Today, the chorus of condemnation against the destruction of Noh Mul swelled into an official outrage as the Ministry of Tourism and Culture issued a forceful statement – essentially against operators within the ruling party.
The statement says, quote, "The Ministry of Tourism & Culture, along with...NICH and the BTB, expresses its outrage on the destruction of the Noh Mul Mayan Archaeological Site. This total disregard for Belize's cultural heritage and national patrimony is callous, ignorant and unforgivable. This expressed disdain for our laws and policies is incomprehensible."
"Unforgivable…incomprehensible"? That's pretty strong stuff, especially considering that Noh Mul was being quarried reportedly to fill roads in the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega's Orange Walk North Division. Today in a press briefing, the CEO in the Ministry of Tourism amplified those comments and, again, pulled no punches:
Tracy Taegar-Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism and Culture
"It's incomprehensible, really - there's no recovering the history that we have lost, that is the true tragedy of this situation. We are certainly outraged, saddened and it is unforgivable to us. The destruction 2000 years of our Belizean history and culture - we will deal with this matter to the full extent of the law because it's so important to our national identity and our national patronage."
Jules Vasquez
"NICH and Ministry of Culture has been criticized for that verbal inaction - for not jumping out and saying something. How would you respond to that criticism?"
Tracy Taegar-Panton
"I think that the criticism is very unfair. Dr. Awe as you know is the commissioner of Archaeology in Belize and he's a member of the management team of the Ministry Tourism and Culture. He has spoken very loudly and clearly not only on his own behalf but certainly on behalf of our Ministry. We took immediate action by sending two of our directors out on site to begin the preliminary investigation and we want to be able to be forward to the media based on fact and not necessarily based on emotion. We want to be sure that we are fair to all parties concerned. Any of us who have spent our lives working in Tourism - protecting our natural resources and promoting our natural resources, this is outrageous to us."
Reporter
"Two doctors have gone to the scene and have seen the damage. The person who is in charged of the company with whom did the damage - we know who it is. What needs to be investigated?"
Tracey Taegar-Panton
"A formal report needs to be filed with the Minister and the Ministry with our cabinet. We have given an initial report today. We're hoping that by the end of this week that the report will be complete and will be passed on to the relevant authorities for action to be taken."
Jules Vasquez
"CEO how important it is that an example is set in this case being that we have seen the destruction of a number of sites for landfill but this is the most outrageous."
Tracey Taegar-Panton
"Our Minister of Tourism is very clear that this situation can never be repeated again in the future. So we will do all within our power, within our mandate, within our jurisdiction in terms of the framework of the law to ensure that this never happens again to the best of our ability."
Reporter
"Dr. Awe had said that something like this happening does damage when it comes to donors who we ask for grants to preserve other sites. What damage has it done in that regard and also to the entire Tourism package?"
Tracey Taegar-Panton
"It's certainly too early to tell in terms of support from donor agencies. This was nothing willfully sanctioned clearly by the Institute of Archaeology or the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) - this was a one time act by an individual, by a company that have little or no regard for natural patrimony so I'm hoping that the donors will see through that. By our actions and the way we move forward and the steps that we will take will hopefully assure donors that it is worth investing in Belize. We have been getting as you know a lot of very negative international press which is obviously causing attention to Belize and this very incomprehensible act so we will have to act accordingly. It has been an unfortunate and very tragic, horrendous occurrence but I think the way we are going to move forward is really the way we want the story to be told."
Jules Vasquez
"What is the penalty under law - or what is the maximum penalty that NICH would be interested in pursuing against this company and the land owners?"
Tracey Taegar-Panton
"Well we don't know what the full charges will be yet Jules. Apparently there is a penalty of $10,000 which could never rectify the damage that has been done. There's no replacing an archaeological site. For the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, this is unthinkable, unspeakable, it is against our policies, against our mandate for Tourism and Culture in this country, it's a part of our identity, our patronage and so this is not something that we take lightly at all. We may not have responded immediately because we have to be very responsible and certainly not act out of pure emotion which we're inclined to do because as I said this is our life's work. I've been doing this for 25 years, Dr. Awe has been doing this as long as I have, the president of NICH, the Minister - we're all personally invested in this matter."
And while the Ministry of Tourism and Culture had its say this morning, by 5:30 this evening – the Deputy Prime Minister weighed in with his own statement. It's a somewhat surprising one – in which he completely disowns any involvement with the works done by his UDP colleague, Denny Grijalva's company. The statement says, quote,
"Honorable Gaspar Vega…condemns in the strongest possible terms the destruction of any archeology site in Belize. Minister Vega also emphatically repudiates the allegation and or perception that he was involved in any way with the destruction of the Noh Mul."
It adds, quote,
"He is outraged by the wanton destruction of the Noh Mul archaeological site. Furthermore, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture who has responsibilities for issuing mining permits did not issue any such permits to mine materials from Noh Mul archeological site."
And, it concludes,
"Along with the Cabinet, Minister Vega calls for a full investigation into this incident to determine the circumstances that led to the destruction if this site. Subsequently, all those found responsible for the destruction of this site should be persecuted to the full extent of the law."
The statement stands out because on Friday when the story was first breaking, Grijlava, the owner of De-Mar's told 7news Director Jules Vasquez on the telephone that his foreman would come to the area to apologize for De-Mar's and for the Deputy Prime Minister. That foreman never appeared, but information in the area was that the gravel and limestone from the site would be used to fill roads in the area – which is Orange Walk North, The Deputy's constituency. Still, Deputy Vega has flatly denied it and so, tonight, his denial stands, and it isolates Grijalva, who cannot be reached.
There are other condemnations to report tonight: APAMO and BTIA issued strong statements. APAMO is the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations and that umbrella conservation group said it is, quote,
"appalled that this historic site was unceremoniously reduced to mere rubbles to serve as gravel for road fill."
BTIA issued two statements, one from its headquarters and another from the Orange Walk Branch. First to Orange Walk. That one says:
"The Orange Walk Chapter is saddened, disappointed and outraged at the senseless act of ignorance in relation to the destruction of the tallest mound at the Noh Mul Archaeological Site."
It adds that
"Noh Mul had been one of the ancient monuments with the greatest tourism development potential in northern Belize." It continues, quote, "Unfortunately, such progress has been severely hampered due to the ignorance and greed of certain individuals."
The statement from the BTIA Headquarters says it, quote,
"calls for all those persons who are found to be involved and complicit in this egregious act, to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of all applicable laws that have been contravened."
End quote.
It is important to note that the Institute of Archeology has no prosecution or investigation arm, and the matter will simply be reported to police by Archaeologist Dr. John Morris. From there, police will investigate – in a very unfamiliar area, specifically, section 62 of the NICH Act, which states that any person who, quote, "willfully damages, destroys or disturbs any ancient monument…shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for five years or to both such fine and imprisonment."
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