Chau Hiix in Crooked Tree caught up in Noh Mul situation
Even as the Institute of Archaeology tries to juggle priorities to deal with the issues facing them at the Mayan Archaeological site of ChauHiix in Crooked Tree, it is caught up in the Noh Mul situation. Noh Mul, one of the larger sites in northern Belize, was almost completely destroyed by a private contractor who needed road-fill for some work in a nearby community. That destruction resulted in widespread international and local condemnation and outrage and a proclamation by authorities that those responsible would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Today we asked Awe for an update.
Jaime Awe, Commissioner of Archaeology
“As we are speaking, we have Doctor Morris who is up in Orange Walk meeting with the police; this is about his fourth or fifth trip. We’ve compiled all the information, the data that we have to provide to the police to present a very strong foolproof case requires not just the recording of the damages at the site, but also we have visited the land’s department because we have to get information about the ownership of the property so we can present that. The idea is that charges will be laid wherever those charges can be laid. And so we are hoping to have all that documentation completed by this week.”
Mike Rudon
Jaime Awe
“I don’t mean to put you on a spot, but do you still feel there is this sense of outrage, this determination to deal with this in the ministry, in your department to take this thing as far as it can go?”
Jaime Awe
“You know Mike, the answer is categorically yes. We had a meeting just this past Friday and the instruction from our ministry, from our minister is that cabinet has given its full backing to the investigation and for us to continue with laying charges. Yes it might seem like there is a lull right now, but like every good investigation, the case of a good murder investigation, you have to do your police work and you have to ensure that you have all the hard data that would support the charge.”
Denny Grijalva, the owner of the company which razed the Mayan monument for road-fill, has stated publicly that his company is prepared to pay the fine immediately. But jail time is also provided for in the Act.
The fine should be the cost of reconstruction and whatever the laws of Belize required to be the paid and jail time. These people that are destroying these Mayan sites are taking it as a joke,because he is ready to pay the fine but the amount of the fine cannot reconstruct the Mayan site.
GRIJALVA WILL PAY THE FINE?
No, that’s not enough!
He needs to be stoned and used for roadfill, but I suppose I’ll have to settle for 10 years in prison.
LESS THAN THAT WILL NOT SATISFY ME — WILL LESS SATISFY YOU?
For the RICH AND WELL CONNCTED, BELIZE is a free for all STATE. Only the poor folks get prosecuted for petty crimes. Our laws are so outdated that they are now rendered useless when it comes to prosecuting CRIMES of this magnitude. MOST FOLKS in the jewel are so poor that issues like this and others, are the least of their concerns. And the GOB knows this, hence the reason the PM AND OTHERS are mute because to them, the small number of people who are up in arms over this and all the other crimes that the rich and well connected commit, we do not win elections for them. So THEY’LL wait this out until another issue takes the spotlight; come ELECTION TIME, the GOB WILL FLOOD THE POOR NEIGHBORHOODS with free goodies for a day. I thought this PM would have looked out for the best interest of BELIZE, but I guess I was wrong because HE AND HIS CRONIES are raping BELIZE RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, rendering the poor totally dependent on them.
What about the ‘Landowner’? He is never mentioned by name. Yes Mr. Grijalva is being prosecuted (hopefully) and he is running for political office. Clearly he bears guilt But…WHY is no one in the media mentioning the NAME of the landowner who surely bears equal culpability?