Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
Santa Rosa is vacant; B.D.F. says it will remain so
The O.A.S. has already declared the area vacant and our government has supplied photos to prove it. Today the B.D.F., assisted by a British helicopter, took the media to see with its own eyes what was once the settlement called Santa Rosa. Despite its tiny size, the community of Guatemalans on the Belize side of the border was a major impediment to improved relations between the two countries. For news Five’s Janelle Chanona, the area had changed radically from when she first hiked there six years ago.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
After twenty years of existence, the illegal settlement known as Santa Rosa is no more.
The tiny community was located just inside the Belizean border in the south-eastern foothills of the Maya Mountains and was the source of significant controversy because during the height of negotiations to end the Guatemalan claim to Belize, the Guatemalans proposed to swap the land in the Toledo District where the village sat for a similar size parcel in Cayo.
Approximately sixty-five people called Santa Rosa home in late 1988 when the community was first established. When we visited the settlement in July 2002 we found sixteen Guatemalan families living as subsistence farmers, tending livestock for beef and milk and logging timber from the surrounding forest for building materials. But most disturbingly, the residents were living a totally Guatemalan lifestyle, complete with a Guatemalan school teacher and Guatemalan ideas about Belize’s sovereignty.
Luis Antonio Ebenez Palas, Teacher, Santa Rosa (July 2002) “Because this has always been Guatemala and at the moment there is no border in this place. I think we are in Guatemala but there is a negotiation in process over this territory and I hope there will be a solution, so we can find out whether we are in Guatemala or Belize.”
Janelle Chanona “What we didn’t find on that first trip to Santa Rosa was this a road constructed from the Guatemalan settlement of El Limon into Belizean territory. It was a development that accelerated diplomatic efforts.”
So after years of talking about what to do about Santa Rosa, both Belize and Guatemala agreed that as part of Confidence Building Measures, the villagers would be relocated to Esmeralda, Peten, a community established by the Organization of American States with funding from countries supporting the resolution of the Guatemalan claim to Belize.
Between January fourth and April fifteenth of 2008, the O.A.S. supervised the phased relocation of Santa Rosa. Villagers took their items of value and even portions of their homes. What wasn’t carried out was either abandoned … or burnt. This was once the school building.
Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security “That is a very strong show that we can use diplomacy and our cool heads to get something that was as thorny as this solved. So it’s a wonderful feeling to sit. It takes a little longer but with cool heads, there weren’t any military clashes, any swords drawn, and that is quite significant.”
Janelle Chanona “The people of Santa Rosa may have gone but the sense of isolation about this place is still very much here. So to remind anyone who might forget that this is Belizean territory, the Belize Defence Force has established a permanent military outpost.”
Sgt. Derrick McFadzean, Commander, Santa Rosa Outpost “It takes us about an hour to move from our O.P. post all the way up to Espirino and also it takes us about the same time to move all the way back down to San Vicente. So roughly we do about five hours patrol for the day.”
Sergeant Derrick McFadzean is the officer in charge of the Santa Rosa outpost.
Sgt. Derrick McFadzean “Previously when we were here before, we already used to coming in the village and meet a couple of the Guatemalans, talk along with them and you just have a different feeling than being out here all alone.”
Janelle Chanona
“How you deal with that?”
Sgt. Derrick McFadzean “Well it’s eight of us so we just do our daily chores and talk to each other just to not feel boring being out here.”
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett, C.E.O., Ministry of National Security “I think Belizeans must get a sense of pride now. As far as they were concerned, this was thorn in their side that we had Guatemalans living in Belize and in particular in a forest reserve—this is part of the Colombia Forest Reserve—while other Belizeans are not able to do so.”
But the military leaders admit that even if the Guatemalan claim to Belizean lands were settled tomorrow, the pressure on our resources would continue. Illegal incursions across our porous border to hunt, extract timber and harvest xate are daily occurrences. According to Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Security, Brigadier General Lloyd Gillett, part of the Belizean response has been the establishment of military outposts and border patrols.
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett “It’s coordinated patrols with the Guatemalans so that cases like this are helpful. People know that there’s a border here and they are not supposed to come over this side. It’s a continuing battle. We have the same challenges along the Mexican border with people contrabanding fuel, cooking oil, beer, soft drinks. So it’s a continuous challenge that we always have to be cognizant of and we always try to deter, as much as possible, these activities.”
While Santa Rosa was the oldest illegal settlement in Belize, other communities previously abandoned by request or by the threat of force include Machaquila, Rio Blanco, and Valentin Camp. Reporting for News Five from the Toledo District, I am Janelle Chanona.
Teen critical following shooting
Another youth was shot last night but luckily he survived the attack. Around seven Sixteen year old Jermaine Matura of Arlington Drive was shot twice while inside a yard at sixty-three Central American Boulevard with family and friends. Statements given by those in the area indicate that they heard noises coming from a nearby vacant lot after which gunshots rang out. Matura was hit in the abdomen and the back of the right hand and is listed in a critical but stable condition at the K.H.M.H. His mother, Lisa Matura, told News Five that Jermaine was at home watching the news before leaving the house. It was shortly after this that she heard the shots. Police say they are looking for two suspects, Austin and Kareem Stevens in connection with last night’s shooting. Meanwhile, News Five understands that Matura was also shot at two weeks ago, but was not hit. Lisa Matura, along with other mothers of at risk youths, was part of a meeting this afternoon called by the Conscious Youth Development Programme to respond to the recent elevated level of violence affecting their children.
No success yet in hunt for fugitive killer
He’s been on the run since the February fourteenth murder of Shannon “Shaggy” Henderson and police believe that exactly a month later he fatally shot Samuel de Jesus Ortiz, both killings occurring in Placencia.
Since then law enforcement authorities have still been unable to determine the whereabouts of thirty year old Gregory Casildo despite well publicised efforts to find him. Today, officer in charge at the Independence Police Station, Assistant Superintendent Ralph Moody, told News Five that while the manhunt continues for Belize’s most wanted man, police strongly suspect that Casildo is being aided by one or more persons and he is moving from point to point in his effort to elude authorities. The latest search for Casildo was carried out yesterday in two separate locations: Bladen Village, Toledo and San Ignacio, Cayo after police received reports of possible sightings.
A. S. P. Moody says a ten thousand dollar reward, offered by residents of Placencia, still stands for information leading to Casildo’s arrest. The suspect is five feet six inches tall, weighs around a hundred and thirty pounds and is considered armed and dangerous. Casildo is originally from Esperanza Village in Cayo. If you have seen him or know his whereabouts please call the nearest police station or Crimestoppers at 0-800-922-8477.
Charges are reinstated in human trafficking case
Two ex-police officers whose case was dismissed for want of prosecution have been recharged with the original offence of Trafficking in Persons. Allyson Muslar and Lauren Flowers were initially charged along with Hersel Garcia in February of 2007. This was after they were apprehended between miles seventy-one and seventy-two on the Northern Highway with eight non-Belizeans who could not present their nationality papers to authorities. However, when the ex-officers’ case went to court it was dismissed when the investigating officer could not locate the witnesses to complete their written statements. That work has now been done and the charge has been reinstated but only against Muslar and Flowers. Both men were arraigned on April twenty-fourth and granted bail of a thousand dollars each, which they met. Their next court date is June nineteenth before Corozal Magistrate, Leslie Hamilton.
New Crimes Commission takes comprehensive approach
The Crime Control Council held its first meeting since the appointment of the new Minister of National Security, Carlos Perdomo. The body, chaired by attorney Michael Young, has as its main objective a comprehensive approach to fighting crime.
Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security “They will look at everything, not just criminal activity or criminal enterprises, but they will look at employment, production, development of ideas to fight poverty, looking at what social help we need, counselling, what kind of support we need to give the people who are involved or do not want to continue with criminal activity. It’s also to make recommendations to the Prime Minister on anything whether it is how to improve the security agencies, how to improve the social conditions, how to fight poverty and what to do about the legislation that surrounds these issues. And hopefully with the resuscitation of the C.Y.D.P. and other issues like that, programmes like that we can begin to maybe see better times ahead.”
Key among the Council’s goals is helping to enhance the capabilities of the Police Department.
Minister says recent raids are not politically motivated
Since Perdomo took over as Minister, the Police Department has engaged in several questionable heavy handed raids for which apologies were later issued by the Commissioner. More recently, we’ve seen the arrest of Perdomo's political adversary, Joe Coye, on the basis of what can only be called a bizarre complaint, and this week the five hour commando style operation at the Shoman residence on the Northern Highway which yielded next to nothing. While some quarters have expressed concern over what appears to be politically inspired law enforcement, the Minister insists that the two incidents are straightforward police work and had no input from his office. We asked him first about the raid on Jose Shoman.
Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security “They issue their own operational orders.”
Marion Ali
“You said the Minister? “
Carlos Perdomo “No, not the Minister, the police.”
Marion Ali
“So you didn’t approve the raid?”
Carlos Perdomo “The Minister never really approves raids. The Commissioner of Police and his operation chief they do that.”
Marion Ali
“Did you know of it?”
Carlos Perdomo “I knew about it once it was underway, yes.”
Marion Ali
“And how about the recent arrest of your political adversary, the former Minister, Joe Coye?”
Carlos Perdomo “Well again, it was a police investigation. There was a citizen that made a complaint of fraud, fraudulent activities. The police investigated, they liaised with the Solicitor General, they discussed it with the D.P.P. and the police decided that there was enough evidence to arrest Mr. Coye and take him to court.”
Marion Ali
“So you never had any part in these last two incidents?”
Carlos Perdomo “No, as I said it is the police that is driven with either a complaint, like in the case of Mr. Coye or intelligence that is gathered.”
Marion Ali
“Some people believe that these last two incidents, the raid at the Shoman’s and the arrest of the former Minister Coye had some input on your part and refer to it as merely witch-hunting.”
Carlos Perdomo “I hate that they would think like that. I think that what it is showing is that we are now going to begin now to make everybody equal under the law. So, there’s no political victimisation there. It just happens that Mr. Coye, by coincidence, was running in Caribbean Shores but there’s no truth to political witch-hunting. Of course, the opposition will always say that but I think what it is showing is that this government is going to make sure that everybody is equal under the law.”
Marion Ali
“Are we to understand that there will be more raids at homes of big supporters of the former government?”
Carlos Perdomo “Well I don’t have any such information. As I said, the police do their work. If it so happens that the person committing the crime is some official in a political party that will be the case; they will get raided. If it’s a U.D.P. official they will get raided, if it’s a P.U.P., but we need to straighten up things in the city.”
Art exhibit pairs veteran and newcomer
One is a fixture in the world of Belizean art, the other a first time exhibitor. Beginning Friday night the work of both women will be on display at the House of Culture. Today News Five's Kendra Griffith took a sneak peak.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Rachael Heusner is known on the art scene for her vibrant colours and Caribbean scenery, but in her latest exhibition, she’s brought some other hues to the wall: black, white, and beige.
Rachael Heusner, Artist “I’ve done black and whites before but every so often I go back because doing black and white is a good study for light and dark. I recently opened up a coffee shop, some of them are done not only with ink, but coffee. There’s a lot of coffee art that’s done in the U.S.; people do paintings entirely with coffee. Seeing that I had the shop, it’s a coffee shop and art gallery, I said oh, I should have some coffee art. So I just started experimenting with it and it gives the painting a nice little antique kind of feel.”
Showcasing alongside Heusner is first time exhibitor Yaoling Lee.
Yaoling Lee, Artist “Nine years here I am. I am a mother of three and my kids are still my priority, but since they are all grown up, my last boy is three and a half, so I got more time right now, so I start over my art work.”
Rachael Heusner “Yaoling is a new friend of mine, an associate and she’s a very, very good artist, but she’s never shown in Belize and I thought hey, why don’t you show with me and she was so excited.”
Yaoling Lee “When I was in Europe, most of the things around me, musicians, jazz musicians, dancers, flamenco ... those things, those inspire me and the art studio, the human beings, I do a lot of work with those things. Right now, my subject move to the landscaping and those are my first trial actually, I never do landscaping on oil canvas. And I like them.”
The exhibition officially opens Friday night and will run for two weeks at the Belize City House of Culture. Heusner is hoping residents will show their support for the arts, by not only attending the show, but also buying a piece.
Rachael Heusner “It would be nice for Belizean people to start purchasing and see it as an investment. I know the times that we are living in, it is very hard economically, but to have something original by an artist from your country is also very precious. It’s something that I think every Belizean should have.”
And while Yaoling would also appreciate a sale or two, the people she is really trying to impress are her standard two and three art students.
Yaoling Lee “They are future artists and I hope this will inspire them. In Belize we don’t have a lot of exhibitions actually and I really want to see how they come here to take a look at everything, Rachael’s work, my work and we will see the reaction from the kids and this will be my most important intention from this exhibition, actually.”
Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
Heusner’s Coffee Shop and Art Gallery is located on Princess Margaret Drive.
Viewers express preference for Kriol on news transcript
If you’re watching this newscast on television or streaming video then this next story may not mean much. The fact is, however, that thousands of viewers rely on the printed transcript of the news which appears on our website, channel5belize.com. And while the site is among the nation’s most popular, over the last ten years a small corps of readers has consistently complained about the transcription of Kriol in our stories. It is too difficult to read they say, and prefer that Kriol speech be paraphrased in English. We too have wrestled with the problem of how to preserve the flavour and emotion of Kriol speech while at the same time translating the meaning into what is admittedly a cumbersome read. In an effort to resolve the problem last week we asked internet viewers to express their preference on the issue. Over the course of four days we were swamped by close to a hundred replies, ranging from a single sentence to several pages. The mail ran over two to one in favour of keeping the Kriol and on both sides people were surprisingly passionate.
Here are some samples:
“I enjoy the news in Kriol, please noh change it!”
“I say continue printing the news just the way it is. I was born in Los Angeles but my parents are Belizean and I enjoy reading the Kriol language.”
“I love the written Kriol! I had the pleasure of living in Belize City for two years with the Peace Corps. I enjoy trying to pronounce the language I loved to hear daily in Belize.”
“I’m a Belizean living in Costa Rica. I really think that you should type the news in English and not Creole. And furthermore, instruct the reporters to stop asking questions in Creole. Every Belizean understands proper English. To look at me and speak Creole because that is all you think I understand is almost as insulting as using baby talk.”
“Everyone in Belize reads English. Not everyone in and outside of Belize can transcribe Kriol. The simple solution is to use English.”
“Hi, I’m in Canada but in my heart a Belizean. In fact, I’m born in Belize and even though I don’t speak much Creole, I love to read it. Keep the Belizean taste in there.”
“I say leave the Kriol flavour in the news. I love to translate it to my son so he can get a real understanding of his roots.”
“I think the first language in Belize is English; the news should be written in English.”
“Eliminate the Kriol quotes and report in proper English please.”
“Leff de Kriol as is! Dat ah one ah de main reason why me always come read de news!”
“If they can’t read it, they need to keep reading until they get it. Read it out loud. I did and enjoy reading. It makes me feel like I am home. PLEASE DO NOT STOP.”
And, based on those reactions, we will not stop, although we will try to keep the Kriol quotes short and easily digestible. As for spelling, we rely on the Kriol Dikshineri recently published by the Belize Kriol Projek, which is available at bookstores nationwide. We’d like to thank all those internet viewers who responded to our request and please feel free to keep the comments coming on any subject of interest.
TONIGHT'S NEWS WAS PRODUCED FOR BROADCAST BY STEWART KROHN AND PREPARED FOR THE INTERNET BY DELAHNIE BAIN.
The O.A.S. has already declared the area vacant and our government has supplied photos to prove it. Today the B.D.F., assisted by a British helicopter, took the media to see with its own eyes what was once the settlement called Santa Rosa. Despite its tiny size, the community of Guatemalans on the Belize side of the border was a major impediment to improved relations between the two countries. For news Five’s Janelle Chanona, the area had changed radically from when she first hiked there six years ago.
Another youth was shot last night but luckily he survived the attack. Around seven Sixteen year old Jermaine Matura of Arlington Drive was shot twice while inside a yard at sixty-three Central American Boulevard with family and friends. Statements given by those in the area indicate that they heard noises coming from a nearby vacant lot after which gunshots rang out. Matura was hit in the abdomen and the back of the right hand and is listed in a critical but stable condition at the K.H.M.H. His mother, Lisa Matura, told News Five that Jermaine was at home watching the news before leaving the house. It was shortly after this that she heard the shots. Police say they are looking for two suspects, Austin and Kareem Stevens in connection with last night’s shooting. Meanwhile, News Five understands that Matura was also shot at two weeks ago, but was not hit. Lisa Matura, along with other mothers of at risk youths, was part of a meeting this afternoon called by the Conscious Youth Development Programme to respond to the recent elevated level of violence affecting their children.
He’s been on the run since the February fourteenth murder of Shannon “Shaggy” Henderson and police believe that exactly a month later he fatally shot Samuel de Jesus Ortiz, both killings occurring in Placencia. 
Two ex-police officers whose case was dismissed for want of prosecution have been recharged with the original offence of Trafficking in Persons. Allyson Muslar and Lauren Flowers were initially charged along with Hersel Garcia in February of 2007. This was after they were apprehended between miles seventy-one and seventy-two on the Northern Highway with eight non-Belizeans who could not present their nationality papers to authorities. However, when the ex-officers’ case went to court it was dismissed when the investigating officer could not locate the witnesses to complete their written statements. That work has now been done and the charge has been reinstated but only against Muslar and Flowers. Both men were arraigned on April twenty-fourth and granted bail of a thousand dollars each, which they met. Their next court date is June nineteenth before Corozal Magistrate, Leslie Hamilton.
The Crime Control Council held its first meeting since the appointment of the new Minister of National Security, Carlos Perdomo. The body, chaired by attorney Michael Young, has as its main objective a comprehensive approach to fighting crime.
Since Perdomo took over as Minister, the Police Department has engaged in several questionable heavy handed raids for which apologies were later issued by the Commissioner. More recently, we’ve seen the arrest of Perdomo's political adversary, Joe Coye, on the basis of what can only be called a bizarre complaint, and this week the five hour commando style operation at the Shoman residence on the Northern Highway which yielded next to nothing. While some quarters have expressed concern over what appears to be politically inspired law enforcement, the Minister insists that the two incidents are straightforward police work and had no input from his office. We asked him first about the raid on Jose Shoman.
One is a fixture in the world of Belizean art, the other a first time exhibitor. Beginning Friday night the work of both women will be on display at the House of Culture. Today News Five's Kendra Griffith took a sneak peak.
If you’re watching this newscast on television or streaming video then this next story may not mean much. The fact is, however, that thousands of viewers rely on the printed transcript of the news which appears on our website, channel5belize.com. And while the site is among the nation’s most popular, over the last ten years a small corps of readers has consistently complained about the transcription of Kriol in our stories. It is too difficult to read they say, and prefer that Kriol speech be paraphrased in English. We too have wrestled with the problem of how to preserve the flavour and emotion of Kriol speech while at the same time translating the meaning into what is admittedly a cumbersome read. In an effort to resolve the problem last week we asked internet viewers to express their preference on the issue. Over the course of four days we were swamped by close to a hundred replies, ranging from a single sentence to several pages. The mail ran over two to one in favour of keeping the Kriol and on both sides people were surprisingly passionate. 
