Attn: Unions & Members of Civil Society
On Saturday 7th June 2014, the Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association, BGYEA will be hosting a rally at Battlefield Park in Belize City, from 9am to 1pm.
They need your support and the support of your organization.
The rally is entitled the ‘Plant Your Corn Rally’ and its purpose is to remind all Belizeans that we all share the responsibility and the right to be involved in sowing the seeds of national development.
The Harmonyville project is an initiative by BGYEA with a mission to provide hundreds of Belizeans with access to land for the very first time, using farming as the basis for the development of a self-sustainable community.
Having also been tasked with maintenance of the buffer zone of the community, BGYEA developed an initiative that would not only clean and beautify the buffer zone but would also provide for the development of roads for the Harmonyville Community (something for which the government had previously indicated that no help would be forthcoming).
BGYEA publicly sought and secured an investor who agreed to the agricultural investments in the buffer zone, under terms that would see 15% of profits going into much needed infrastructural support for the community, at absolutely no financial cost (or any other form of loss) to the government of Belize.
Activities commenced with investments of over $40,000, but, on May 8th 2014, the Government issued a cease and desist order to the investor. BGYEA learned about it via a press release in which the government also informed the people of Belize that buffer zone areas in any development are the property of the Government of Belize and that any activity within the buffer zone should only occur with the permission of the Lands and Survey Department, within the Ministry of the Natural Resources and Agriculture.
On May 9th, BGYEA submitted a letter of request for permission to proceed. It was denied.
Though it had previously publicly affirmed that management of the buffer zone was BGYEA’s responsibility, on May 22nd 2014, the government filed an interim injunction against BGYEA which provides that members of BGYEA, “may be imprisoned, fined, or have [their] assets seized” if they, or any agents acting on their behalf, are found “trespassing, entering and possessing, clearing, planting crops, placing or projecting any object on or over the land, encumbering or dealing with” the Harmonyville buffer zone.
Modern political theory consistently identifies removal of barriers to people participation as one of the key stones for achieving good governance, yet our government at times seems intent on resisting local participation at any cost (even as it seems eager to move mountains for foreign interests).
We are reaching out to you and your membership to stand up with us for good governance and to participate in solidarity in this peaceful rally. We are asking you to urgently discuss this invitation with your members and inform us by Tuesday how many of your members confirm willingness to participate.
BGYEA will attempt to secure buses as necessary from various out district locations, but any help or simply helpful suggestions you could offer in this regard would be greatly welcomed.
For further details, please contact group president Nigel Petillo at 626-6168, Mrs. YaYa Marin Coleman at 661-8050 or myself, using contact details below.
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in partnership with the Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association ,
Founder, Belize UNBOXED
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