7 News Belize

The Battle Over Baymen
posted (May 26, 2010)
The issue of 48 Baymen Avenue has been raging since last week. That's the business owned by former National Campaign Manager for the UDP Karim Berges which got a liquor license against the wishes of 100 residents of the Baymen Avenue community who signed a petition. Berges had his own petition and in the end the Belize district liquor licensing board sided with him. Area representative and security minister Carlos Perdomo appealed directly to the Ministry of Local Government which quickly cancelled the liquor license. But that was procedurally improper and so the ministry convened a public hearing today.

It was held at the Belize Biltmore Best Western - and under the odd rules of this public meeting - which was conducted like a courtroom hearing - we were not allowed to tape the proceedings. But we did get reaction from the key players afterwards. Attorney Mike Peyrefitte who represented 48 Baymen Avenue owner Karim Berges said nothing could have prepared him for what happened inside the room:

Mike Peyrefitte, Attorney for Karim Berges
"My position was that the proceedings I did not like. Section 67(2) of the Intoxication liquor license says that the Minister is to review the decision of the board. They were using words like appellants, respondents, those fancy terms that I am not totally familiar with. I told them when you used those terms, then this is really an appeal, it is not a retrial of the issue. People ought not to be giving opinions on whether or not a liquor license should or should not be granted, it already has been granted. It is only a review, so truly in my view what the minister should be doing is to look into the reason given by the liquor License board. They ought to have been the chief respondent, not Mr. Berges. Mr. Berges did not make a decision, he made an application and everybody who went up to so-called testify on behalf of the appelants basically gave a opinion and a submission they ought to have given to the Liquor License Board before the license was granted, not now."

Hon, Gabriel Martinez, Minister of Local Government
"I must say it was very important for the Ministry to have had this public hearing in order for us to come up with final decision by next week Wednesday."

Mike Peyrefitte
"The procedure does not concern me as much as the chief appellant is a Minister of National Security asking his fellow Minister of Local Government to judge in his favor. The procedures are immaterial at this point."

Jules Vasquez
"I know that as former National Campaign Manager, Mr. Berges had to be friendly with yourself, you know that he is a good friend of Deputy Prime Minister who is the head of the Northern Caucus of which you are a member. But at the same time you are colleague of Minister Carlos Perdomo, how do you balance these competing interests?"

Hon, Gabriel Martinez
"Well I must tell you that Karim is my very good friend, he helped me a lot during the campaign and Minister Perdomo is also my colleague in Cabinet in the Government of Belize. But a time comes when we have to make decisions and it so happens that that time is here and well I am in the middle of it, I have to make a decision, but we want to be fair. That's why we are having this hearing."

Mike Peyrefitte
"And then the Minister of Local Government said, 'Well I have decided to invite the police.' Now when you are granting a Liquor License you invite health, fire, zoning, you invite everybody. But he decided to only hear from the police, who which just happens to fall under the Ministry of National Security, Mr. Perdomo is the chief appellant and Minister of National Security and none other than the head of the Eastern Division of the Belize Police Department showed up to testify that he was totally against the license. That came as a huge surprise because I did not think that he would out rightly object with his boss sitting right there being the chief appellant, but he did."

Also appearing today was the president of the Belize Chinese association Edmond Quan who said that he was there to defend the Chinese businesses whose names have also been brought into the entire mix-up. Those are New Hope and the place called Alaska. The community crusaders have said they also want their liquor licenses cancelled and Quan said those businesses are only as good as their customers:

Jules Vasquez
"Speaking about the place called Alaska there has been a lot of criticisms about that because the patrons assemble outside, a Minister lives across the street, the patrons urinate on the Minister's fence, this sort of thing, public nuisance type activity. A lot of residents says that should be shut down and its liquor license taken. What's the community's position on that?"

Edmond Quan, Belize Chinese Association
"As a Chinese businessman I know that well they have a saying that customers are always right although that is wrong. The thing is we as a businessman can't chase you away, it's a public street. What they can do is recommend, I believe that they could do better by patrolling more often and just be around the area. it is a nuisance but in a different way thinking it acts as a security too. When there is a lot of people there crime don't happen. People avoid it, they are afraid of witnesses."

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