"Domestic Terrorism" - that's what the Belize city council is calling the attempt to set Sharlene Rudon's vehicle on fire. Rudon is the Human Resources manager at the council and the person who signed the majority of the termination letters that went out on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, someone threw a molotov cocktail at her Ford Escape parked in front of her home - fortunately it did not catch - and the vehicle received only slight damage.
It's a very disturbing event - and last night at minutes before newstime the City Council put out a very strongly worded statement, saying, quote: "It was clearly a deliberate and dangerous act of arson, and there can be no doubt that it is directly related to the recent restructuring of the Council which has resulted in the termination of five employees....
The Council condemns this reprehensible act which we view as no less than domestic terrorism, carried out no doubt by an agent or agents acting on behalf of one or more of the persons terminated."
That's a very grave accusation - and it's one we stress there are no facts to support at this time. Today we asked Deputy Mayor Oscar Arnold to defend it - here's what he said:
Oscar Arnold, Deputy Mayor - Belize City
"The council, the office of the mayor - we really think that it was an act of domestic terrorism. Whatever the case may have been and we denounce those actions, because we understand the volatility that we have in our streets right now and to introduce something like this into political discourse is really irresponsible."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"It's a very serious thing to say or to put out in a statement to link these people with a terrorist act."
Oscar Arnold, Deputy Mayor - Belize City
"I didn't say they were criminals. You are alluding to it that the possibility is there, but I didn't and the council didn't say that. But let's put it into perspective. On what was happening Miss Rudon really a beating from the trolls of the government on Facebook. Later that night while she was in the safety of her home, her car was firebombed. This is a single woman, on the eve of mother's day. There is no way that anyone can countenance that type of behavior."
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