There have been complaints to our newspaper from some passport applicants that the new procedures, implemented this March in response to a major security breach, are way too cumbersome and, some believe, unnecessary. One woman complained that due to insufficient public sensitization, people at times have to make multiple trips to complete the process.
“All we are trying to do, and it is working, is that we are making sure that when you apply for a passport, you are a Belizean, and you are who you say you are,” said Minister of Labour, Local Government, Rural Development, NEMO, and Immigration & Nationality Services, Godwin Hulse, in response to those concerns.
The changes were sparked by the revelation last September that an Islamic Imam of California, with alleged Hezbollah links, Rafic Mohammad Labboun Allaboun, had gotten a passport from Belizean authorities using a fake identity – that of a dead Menonnite, Wilhelm Dyck. This forced Belize Immigration authorities to overhaul passport application procedures.
“Like any new system, there are issues and I am going to take responsibility for the department because all our officers are still not up to speed,” Minister Hulse said.
He went on to say that, “The whole of this thing came out of the fact that there had been so many allegations of passports that had been issued to persons who were not who they said they were, and all sort of things, people were caught in Mexico, et cetera.”
Rafic Labboun had gotten his identity certified by a Belizean justice of the peace, and although he does not look at all like a Mennonite, he successfully obtained a Belizean passport and driver’s license in Dyck’s name. Ironically, Dyck had been dead since 1976. The disclosure was only made after US authorities caught up with Rafic Labboun in Mexico, and deported him back to the USA.
“That happened because back then, there was a form signed by certain persons, but there was no picture identity; there was nothing to say, ‘okay, well, when I signed, I signed saying this [photo] is you.’ So, we reintroduced the two pictures, that the person certifying signs on the back and says, you are [Adele Ramos] and they also sign an affidavit to say so. Two different persons:
“The first person is in what we call a category A – private sector, basically, who are justices of the peace, notary public, medical practitioners. We try to find who would know you; not to make it difficult for the applicant. Category B is member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, a registered teacher; a head of department or a CEO,” the minister added.
He said that although more procedures are required by the applicant, it is to ensure the protection of people’s identity.
“The point there, let us say in category A: a justice of the peace, certifies [who] you are, but he errs in the certification; in category B, a person in category B would, or should think twice before they do that, because category B, somebody in the House of Representatives knows that there are repercussions for fraud. A CEO, a head of department and/or a registered teacher thinks the same. So, that is a level of security… It was not intended to make the issue for the public extraordinarily difficult at all.
“You asked about what repercussions if somebody does certify, well, the criminal code deals with fraud. And fraud is something that we have to be very careful of, because you know that there are serious penalties for fraudulent representation,” Hulse concluded.