Barry Bowen vs Dean Barrow

In his application to the Supreme Court, Sir Barry made it clear that he is not asking the court for any financial award, but that as a citizen of Belize, he cannot stand idly by and allow the Barrow government to take away two important and fundamental rights of all Belizeans. These are the rights to compensation for loss of property and the right to access the courts to seek redress.

And then came the bombshell. Barrow is proposing to take away fundamental rights guaranteed in Section 17 of the Constitution since Independence, September 1981. Belizeans have always had a right to compensation and a right to go to Court.

Dozens of landowners across the country have been holding meetings and have formed an organization called the landowners’ association, and they too have filed an application in the Supreme Court asking the Chief Justice to strike down Barrow’s dangerous attack on the Constitution. An individual citizen, social activist and member of the Belize Human Rights Organization Ivan Roberts, has also filed an application to the Supreme Court.

Ordinarily the Chamber of Commerce and the Bureau of Better Business would have been in the forefront in an important issue of this nature, but their position has been compromised by their representative Senator Godwin Hulse, who last Monday stated on KREM that he supported the government in respect to the amendment, since as he put it, ‘none of those landowners put any oil under their land so they have no right to it. I support the amendment.’

Just a few months ago, there was an active and vocal organization called, ironically, Association of Concerned Belizeans (ACB). The ACB has to date shown no absolutely no concern for the several dangerous attacks against the constitutional rights of Belizeans. Apparently, there are not so concerned anymore.

Sir Barry Bowen becomes the most prominent citizen to challenge Barrow’s dangerous proposals. Sir Barry, like so many other Belizeans, must feel betrayed by the cruel, two-faced and arrogant behaviour of Barrow and his government. After all, Sir Barry’s generousity played no small part in assisting Barrow to become Prime Minister.