The pain is all too real for the stevedores and the port workers, they were suffocated and brutalised on the frontlines today - but there is also political pain for the ruling UDP.
The party put out a proud press release at midday boasting, quote, "the United Democratic Party strongly supports the waterfront workers at the Port of Belize and commends the Attorney General for interceding on their behalf to protect the rights that are duly afforded to them under the Belize Labour Act." end quote.
It goes on to inveigh against the Ashcroft Alliance and all the usual political jazz…but when you look at what happened on the ground today, the strident public statements and the reprehensible police conduct are irreconcilable.
This evening we asked the Attorney General and Minister of National security how government talked one way, and acted the total opposite. His answer was quite shocking:
Jules Vasquez- Reporter
"In taking this position of advocacy that we hear you taking today, anyone that was on the ground today would say: well, you all are being hypocrites. You are saying one thing and then doing the other. You are saying that the Port is wrong to have done so but at the same time, peaceful protestors on the compound today were shot, were knocked unconscious, were smothered in tear gas, how do you justify or reconcile this?"
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Attorney General
"It is not reconcile and there is no reconciling of it. It makes no sense that the government would apply for an injunction on behalf of the Labour Department that would clearly also benefit the stevedores, then we go the next day and rough up the stevedores. The instructions to the Commissioner of Police were clear. Those people, as long as they are being peaceful are allowed to remain on that compound to at least 2 o'clock, until we hear the ruling of the court. My instructions to the Commissioner was clear. I am sure that his instructions to his commander was also clear. Because there was a three way phone call that had myself, the Commissioner and the Commander for that Division and the instructions were clear that those persons were to remain there until at the very least the court had ruled. Somebody, some police officer or police officers decided upon themselves obviously to ignore those instructions and that is why currently we have told the head of the Union to go to the police station and make a report. Those police officers will be charged after they have been arrested because they ignored a direct order and some direct instructions from their commissioner and their commander. An investigation will be done and somebody will be made to pay. At least one person will be made to pay when it comes to that incident because the instructions were absolutely clear. Leave those people on the compound until the court has ruled."
Jules Vasquez- Reporter
"Someone read the Riot Act. That invokes the power of the state to let rip."
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"Well whoever read that Riot Act was reading it not on behalf of the state but on behalf of themselves. We will do an investigation. We have already started an investigation and there will be hell to pay. Because under sky and in no world would I send the police department to rough up and arrest stevedores on behalf of the vampire Michael Ashcroft and his Belizean minions. That would never happen in a million years."
Jules Vasquez
"But it happened."
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"But it happened and so somebody will feel the wrath of the Government within the Police Department."
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