Belizeans for Justice Hold Conference Despite Threats

The Belizeans for Justice Movement, which had last week postponed a planned press conference in the wake of a death threat to one of its members, this week held that conference at the Radisson Fort George Hotel under heavy police watch.  There were police officers at the main entrance of the section of the hotel where the conference was taking place, as well as inside the conference room itself.  The members of the group lost no focus on their mission and at the event on Monday they wasted no time in letting the person behind the threat know that his or her plan to quiet them will not work. They went one step further to criticize the same department that was providing them with security.

The note was sent specifically to the group’s secretary, Joan Sutherland, whose son was killed four years ago.  She joined the movement to let her voice be heard on what the senseless murders cause and how frustrating the process is when the police and the prosecution can’t quite score a conviction.  The person accused of her son’s murder walked free a few months ago and since then Sutherland has expressed little faith in the justice system.

One of the founders of the movement, Yolanda Schakron, reiterated concerns she had made publicly before about corruption in the Police Department. She pointed squarely to the Commissioner of Police, Crispin Jeffries, saying that the public has lost all faith in his performance, and she implored the new Minister of Police, Doug Singh to replace Jeffries. Schakron has been very vocal since last December when her nephew, Christopher Galvez, was shot dead at close range while at a boat yard on the Western Highway.  Many fingers have been pointed, including at one of Galvez’ closest friends who picked him up at home just minutes before the killing.  The family has also laid blame squarely at the feet of a police corporal who was seen leaving the area with a bag before investigators arrived on the scene.  He was never stopped and searched and his affiliation to a prominent Belize City gang has drawn his credibility into question.  That officer was later transferred from Belize City, but was never investigated satisfactorily, at least not in the eyes of the Galvez/Schakron families, over the murder.

Before the group dispersed without incident, they promised to establish a counseling session for grieving mothers who need it and advice on legal rights matters.

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