Gang warfare raged this weekend in the city and it left residents of a three square block area in the Mesopotamia thoroughly rattled after a series of shootings and countless rounds of gunfire. We’ll have every angle of that story shortly, but first we go to the weekend’s COLA March. The Citizens Organized for Liberation through Action, COLA held their demonstration in Belize City on Saturday morning. It was viewed as an important litmus test to see if in a political off-season, a sufficiently substantial crowd could be mustered to give a nice little jolt to a government with three years left on its term. Our team was on the ground to assess whether COLA had the gas to get to Belmopan.

Jules Vasquez Reporting,
The COLA march moved off at just after ten – this image was taken as it turned into Vernon Street. The crowd was modest but genuine with a mix of Belize City residents and Toledo residents. The protestors focused on a broad range of issues from dams and protected areas, or dams in protected areas to Belize Natural Energy and that precious oil to crime and the coastal zone to immigration and police brutality. Even kids got in on the placard carrying as did the senior environmentalist Chocolate Heredia. Ministers were targeted, especially foreign Minister Sedi Elrington and politicians in general.

And while the signs were al over the place issue-wise, the chants were focused on the border and the oil.

Chants: “Our borders are real…the oil is ours, share the wealth…our borders are real…our leaders are artificial…nationalize the oil.”

As the group crossed over Swing Bridge – the 175 participants took about a minute to pass by our camera – which qualifies as a small crowd. We’ve seen protests taking half hour to pass. As they rounded the corner in front of the courthouse – it stood out on a Saturday morning – and the point was made – at least to passing traffic.

Jules Vasquez,
“You had 150, maybe 200 people, it is a fair crowd but hey this is not a groundswell, this is not thousands in the street.”

Moses Sulph, President - COLA
“Mr. Jules I said I am very overwhelmed by the support today. I understand that this is minimal to what should have been here but everybody that came out here came out on their free will; nobody was paid, nobody was forced. I think the Belizean people really need to wise up.

The crowd in a way, I am satisfied and in a way not satisfied but I do understand our culture at the same time. We like to sit back and wait and see what happens but I am saying that those out here are committed to what’s going on and we appreciate. We will work from here gradually.”

Jules Vasquez,
“You march against PUP, you flushed them out and now you are marching against the UDP. Is there another way, these are the two mass parties?”

Moses Sulph,
“Basically I would like to say that we are not marching against UDP and we weren’t marching against PUP. We are marching against the policies and the principles and the things that they are doing to the country.”

Non political but we did see members of the PUP Executive in the march – including two Deputy Leaders and the Chairman.

Hon. Cordel Hyde, PUP Deputy Leader
“Bwai we have to march fi we righteous. At the end of the day power concedes nothing without a demand and if you feel like things are not going right then you have to step up and be part of the solution instead of being a spectator in the process and that is what we are out trying to do, trying to get the government to act where they should act and move where they should move.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Taking the most cynical interpretation, one would say that it is an opportunistic ploy by you and your other Deputy Leader insofar as this is a grassroots non-mass party movement and you all are taking a free ride on it to get some grassroots support. How do you respond to that?”

Hon. Cordel Hyde,
“Well we’ve always associated ourselves with the pain of our people and associate ourselves with the issues of people. We have a track record of standing up for what we believe in and we’ve paid the ultimate price as elected politicians, we lost our jobs not once but twice because of standing up for our people. So if somebody wants to look at this as being opportunistic, I say look at our record.”

Jules Vasquez,
“This does not frighten Belmopan, that is the bottom line.”

Hon. Cordel Hyde,
“But Belmopan must pay attention, this is how it starts. When we were in government we were guilty of the same thing. We ignored the early crowds, the early warnings and thought that everything was fine and dandy. This is an organic crowd, this is not a rent a crowd. Nobody here has gotten a dollar to be here. So this is 200 plus people who believe sincerely why they are marching, who believe sincerely in the issues they want addressed. So you have a responsibility to respond to these people because it is not everybody who will come out and march, it is not everybody who will step out two years into a five year term but this is how it starts. Eventually you will see very huge crowds out here.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Alternately a vocal minority might remain a permanent minority.”

Hon. Cordel Hyde,
“That is so but you do so at your own peril my brother. We live in a democracy where it is a majority of one and so 200 to 300 decide elections.”

And according to Senator Godwin Hulse, these people are also influencers.

Jules Vasquez,
“Why are you marching today?”

Hon. Godwin Hulse, Senator
“Against this resistance of the Foreign Minister and the Government to send a clarification to the OAS about the Minister’s statement that our borders are artificial. To my mind that is fundamental that that be cleared up post haste before it finds its way around the rest of the world. That is the first point, we don’t have artificial borders, there is no question about that, that is an established terminology, international terminology with a specific meeting that does not apply to ours. It is not what the Minister tried to fob off as manmade. The second point is I am concerned about continuing to make Guatemalan citizens, citizens of Belize. It is a very dangerous practice and has to be stopped. If I get a chance to speak I will outline how dangerous that is. And the third is I need a good accounting of our oil, a proper accounting and also to know from our representatives what they have done with the money they’ve gotten so far.”

Jules Vasquez,
“The chance of getting any change at the OAS level, any restatement, any clarification, is about 5% down to nil because the Prime Minister has said he feels it is regrettable but he doesn’t think it is that big a deal. So Mr. Hulse it is not going to happen, you’re tilting at windmills.”

Hon. Godwin Hulse,
“Well I remember when we were marching against UHS the then Prime Minister said to me, he said Godwin I am the government, we will pass the bill, you don’t have the groundswell. That is what he said to me and I saw him withdrew it in the House. I always have awesome confidence in the things we can do.”

Jules Vasquez,
“If your name isn’t on a paper in Belize, the paper that people vote on, then you could holler that because nobody out there can vote for Godwin Hulse. So what’s the purpose of this making noise?”

Hon. Godwin Hulse,
“Well Jules I am a firm believer that the education process is the process that brings about change. Every statement that is made, if it is made properly perhaps helps to educate and change and inform one more Belizean properly and that must continue. I don’t have any difficulty with the size of the crowd. I think that the message needs to be out there. There are lots of people who will pick this up on the web, people who will pick this up internationally, and the message is out there. If it was even 100 Belizeans who said you know what, we don’t like this - that is a 100 Belizeans. So I don’t have no difficulty with that Jules.”

Environmental groups took a prominent position.

Edlberto Romero, APAMO
“The government is pushing activities affecting protected areas and we want the government to get serious about the protected areas. There is a national protected areas plan that was developed two years ago and nothing has happened so we are asking government to get serious.”

Lisel Alamilla, Yaxche Conservation Trust
“This is really a protest because I think we have yet as a country understood the importance of protected areas and also the important role NGOs play in a country’s development. So this is always a good thing to do because it is the only way a democracy can be kept alive if people are willing to stand up and make public statements about what they believe in otherwise it is not a true democracy.”

Michael Cus, San Pedro Colombia
“We heard about this COLA sovereignty march and we as Belizeans share the same interests and due to the ongoing hydroelectric development within the Columbia Forest Reserve and Bladen Nature Reserve, it is of major concern.”

And a good number came up from the south as well.

Wil Maheia, PNP
“We came all the way from Punta Gorda through the Mayan Mountains, up the Hummingbird and into Belize because we are serious about standing up for the rights of this country and we are serious about not having our resources exploited. We are here to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak and there are lots of Belizeans not speaking. We are speaking for them but we hope that they wake up and begin to speak. Lot of “fraid a Belizeans” we call them sometimes.”

Greg Choq, Mayan Leaders Alliance
“We stand for justice by standing against injustice. We have been raging the battle in the south and evidently the larger Belizean society is beginning to recognize the importance of the work we have been doing in the south, keeping our land in the hands of Belizeans, fighting for a equitable share from the exploitation of our resources, and ensuring that the impact from these developments is limited and minimized so that we don’t have to suffer the consequences and I felt that we should come here and stand for Belize.

There comes a time when we must stop talking and do things that is going to root our aspirations in the working of our development and that is certainly what we have been doing. I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister this week and to the members of the House of Representatives. So we have started with or without a concession, I have told the community that we are going to exploit the resources but we are going to do it in a manner that upholds international standards.

I don’ t think government will have a say and I can this to the Prime Minister, they will not have a say in the wishes of the Mayan people. We are there, we are a reality of this country, and we will make sure that we will be there. We are not asking for land that is not ours, we are living there – that’s our home.”

Crime and violence was also a prominent issue and Yolanda Schakron the aunt of Chris Galvez brought it home with fire.

Yolanda Schakron, Aunt of Chris Galvez
“I am not only protesting here today for Chris but for all those murders that have been unsolved. I am protesting here today because I want the leaders of our country to listen to us because I want the Police Department to get rid of the corruption and I say that here in front of you all in the public on TV and I am not afraid.”

A sentient shared by the few who came out – but not enough to scare the government – not yet at least.

Moses Sulph,
“This is only the beginning of the liberation. I believe that this is only the beginning. We will continue to keep pressure on those who are elected because we do expect them to address the issues and to address them seriously. And we are not talking about tomorrow or a year from now when it is close to election, we are talking about start addressing the issues now or you will see us in Belmopan at the National Assembly.”

The rally carried the even through to midday. We counted the crowd at 175; Official estimated put it at 150, while organizers said upwards of 200.