The
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Belize TiMeS
1
Belize Times The Truth Shall Make You Free
SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2010
Issue No. 4684
$1.00 www.belizetimes.bz
City Gone Mad!
Crime Minister Perdomo Must GO…
By our unofficial count, there have been four murders and one questionable death in the past week. That includes three bloody homicides on city streets, one by a policeman’s gun, a savage chopping in the Orange Walk district and the death of a Customs Officer while in Police custody. Unofficially, there have been 12 separate shooting incidents in the last 9 days. In just one of those incidents, five persons were injured, one of them an eight year old boy. And these figures don’t include the daily robberies which also often end in bloodshed. A popular store in the center of downtown Belize was robbed yesterday in broad daylight, and a security guard and an employee were pistol-whipped. Just today, blood splattered the streets of the city as robbers attempted another
brazen hold-up of Atlantic Bank. The streets of Belize City are running red, while residents are paralyzed by fear. Even the sanctity of homes has been breached by home invaders, who rob and rape and murder with abandon. Business owners now operate with full knowledge that any minute may be their last. Apparent fearless and coldblooded gangs rule our streets, and the death toll is rising steadily. Innocent blood has been shed by bullets which missed their targets. Belizeans are living in a city that is totally out of control, and there seems to be nowhere to turn. The Police Department which should provide sanctuary and stability in this storm of lawlessness has lost the trust of the Belizean (Continued on page 35)
Montero Fingered in Villager Alleges Nepotism Scandal Police Victimization
Belize City, Thursday, March 11, 2010
Channel Five News broke the story this week that the principals or subscribers for Gosen Products, the Belizean partners in Eco-Green, a company that had been awarded an exclusive contract to harvest and export Xate, are Ramon Matus Jr. of Macal Street in San Ignacio and Robert Jaime Montero of Church Street, the son of the Minister of Agriculture and Cayo Central area representative Hon. Rene Montero. Channel Five told its viewers that two men, Mario Mendez Cobar and Mildred Aguilar who are both registered at the same address in Guatemala, and Gosen Products are the owners of EcoGreen. Furthermore the news team said that their investigation had unveiled that the company was only paying a nominal
fee of one cent royalty to the Government of Belize when the going price is normally three or four cents per leaf. They noted that sources close to the minister had told them that Eco Green is employing Guatemalans and not Belizeans. The newscast concluded that “… the Minister’s son is a director of Gosen, that is a subscriber of Eco-Green, and Eco-green is the beneficiary of a lucrative contract awarded by the Government.” Our sources in Cayo insist that everyday Eco-Green’s Guatemalan workers are brought in and transported to work in a blue Ministry of Agriculture Toyota Tacoma complete with blue GOB licence plates. In the same newscast Earl Codd of Santa Elena told Channel Five News: “We had a license going back in 2006-2007, the license was cancelled by the Forest Department for no apparent reason before the expiration and was issued to one Gosen product for operation up in the Chiquibul area. We are still questioning why the license was cancelled and the reason for it. We had complied with all the necessary requirements set out within the license, setting in the proper proposal, security plan and harvesting plan and to date we have not received any response as to why the license was cancelled.” He went on to say that he believed the $250,000he had invested in the business was irrevocably lost. This is not the first time that it’s been reported that Montero has been (Continued on page 35)
. . . r e h et g o T e Com
Juan Coy Ordered it... says Teul
Hon. Juan Coy “I should have said this before but right now I feel ashamed that I campaigned for Mr. Coy or even associated with him when he was campaigning.” - Bartolo Teul. Belize City, Thursday, March 11, 2010
At approximately 4:00 pm on Sunday, March 7th, 2010, at a public community meeting held in Big Falls, Toledo, police officers arrested renowned and respected social and environmental activist Bartolo Teul, who is also a villager, for exercising his constitutional human rights, that of speaking out. A press release sent out three days ago claims that Teul was arrested simply because he dared to comment on some aspects of Toledo East Area Representative Juan Coy’s speech given during the above-mentioned meeting.
UDP Senator Pulcheria Teul The release stated: “When Mr. Teul presented opposing perspectives and challenged some points brought out by Hon. Coy, he responded by ordering the police to take out and arrest Mr. Teul. The Punta Gorda police officers present (six in total), who were heavily armed with SLR, M16, 9mm guns and long batons, took Mr. Teul out of the meeting in handcuffs as if he just committed a most criminal act. Villagers were amazed, shocked and intimidated by this very scary incident in our village. At no point was Mr. Teul being disrespectful, threatening or abusive to the Area Representative. Villagers who witnessed this outrageous incident are gravely concerned and are asking what next? Are we now under a form of dictatorship where citizens are (Continued on page 35)
It's Time For The PUP!