7 News Belize

Yohny’s Sad Story
posted (May 15, 2020)
Last night, we took you to Channel 5's headquarters on Coney Drive in Belize City. That's where FECTAB, the Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize, congregated to protest against Lord Michael Ashcroft.

Ashcroft was at his television station for an appearance on the Open Your Eyes morning talk show. He discussed his proposal for a 200 million US-dollar facelift for the Port of Belize.

The project, which still needs the relevant environmental clearances, has a key cruise tourism element to it, and from FECTAB's perspective, as stakeholders in the industry, they ought to have been consulted.

They weren't, and so, they went to greet Lord Ashcroft with an energetic protest at the gates of the television station's headquarters. The problem is that protests and demonstrations aren't permitted during the state of emergency. So, the police pulled up to shut it down, and several of the protesters were criminally charged.

Among the persons initially detained was Yhony Rosado, the 2nd Vice President of FECTAB. This afternoon, he granted us an interview at his home about what happened after he and others were escorted to the police station:

Yhony Rosado - 2nd Vice President, FECTAB
"We were breaking the law. We accept that. We are not kids anymore. We are adults. We try to be good citizens, and we knew the penalty. So, while I was keeping my distance from David Almendarez, who was giving his interview, I walked back. I saw the police, and then I went into my vehicle, because I know if you're in the vehicle, you're not socializing with the other. So, while I was in my vehicle, there were about 4 or 5 different vehicles, and start to pick up everybody."

"We went to the station, and by that time, they had our people held up. Actually, we took so many people, but thank God, only the leaders came out. We assumed responsibility for our actions."

"The charged all of us and in the last 5 minutes, they dropped the charge against the president, because they did their research on an investigation, and they realized that I was not at the scene. Some investigation came up within themselves, and they dropped my charge. I wanted to be charged just like everyone else, but because I moved decisively with the police, I moved back. The other guys got charged with not wearing a mask, failing to maintain social distance. And Mr. Rivers, as you know, he's a big guy, and he knows what he believes in. He was handcuffed too roughly, and he was asking for the handcuffs to be released or removed. So, he got charged for resisting arrest. But, we're gonna fight those in court as a team, because we were responsible for everyone who was out there that day."

Reporter
"Was the price worth it in your mind?"

Yhony Rosado
"Every one of us, and every penny, it was worth being out there."

Rosado says that all the persons charged will make a robust defense in an effort to be acquitted.

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