CONSTTUTIONAL CRISIS
IN BELIZE

It is my duty to inform you of a grave threat to our very way of living. This threat is an amendment to the constitution that has been proposed by the Prime Minister and UDP government. This amendment if passed would take away our rights to challenge amendments to the constitution in the courts. This would apply to any and all amendments to the constitution that the government passes. Now bear in mind that we the people are not allowed to participate in process of amending our own constitution. Our ONLY protection is the right to appeal to the courts if we do not think a law is just. This amendment, known as Amendment 9, will completely take away those rights leaving us with no way to protect ourselves from unjust amendments to the constitution. This is extremely serious because the constitution is what guarantees our rights as citizens.

You may rightfully wonder how such a situation could exist. The answer lies in our constitution itself. It authorizes the parliament to amend the constitution by ¾ of the Members of Parliament voting in favor of the amendment with no requirement to have the approval of the people of Belize. As we have 31 seats the required number of votes to pass an amendment is 24. The last election left us with a UDP super-majority of 25 UDP Members of Parliament, more than enough to pass any amendment whatsoever regardless of content. Now, with the current constitution we could take them to court were they to pass amendments that infringe upon our rights.

In order to by-pass this the UDP government and Dean Barrow have proposed the democracy killing amendment that takes away our rights to appeal an amendment to the courts. The court system will become meaningless as they could be forced to do as the ruling party dictates. This is the first step to loosing all our freedoms. Without the right to appeal to the courts the only appeal lies in the streets.

The situation may appear bleak and it is but we the people can prevail. One brave soul from the UDP has stood up for what is right regardless of party politics and it has changed everything. I am of course referring to Marcel Cardona who is elected as Area Rep in Orange Walk East as part of the UDP government. Hon. Cardona has publicly stated that he is opposed to the proposed 9th Amendment and will vote against it. I had the honr of marching shoulder to shoulder with Hon. Cardona in the Protest held in Belize on Saturday and have heard his personal commitment to vote against the Amendment. Interestingly enough that leaves the UDP government with exactly the 24 votes required to amend our precious constitution. In practical terms, if only one UDP representative besides Hon. Marcel Cardona votes against the Amendment it cannot pass.

This means that our area rep, Manuel Heredia Jr. has the power to stop all this foolishness by simply saying to the P.M. that he will not vote for the amendment. If Mr. Heredia will not vote against this most horrible of amendments that will suck away our rights like a nurse shark on a conch he is not representing the people of San Pedro and Caye Caulker. I could not sleep at night if I were to support such an Amendment and am amazed that our own Jr. does not have the guts to say no to this incredibly foolish and damaging amendment. Let us hope I am wrong.

My brothers and sisters in Caye Caulker and San Pedro, we contribute more than any other group of people to the economy of our beloved Belize. A few thousand of us have contributed over 3 Billion dollars to the economy of Belize over the last 20 years. My friends, that does not include then stamp taxes on all the property that has been sold on the Cayes in this time. It is time we flex our muscles and make ourselves heard all around the country.

Make your voices heard, we in Belize Rural South can defeat this unfair and unjust amendment by forcing our area rep to echo the voice of the people he claims to represent rather than licking Dean Barrow's boots. Even Jr. must know this is wrong and terrible for the country. We must call the BRS office in San Pedro and make your position clear. SAY NO TO AMENDMENT 9, your very life and freedom may depend on it. Remember this is the same government that has tried to force a "Preventive Detention " Amendment 8 down our throats and only recently withdrew it after the huge public outcry. We must make an effort to be heard as these matters affect us all and we effectively have no representation.

NATIONWIDE, NO ONE WHO VOTES FOR AMENDMENT 9 SHOULD EXPECT TO BE REELECTED AND SHOULD HIDE THEIR HEADS IN SHAME. HISTORY MAY DEAL HARSHLY WITH THEM ALL IF THEY PASS THIS ABOMINATION.

Last edited by Mike Campbell; 08/02/11 10:59 PM.