Lee Mark Chang Defends UDP Protest Amid Police Warning

Questions continue to swirl inside the PUP over the Northern Caucus’ surprise endorsement of the BTL–Speednet deal, but another political dispute is unfolding across the aisle, this time over last week’s UDP protest, where Mesopotamia Area Rep Lee Mark Chang is pushing back against warnings of possible legal consequences, insisting demonstrators were simply exercising their constitutional right to protest.

 

On the Phone: Lee Mark Chang, Mesopotamia Area Representative

“If I need to pay the bond, I will take full responsibility for it because we were out there. We were peacefully demonstrating. If that’s what they wanna do in terms of threatening us as citizens of Belize, that they’re gonna charge us for our rights to demonstrate, then you know what, so be it. Like when the protest started from very early on, I spoke with Mr. Reyes and I told him, man you guys the make fi unu right unu wrong. Unu cannot trample upon a person’s constitutional rights. The lockdown man for what? Being a member of a gang? Then after that, then they flip flop. Man, they bally can get their own story straight weh they ker the man in for. But it’s the government and they’re in power and they will say what they want, what they wanna say. So what can we do as citizens? We can demonstrate. We can let them know of our unhappiness towards what they’re doing, but if they want to continue send threats then you know what, then we’ll probably have to take them to court or something.”

 

Shane Williams

“This would be a deterrent for regular Belizeans to protest and demonstrate which is their right. So do you find that you probably have a responsibility to fight against such threats from the police even though you may be able to pay the bond?”

 

Lee Mark Chang

“Firstly, the police think they the do we a favor. They noh di do we no favor. We as Belizean citizens, we have a right to demonstrate. We have a right to let the government know what we like and what we do not like. That’s why we live in a free country. So if they wanna continue down this road ya then something will have to give mi bally. And I’ll tell you, the voices of the people is the loudest.”

And as the back‑and‑forth continues, Chang vows to stand his ground in court if it comes to that, saying the real question now is how far authorities will push Belizeans’ right to protest.