO and the NGOs willing to take it?  Are you willing to protest? How far should you take it? Are you willing to go?”

Edilberto Romero

“Well we are willing to go as far as it is required. APAMO has been joining with other conservation organizations, other umbrella organizations. And we are going to push forward, we are gonna take steps, one by one, one to educate public and two to get message across and to try to see that the government to change its mind on this. Because I think that certainly, we cannot gamble with our royal heritage sight.”

Jose Sanchez

“Could it reach a level where a protest could be in the works?”

Edilberto Romero

“Our efforts is to try to reverse this decision, a protest is not out of the question.”

International News reports have confirmed that as a result of the situation in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. President Barrack Obama, will announce a six month ban on drilling of new deepwater oil wells, and he will also cancel plans for exploratory drilling and new lease sales off the coast of Alaska as well as that of a proposed lease sale off the Virginia Coast.