Belmopan magistrate, Mr. Earl Jones, today, February 5, 2008, turned down an application by Bel Star Enterprises to have 5 More Tomorrow villagers evicted from lands that the villagers are presently developing.
To support their claim to the land, representatives of Bel Star Enterprises presented a letter from the CEO in the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE), Mr. Alan Usher, dated January 25, 2008, which purports that the land does belong to Bel Star.
In the defense of the villagers of More Tomorrow, Mr. Ismael Shabazz presented a detailed map of the area, and a Government Gazette of May 1998 which he said proves that the land Bel Star is claiming, is the rightful property of the villagers.
It took less than 15 minutes for Magistrate Jones to make his decision. He informed the representatives of Bel Star Enterprises that the letter from CEO Usher was not sufficient, that his “court does not have the jurisdiction”….that he could not issue an eviction order in the matter of land in dispute. It is a matter for the MNRE to clear up, he told Bel Star, and advised them, if they were interested in pursuing the matter, to take it to the Supreme Court.
The only comment of a son of a company director* who represented Bel Star Enterprises today in Magistrate’s Court in Belmopan, was that “definitely we are going to the Supreme Court.”
According to Mr. Ismael Omar Shabazz, the spiritual leader of More Tomorrow, and their representative today in court, Bel Star Enterprises are trying to pull a fast one. He said that in 1998 a More Tomorrow initiative, spearheaded by himself and the late Ibrahim Abdullah, and with the support of former government Minister (the late) Agripino Cawich, led to the acquisition of 3,500 acres of land for village purposes from a company called Universal Investments Limited.
With the help of Minister Cawich, a dirt road was constructed, the Ibrahim Abdullah Drive, and their Village Council and the MNRE proceeded to distribute 2,500 acres of the land in parcels ranging from 10 to 50 acres in the area. (More Tomorrow chairman Michael Myvette says that farmers paid the cost of surveys, $1,300 per parcel).
One thousand acres of the acquired land was deemed inaccessible, however, and the More Tomorrow Village Council approached the MNRE in 2003 with the intent to trade it for another parcel. With the help of their Area Representative, Honorable Agripino Cawich, who wrote a letter to then Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. John Briceño, they successfully traded the inaccessible parcel for another parcel closer to Ibrahim Abdullah Drive. Unfortunately, Mr. Agripino Cawich died before the land papers were properly processed, and the formalities lagged. Everyone at MNRE, “from downstairs all the way to upstairs,” knew about the agreement, Chairman Myvette told Amandala, so they proceeded with their developments.
Trouble began for the More Tomorrow villagers when Bel Star Enterprises Ltd., a company owned by Messrs Charles Tsai, David Ho, Liang Tse Hsu, and Yueh Ying Liu, started subdividing land for the purpose of sale on the open market. Villagers were surprised one day when Belmopan police arrived and informed them (Michael Myvette, Glenda Sutherland, Maria Vasquez Ramirez, Salvador Umani, and Reyna Menjivar) that they were occupying property that belonged to Bel Star Enterprises, and that they were to vacate the land.
In January 2008, More Tomorrow villagers appeared in Magistrate’s Court in Belmopan in respect to Bel Star’s claim, and on February 5, 2008, they returned to court to defend turf that they believe belongs to them.
Mr. Shabazz thinks that Bel Star is very unfair in its claim. He says that Universal Investments Ltd. has already subdivided (for the purposes of selling on the open market) the 1,000 acres More Tomorrow Village gave up to get the new parcel (in contention). Mr. Shabazz says that Universal Investments Ltd. and Bel Star Enterprises share directors.
More Tomorrow, the oldest village in Belize (since 1793), will be celebrating its 215th anniversary the closest Sunday to May 15 this year. The villagers stand firm in their conviction that the land they occupy near Ibrahim Abdullah Drive is theirs, and expect the eviction monkey will be off their backs very soon.
*A representative of Bel Star in court today(a son of a director) was hustled off by his “advisors” when I inquired after his name, and other matters about their claim. Prior to the start of the case this reporter spent time with the More Tomorrow leaders in order to get some background to this matter. Unfortunately the Bel Star leaders had taken up a position near to the door of the court room, thus I could not get to interview them before the case was called up.
Amandala naturally would be sympathetic to the cause of the farmers. However, Amandala reporters are duty bound to communicate factually on every matter they present for public discussion. Bel Star Enterprises chose not to get their position heard in this medium.