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That, and other issues related to the territorial Dispute, are scheduled to be discussed at a rally that the Teachers will hold this Friday. Today, the Leaders of the BNTU called a press conference to inform their membership that the plan has changed for Friday's Teachers Day.

Luke Palacio, President - BNTU
"The Belize National Teachers Union at its council of management meeting held on Saturday, decided that instead of celebrating our teachers' day in the manner that we had originally planned, we are going to continue this "Stand up for Belize" campaign with a rally here in Belize City on Friday May 13th. Our Council has agreed that this time, instead of celebrating teachers' day the way we usually do and let me make it absolutely clear, the discussion was lengthy, heated, because a number of our branches had already had plans as to what they would have been doing for teacher's day. But nonetheless they have agreed by the majority to come to Belize City for this rally that we intend to have on Friday."

"We intend to have a parade through the streets of Belize City and then we will be having addresses where we will have to collaborate or get permission from the authorities, particularly the City Council, the Traffic Department if we are to use any public space, but failing that, we have our private property here at BNTU and we will do it here if it comes to the test."

"We also need to sensitize our Belizean people, along with members of the union and teachers of this country about the matter of the ICJ. The UCJ has become a political football. The ICJ issue has Belizeans confused and we don't really know what will be the outcome. Of course there are some tell tail signs, but that's as far as it goes and so the BNTU has agreed to launch a nationwide education forum in all 6 districts in Belize beginning next week."

Keisha Young-Flowers, Executive Secretray - BNTU
"We begin on May 18th in Corozal Town where Corozal Town branch and rural branch will come together for the forum. May 24th, we will be in Orange Walk at the Gala Lounge. On May 25th, we will be in Stann Creek at the Ecumenical Auditorium. On the 26th May, we will be in Toledo, Toledo rural branch and the Punta Gorda Town branch, together we will be at the Father Ring Parish Hall. On May 31st in Belmopan at the George Price Center. On June 1st, in Benque and San Ignacio at the Sacred Heart Auditorium and June 2nd and 3rd will be the Belize District, we will be in the cayes and in Belize proper, but those locations are pending. All of these forums will begin at 6pm in the evening and so we invite all our teachers to be present as well as members of the public would want to come and listen to all these parties as they place their position on the ICJ."

And speaking specifically about their dissatisfaction with the law, President Luke Palacio told us about this weekend's discussion on it.:

Luke Palacio, President - BNTU
"Our intention of course is to also try and get the government to rescind immediately the SI that speaks to the public safety act. We believe very strongly after much discussion that that law that was passed is unconstitutional and it really deprives the Belizean people, man, women and child from moving around in this country as freely as they are entitled to. And so therefore the call goes out and we've heard other organizations, other bodies, insist on the government to rescind this SI. Of course of it is not done, then our council will have to re-engaged and determine what other course of action we will take. We want the Belizean public to see this act of the teachers, the professionals of this country as one which goes beyond the usual rhetoric that teachers only fight and stand up when they want salary adjustment or they are being fired and that type of thing. This is a national issue. If the Belizean people are saying to the government of Belize, almost overwhelmingly 'you need to rescind the S.I.' Why are they not prepared to do so? And they are the best persons to answer that. To me and for us at BNTU, our concern is and like I think most Belizeans, what has been conceded to Guatemala that is being hidden why we have to be every time seem to be appeasing Guatemala. In all my life and I've been around for a long time, in fact I'm from Toledo, so that the Guatemalan threat is there to in Toledo, but it has never reached this stage. I was disappointed. In fact last Saturday when I left Punta Gorda to come for the Labor Day rally that the Trade Union Congress had organized, to see the amount of resources that the government moved to Toledo. For those of you who are familiar with Joe Taylor Creek - almost every BDF gunboat was there to block our people from moving out of our country. Those resources could have been use to have those people escort our people to Sarstoon. So these are some of the things that we at BNTU are very much concerned about. In addition to that, it is tantamount to you having your yard, it is not fenced. But you have pit bulls, because you have a neighbor who from time to time comes to either try and occupy your land or steal something from you and when you see your neighbor coming now you decide you will tie your pit bulls and that supposed to be your protection - our military is supposed to be our source of protection and they were leashed on us Belizeans to say you are not going further than this particular point. So, again it is disconcerting."

And if the government refuses to rescind...? Palacio said that the Union leadership BNTU would have to discuss its options at that point.