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Today Martinez outlined his, and, we believe, Government's position by first explaining that public notice of the plan to build the bridge went out a long time ago. Part interview, part performance piece our session with the minister was quite a long one, but, in the circumstances, we consider it an important interview; we hope you'll agree:

Hon. Boots Martinez
"The Ministry of Works initiates the Chetumal Street bridge project in 2009. Advertisement was sent out in all the major newspapers including the Belize Times of Sunday June 14, 2009. This first piece of land right here was privately owned by Mr. David Coye and his wife - David and Darlene Coye jointly. The Ministry of Works bought this first lot for $85,000, so although the Ministry had the right in terms of compulsory acquisition for public purpose - we still never handle the owners of the land is that way. When this street went in - nothing was here - not one single thing was here. I observe on the 7th of March which was a Sunday that people were coming here and chopping and so and I inform the Ministry of Natural Resources. What happens yesterday was so tragedy in terms of people using children who were not even here. The only house that had children was the house by the riverside that have four children."

"The police reported to me that when they went to that house the lady offered to start taking out her things by midday and take it down. The police and the workmen never did touch that house at all. So it's not that children were living here. Lot of the houses were not even completed, so for them to paint a false picture - I could understand by the Central American people supporting their own - that's another cause, but don't come and put the blame that children were living here. That is the fact of what happen yesterday and they knew that the majority of people and the children that were out there were not living here. Most of these people live at the "Jerusalem" area and the "Lord's Ridge Cemetery" area and that is the truth."

"Even the painting of the picture that all these people were living here - that is not so. They went to get these people from "Gugulum" and "Vietnam" areas. I can tell you that if you go behind the "Lord's Ridge Cemetery" area you will see some of these same people living there."

Jules Vasquez
"I came here this morning at 4. It was still sleeping hours and I saw in one house 13 children - they haven't just arrive there - they were in their pajamas."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"13 children in one house. What house is that?"

Jules Vasquez
"The house at the end of the street. The same lady that interview you yesterday."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"I am saying to you apart from that - you have the footage. Only one house apart from the lady house had household items. A lot of the houses didn't have any doors or windows. People were not living in there, so I am saying to you that that is the God truth."

Jules Vasquez
"That is not the truth as I observe it."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Yes I am saying that that is the God truth. How you mean 13 people?"

Jules Vasquez
"You weren't out here. I was out here."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"But further more to that, one thing I would like to say apart from that. When this incident started out here, you know my brother that these houses weren't here. You know that the people was just starting to build their house. They knew from time and let me go further to say this and I will be honest here. Let me further to say this that boss if that's the way how we want to run a country where people just come whether Belizean by birth or Belizean by nationality come and the just go on a piece of land - is that the way? What happen to the 99% of people who abide by the law? I don't want you to put it that these people weren't given notice to cease and desist, then you still continue to build - then you are defying the law. It not like they told them verbally. The ministry of Natural Resources along with the police came out here and serves everybody with "Cease and desist" notice. So to what point will you wait?"

"I am in no way discriminating against anybody because my companion now is a Hispanic Belizean - Honduranian - making that comparison because I hear people are saying that it is because they are Spanish people. Well I live with one but I am saying further more to that - even in these people's country - they can't do that."

Jules Vasquez
"Is the government planning to do anything for these people? I am telling you that I came here at 4am. Nobody is not running any game on me. The people were sleeping out here. The 13 kids were in one house and in another area I see maybe 4-5 kids are sleeping under the previous structure of a house that have been broken down. Will anything be done for those people?"

Hon. Boots Martinez
"But hold on - let me ask, I have to deal with the facts."

Jules Vasquez
"But you didn't come out here at 4am. I came out here."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Maybe you can ask the people if they were living in any house. If when they come - where were they? When the police came to break down these houses, where were they? Maybe you can ask them where they were living and if they were living there what happen when the police came. I think that that is very much important because these people are painting a picture that is not so. That is being very disingenuous boss. We have to be real. We love people like anybody else but if that is the way that we will run the country and that is the way for a man to get a piece of land then boy I need to question myself as a policy maker and as area representative where do we go from there and these are the facts."

Jules Vasquez
"Will anything be done for any of the people back here who are claiming that they have been dislocated?"

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Man...."

Jules Vasquez
"Ok the one family."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Let me explain something to you brother Jules and I believe in this; I don't negotiate with criminals. I will set program that people who want to reform fits in because I think that the law is the law so I don't care who it is. If you broke the law - there is a consequence for that and start from that because I am saying that - so you must uphold lawlessness because the people knew that they never should build here and at the end of the day where do we stand? If the people who are born and grow up in this country understand that and never did went forward with anything then I am saying that so people must be rewarded to break the law? May I ask that question? This is point that I want to make; the people that were born in Belize and still live in Belize who were the majority understands and understands the negotiating process - that is my point that I need to make today. But I think also that the government is willing in my view to look on what transpire and see the if probably we can help the people that were legitimately misplace but I am saying that it's a small number but then that is like taking crime that you do and making it right."

"And that is all the facts on the table. It might sound tough and hard....."

Jules Vasquez
"It's not a crime like robbing people on the streets. It's a crime that people don't have nowhere else to go."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Where were they before? May I ask? None of them were here not even two months ago, so there were sleeping on the streets? I am sure that those people weren't sleeping on the streets, so let us be real and stop talking about nowhere else to go because to start with none of them were here two months ago. I am being real with you. I will be meeting Mr. Sanchez tomorrow to continue to go through the process."

Jules Vasquez "He was out here this morning."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"He was not out here yesterday. You are telling me about this morning. That is after the fact. I am meeting with him in the morning. I am just saying that you did the coverage of the thing and he was not out here yesterday."

Jules Vasquez
"But he was here this morning."

Hon. Boots Martinez
"I am saying that he was here this morning. This is after the fact. That's all I am saying. He has an appointment with me tomorrow."

Jules Vasquez
"So you are working out something for some of the people here?"

Hon. Boots Martinez
"Yes, we don't have a problem with. Especially with the people he told the process; that the government has a project here and this is the way we are taking it."

Jules Vasquez
"So for those who are to agree from a political perspective - what happen yesterday is detrimental to your government?"

Hon. Boots Martinez
"What happens yesterday in terms of the picture - not the facts - in terms of the picture that was painted, that's why we are here to straighten the facts. In terms of the picture; that's another case and I can tell you that the reasonable minds Belizeans is not with that kind of situation at all, because if they are not allowed to do that then why should you encourage people to do that. I will be honest with you - if it means for me personally in my belief in terms of what I believe politically - if these are the kinds of rule that will rule this country, well I am willing to take the political lick for it."