No More Noh Mul! – UDP Politician Destroys 2,300 Year Old Mayan Site
Belize City, May 16, 2013 In a rushed and shameless attempt to carry out late and last minute repairs to village roads in order to win votes in the upcoming village council elections, a UDP politician’s construction company desecrated a world-recognised Mayan site. An entire week after Denny Grijalva’s heavy-duty equipment was caught by CTV-3 News of Orange Walk clawing desperately into the 2,300 year old Mayan mound known as Noh Mul for the removal of limestone, no one has been detained nor charged. It appears that because this case involves a UDP politician and because the embattled Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega is implicated, the wheels of justice are barely turning. There has been global outrage at the act. Countless international news agencies, from CNN to Fox News, NBC and National Geographic, have reported on the incident, accusing Belizeans of having lost respect for the kind of cultural heritage treated as treasures elsewhere. The two men involved – Grijalva and Vega – have put out lame and half-baked excuses. The Deputy Prime Minister has thrown Grijalva under the bus. Vega has gone on record to claim that his Ministry did not issue a license to excavate the Noh Mul site. But Vega has not explained who gave permission to Grijalva or whether he was aware that the former pastor/UDP politician had been given orders to repair roads in his Orange Walk North constituency. We doubt he was oblivious to this fact, as Vega has been boasting about repairing roads to his constituents. Grijalva accepted responsibility for the “very unfortunate incident” in a statement issued yesterday afternoon. He claimed ignorance about what was going on and said his foreman who operated the machinery on top of the mound sought permission for the private landowner before excavating the site. Grijalva seemed to justify the act by claiming that excavation has been going on at the site for about a decade. The UDP has been in office for almost six years. Guilty! In the public’s view, all persons involved in the demolition of the Mayan mound must face severe punishment. Grijalva’s acceptance of the “condemnation” is evidence that he is principally involved. Section 61 of the National Institute of Culture and History Act states that anyone who removes “earth or stone” from any ancient monument without a permit is liable to a fine of ...









