As you heard in our interview with Menzies, he intended to protest against UB for this alleged Gender Department which is supposedly being established at the national University. That was the second part of his demonstration, and which goes hand in hand with his anti-victimization campaign. Viewers may remember that Menzies also insists that UB terminated him without just cause.
We followed him to UB, where he staged a mini sermon at the front gate of the campus. Daniel Ortiz challenged him on his latest allegation against the University, and on his victimization issues. Here's how that went:…
Daniel Ortiz reporting
About 45 minutes after Patrick Menzies and members of the Spanish Speaking Churches left Independence Hill, they arrived in front of the UB Campus.
Fresh from their march through the rain, the crowd gathered to listen to his stinging remarks aimed at the University on loudspeaker.
Patrick Menzies - Belize Can (on loud Speaker)
"You have some University Professors that are lying to you, they are talking to you about separating of church and state - tell them this is not America! We don't believe in Obama, our truth is not in the White House."
Menzies insists that the University is in the process of instituting a Gender Department which would use the controversial Gender Policy. The University's Director of the Office of Public Information told us that Menzies is very mistaken:
Selywn King - Office of Public Information, UB
"I am not aware of any establishment of any gender policy department, I don't know where or what he has done but in terms of any gender policy document circulating to our members of staff - Have you read the gender policy document? If he has read it then it means he should protest against himself because I think anybody is at liberty to read the gender policy document, I read it on the internet. I haven't received any on my desk so I don't know what Mr. Menzies is referring to, but there hasn't ever been a gender department at UB. We have been looking at the whole issue at gender when we had a director of research in terms of dropout rates among young males, once you've passed high school into the tertiary system. So the whole issue has been floating around in terms of the dropout rates among young males but we have never established any gender policy department but we have never even had the policy circulated among faculty of staff either - so I don't know where Mr. Menzies is getting his information from."
Daniel Ortiz
"Would UB be in any discussion about gender as an equality issue here at the University?"
Selywn King
"Well I have not been briefed so I really can't make any comment, interesting question but I can't comment. Once I have been briefed then I can answer your question."
Patrick Menzies - Belize Can
"I respond to the refusal of my claims with Thank You Jesus - that's all I will respond. Let me share this with you - you see just as the government back pedal and if you download a copy of the gender policy there's no such thing as legalize prostitution, page31 and there's no such thing on page 10 where you find that your religious and cultural rights are subject to the rights of equality which means - of gays. It's not there because they quickly back pedaled and took it out so if they changed their minds and decided to change - that's fine - we have inside sources here at UB and dealing with the lady that is in charge telling us what was going on. According to the actual gender policy, it states that they will be teaching this at every level of the education system. This is our highest seat of education for our nation so therefore even if they're not going to do that - thank God - I'm telling them to not even try to think about it."
With his central allegation dismissed as baseless, we asked Menzies to tell us more about his organization, for which he is the only member who's stepped forward.
He told us that he would not release names of members of Belize Can, because while he doesn't fear victimization, his organization's membership is not as durable.
Patrick Menzies
"I like the question and because of what we do, I will never and I will not answer that. I can tell you that there are people that are in this government, senior folks that support us. We have people inside the government, we have these people here - everyone that's out here - all those pastors are a part of the alliance of leaders and ministers, they are a part of us. So I will not release a list, you see Belizeans aren't stupid, you yourself, everybody out here knows that people have been victimized. I will not release a list of members, I am not ludicrous, I don't smoke oregano - I know what's going on. We are here because we know what's going - we are saying no more victimization, we're not going to take it. So I don't care what anybody else says, counterproductive? Let me tell you this, Scott Stirm, Belize Action nor the Evangelical Association never called a march - every march in Belize was called by Belize Can and these pastors. The one in Toledo, all respect to Pastor Vic that said that they would do it themselves and they did in Toledo and we worked with the guys also in Dangriga. You guys interviewed Scott Stirm at every one of our rallies and none of you spoke with me - I'm fine with that - did I go around and asked you to please talk to me? I never did, it's fine - it's not about me, it's about these pastors that have been left behind that whenever they make decisions, they don't count the Spanish pastors. They are pastors, they are leaders, they have members and they have voters - they count. The day that the Spanish folks are being left behind - is over. We are going to be translating left, right and center things that are affecting them so when they want to play their games they won't play games anymore with the Spanish speaking community."
The Belize Evangelical Association of Churches is in the process of finishing up their proposal to Prime Minister Dean Barrow on what areas of the National Gender Policy they would like to see changed.
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