11 People Attend 13th Amendment Consultation in Dangriga  

Today, residents of Dangriga and nearby communities attended Belize’s third public consultation on the government’s proposed thirteenth amendment bill, aimed at tackling gun- and gang-related crimes. The sessions are meant to give the public a chance to ask questions and share concerns, but public participation was low, fewer than twenty people showed up. So are these sessions yielding successful results? News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Only about a dozen people showed up today for the government’s third public consultation on the controversial thirteenth amendment bill in Dangriga. The session, scheduled to run until four p.m., wrapped up by noon, presumably due to the poor turnout. The consultation, held at the Russell Chiste Garcia Auditorium, focused on strengthening the legal framework for declaring a State of Emergency. If passed, the bill would allow the Governor General to designate “special zones” where police could search, seize, and arrest based on intelligence gathered about targeted individuals. Despite the low attendance, Dr. Louis Zabaneh said the team was still able to hear and respond to community concerns.

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Area Representative, Dangriga

“Specifically to the consultations first, we heard some very good suggestions with respect to ensuring that the information is not just centered, say to Belize City or maybe even Belmopan, but that throughout the country, citizens are very interested in understanding what the thirteenth amendment is about. But even beyond that, laws generally, a number of citizens that came today, residents of Dangriga that came here today, expressed that they were really grateful for the opportunity because now they have a better understanding of what it is that the purpose of this thirteenth amendment is pursuing, right? So I think that was something that came out clearly.”

 

Dangriga’s Mayor, Robert Mariano, voiced his support for the bill, saying it would help Belizeans feel safer in public.

 

Robert Mariano, Dangriga Mayor

“People will tell you, that only crazy people expect different result in doing things the same way. And at this time, the thirteenth amendment has been offered to the country. And so we believe that the thirteenth Amendment is something different. And so it’s important for us to adopt the thirteenth amendment. And again, from my side, to my mind for those people who all allow abiding, don’t need to fear the thirteenth amendment because the thirteenth amendment is here to protect the citizens from crime.”

 

Some residents said they were concerned that criminals from other municipalities would travel to their areas to commit crimes. Others shared that there is a lack of information disseminated about the thirteenth amendment. Dangriga resident, Indira Williams, explained that while she supports the bill, she wishes that there was a greater push for the community involvement in the move towards a safer Belize.

 

Indira Williams, Dangriga Resident

“I just wanted them to know that there’s not enough information out there in the public and they need to post these things online for more people to get acquainted with and understand better.”

 

Britney Gordon

Listening to you speak, one of your major concerns was that there is a lot of crime here in Dangriga that you feel isn’t necessarily getting as much attention. So what do you recommend to them in order to assist with that issue?”

 

Indira Williams

“I was recommending to them that whenever they have information like this, they take it to all the districts, not only specifically to it, but Dangriga needs to know as well, Punta Gorda and all the rest of the districts.”

 

This was supported by Ifasina Efunyemi, a lecturer at Dangriga Junior College. She rushed to the event right after work but the time she arrived the event was over. She believes not enough was done to get community members to attend.

 

Ifasina Efunyemi, Dangriga Resident

“ I really should have learned about this event from our administration at the junior college. Because then this place could have been filled with students from the junior college. This is such an important pertinent issue. We are at a crucial time in the country’s development and in terms of our constitutional changes that will not only impact those of us who exist today, but also our future generations. So our students should have been a part of this process, and they were deprived of that opportunity. By the time I got here, when I saw the letter, it said from nine to four. And because I already have my schedule, I went to work, I had class, I had sessions with my students, and I decided I would come immediately after those sessions were over, which I did, only to meet Minister Usher leaving this building when I got here.”

 

Following the first two consultations, several new provisions have been added to the bill. One earlier concern was what recourse a person has if they believe they were detained without reasonable cause. While the bill already guarantees a tribunal hearing, it now also allows citizens to file an emergency application for the matter to be heard in the High Court. Still, Gretchen Smith, a consultant with SOZO Belize who researches gang and cartel exit strategies, says the bill requires much more work.

 

Gretchen Smith, SOZO Belize

“I’m open to it with extensive changes and definitely not retroactive. That is not acceptable and I’m not a fan of state of emergency, but in absence of real solutions, which we have not really seen a significant investment in real solutions. We may have no choice sometimes, but I have a serious concern that people will be swept up in it that don’t need to be swept up in it. That said, if I was acting compol or if I was the compol, I totally understand why they would push for that. They have a very difficult job to manage all of this.”

 

The public remains divided on whether the bill should be passed, but one point is clear: there is a strong demand for greater transparency in the discussion. What’s even more concerning, however, is the low public participation in Dangriga. Britney Gordon for News Five.