Today’s parliamentary decision to impose a State of Prevention is not to the benefit of any Belizean but to silence popular clamour. They want you to believe that it will be the magic solution to curb crime and violence

The popular outcry is for the UDP Government to respect our human rights and civil liberties and leave our Constitution alone, but the UDP Government is hell-bent on creating a State of Prevention.

Why is it that all Central American governments are trying to amend their Constitution to pass this same piece of legislation at the same time? Why are there popular upbeat demonstrations in the region and we are just taking it as it comes?

Last week in the lower house of the United States Congress, they approved a package of $US1,600 Million dollars to finance the “Merida Initiative” a measure that is similar to “Plan Colombia” which gives the U.S. operational and judicial control over the security forces of Mexico including Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republics. This is all under the guise of combating drug trafficking, human smuggling, gun smuggling and the infestation of gangs in the major Central American countries.

All that is a good endeavor and there should be a high level of professional cooperation as long as there is respect for our sovereignty, our judiciary system and no infringement on the sovereign rights and freedoms of our citizens.

Imagine seven days in the “piss-house” in the first instance without a charge at the discretion of security forces giving an open-ended option for continued detention. This law would not pass in the United States and neither would it be accepted by the American people, don’t we all have the same equal rights? Cost of living has gone up under the UDP Government and now the cost of freedom is going up.

Belizeans want a comprehensive legislation that will reinforce our existing laws and bring about stiffer penalties for all those that breach them but this preventative detention is definitely not the solution.

This week I heard two talk show hosts on Love-FM justifying the wrongful actions of the police when they broke down the door of a person who was not even at home. If the police had made the procedural inquiries before acting, they would have found out that no one was at home. Yes, the police can act on reasonable suspicion, especially in the pursuit of law and order but even the police should have certain limitations. They cannot corrupt the law to enforce the law. The State cannot disregard the supreme law of the land (The Constitution) in the guise of enforcing the law; security forces cannot have open-ended discretion and option to be judge, and jury and executioner.

A State of Prevention is illegitimate in any democracy, and we cannot allow the imposition of such a law by any government. It took the UDP ten years in Opposition to fabricate an image of a viable party, worthy to be in government but, within their first 100 days in government, their action or lack of it are already causing uncertainty among the very people that swept them to power. Their inability to bring about satisfactory solutions to the serious bread and butter issues that are now out of control is now casting serious doubts on the choices made on Election Day.

Any repressive law will meet stiff resistance by the people of Belize and will only be to the detriment of the same government who seeks to implement it. Popular reaction will be an equal measure to the actions of the security forces. Our rights and freedoms in the hands and at the discretion of our security force will only bring about chaos.