7 News Belize

Chaos At The Port, Police Turn On Peaceful Protestors
posted (July 22, 2020)
So, that was all resolved by 8:15 am, relatively peacefully, with one stevedore, Edward Saldano detained for obstruction after he got in front of one of the two trucks.

But that caused no real fuss and things remained calm - leading up to 11:00 when the stevedores had to go inside the compound as usual to offload a ship that had just arrived that.

But, shortly before that, there was a sudden blackout at the Port - and that's where the tension started to mount. Cherisse Halsall picks up the story:

Things ramped up at 10:30 with a facility wide blackout and the cutting of all communications inside the Port of Belize. which led to workers having to leave the building to escape the unbearable heat. And in his usual position at the gates of the port, CWU president Mose Hyde told us that the port's difficulties seemed like a sign.

Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"It's a beautiful thing you know when you're on the righteous side mysterious things happen to come and show you solidarity so that's what's happening."

And just a few minutes later 36 employees were terminated by text message. The rage was palpable from one woman who'd lost her job:

Former employee
"They work me hard, 9 years."

Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"When you go for the 36 people you selected 29 union members but worst you found 4 of our reps. They handpicked people who are the most outspoken, who are the most courageous, who look out for other workers and who are our most strongest union members here..

"The position that we are holding right now is based on the fact that you can't just leave 36 people without a job without having a legitimate process."

Then the shouting began as Stevedores entered the port to unload a ship that was due in at 11:00. But by then a vehicle had been set on fire. And by the time the fire truck rounded the lane, it's entrance had been blocked by a small Mahindra pickup in a coordinated simultaneous incapacitation of the port.

Then there was a struggle for the door:

Roy Neal, Stevedore
"Before I got through the door the WPC pulled the door on my foot. I told her mein you can't do that I said you can't strong me you know, I said you can't do that, so when I pushed the door open another little fat one who was around there, I told him boss you can't strong me i'm going for water then the rest of Stevedores they pushed the door open then we didn't get the water because it was finished already. When I'm going back in now. They were trying to keep me out when I was already there. But we were the ones that built this place. We know how the fence went up; they can't keep us out if we really want to."

After which the media was locked out Forcing Krem News editor Marisol Amaya to crawl in under the fence. From there, things quickly escalated with the arrival of several truckloads of GSU officers. They stood between the staff and the port.

It seemed like overkill with the officers in full riot gear to combat the small group of unarmed protesters

They sat in protest to await a 2:00 PM injunction hearing where government was trying to stop PBL from firing the 36 workers - that they'd already fired.

Via phone, he Commissioner of police had given the group the go-ahead for their sit in. But in a colossal collapse of communication, the GSU didn't get that memo.

And soon rubber bullets and tear gas canisters began to fly

Crowd
"Everybody was out her peacefully, peacefully sitting out here on the ground they opened fire, you have people that are injured, it doesnt make any sense."

Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"Everything is on video right, everything is on video. Imagine the brutality that we face, imagine, and extremely. I want to know who gave the order because the Minister of Labour had just called me to say that he had spoken to the commissioner, the commissioner spoke to me but there was another order just now."

"Who gave the order to have people who were fighting for their rights face such levels of brutality.

"They declared that we were being riotous and then said you have two minutes and then just unleashed in Belize, working people, not criminal people, not people with any kind of weapon, not people with any kind of sticks just having the courage to stand up."

"Now we see who has the power in the state because the state said we could stay there but the real power in the state said no and the authorities and the enforcement decided that's the power that they would listen to."

Those orders unleashed an attack on the Port's own employees, an attack that didn't end when the sit-in dispersed. And with the crowd running for cover one officer took position to aim at them from a distance.

His colleagues remained behind their shields in riot formation. On the ground behind them CWU member Trevor Jones, who'd been hit several times, lay unconscious.

And after angry shouts from the crowd, the officers finally got him out of the sun and under the shed

It took further pleas before they allowed his colleagues to transport him to the hospital for what was by then much needed medical care.

And in the aftermath of all this violence, violence that AG Micheal Peyrefitte seems to have bent over backward to avoid, it's the Commissioner of police who has a lot to answer to.

Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"The question that he has to answer is, did he give that order, was he informed of that order because we were sitting and they declared the riot act, read us the riot act while we were sitting that should be an explanation that the people of Belize should get before evening."

"What will the state say about this because this is on pure video. We sat down because we said we didn't come here for violence. We won't bring any violence but violence has been visited upon us."

And that violence was visited most visibly on Raymond "Dinget" Rivers. The always outspoken stevedore was shot with rubber bullets about 10 times - and you can see the welts from where he was hit.

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