About 25 years ago, this newspaper decided to refuse advertising for tobacco products. This put us at a disadvantage where our competition was concerned, but we had come to the conclusion that tobacco had absolutely no socially redeeming value. Smoking is an addictive habit which no responsible institution should be encouraging young people to cultivate.
The National Reform Party (NRP), which held its official launching in Belize City on Wednesday of this week, requires a symbolic gesture from Amandala. We will not be accepting any advertisements from this party, because what this looks like to us, is a white supremacist party. What we saw on Wednesday was a trick that is 515 years old, as old as Christopher Columbus – the Jesus trick.
All those who enslaved us came in the name of Jesus, a black man who lived in the northern part of Africa two thousand years ago. Today, those Belizean politicians who are beholden to the modern slavemasters, are subtle in the game they play. Give Cornelius Dueck respect, the same respect Smokey Joe gives Willie Sutton. Dueck is a white man who is coming to us in 2007 and saying, I’m going to lead you. Jesus told me to do this, and I have a lot of money to convince you to accept my rule.
At this newspaper, we think we would look like unprincipled hypocrites to accept money to spread the NRP message. We believe we see it for what it is. It is opposed to most of what Partridge Street stands for. We believe Africa and Mayan people should do for self, and kind. We believe religion should not be involved in state political matters. We believe that when the white man brings his money to us, that money has a hook in it. That is a lesson as recent as Michael Ashcroft.
To repeat, our gesture on Partridge Street is symbolic. We know that our Belizean people are not about to accept re-enslavement and corporation colonialism in the name of a European version of Jesus. We could take Dueck’s money and run. But we need to send this man a message. There’s a small group of us who will resist. We honour the memory of Philip Goldson, who died poor but heroic.
All power to the people.