Thirteenth Amendment Spurs Fears Over Rights and Freedoms

This week marks the start of public consultations on the highly-debated Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Belize. This is a move that has already sparked considerable concern, particularly among members of the legal fraternity. The proposed amendment, which seeks to expand the government’s authority in defining and restricting certain constitutional rights, has ignited a national conversation on civil liberties, state power, and the potential erosion of democratic safeguards. At the heart of the controversy is the belief that the amendment could significantly weaken the protection of individual rights, especially if interpreted or applied too broadly. On The Morning Show today, Dickie Bradley weighed in on the issue.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “The police in this country of Belize for maybe a decade or two, it just gets worse by the way, they actually if they’re not trained and told to do this they still do it. You cannot pick up a citizen of Belize and take him down to any police station for 24 hours, for 4 hours, for 48 hours and let him go and worse pick him up again for another 48 hours. The police have no authority to lock up and punish anybody. The only reason you’re at a police station is because you are being charged and you’re going to court. You can’t pick me up and be out there investigating. I have gone in front of Chief Justice Abdulai Conte along with the then DPP on two separate occasions and say Mr.DPP direct the police that they’re not to lock up and then investigate, its the other way around investigate and then you know you’re holding a suspect who you probably will charge. Police have no authority to pick up anybody and hold them at no police station “I will give you a 24.”, “I will give you a 48.” And worse than that then they recycle back after you come out you go back in. Please hold on let me get this out of my mind because I will go crazy, I will need some modicate or something. The police have no authority to be locking up people all over this country. They don’t have the authority.” 

Bradley explained that while governments do have the right to amend the Constitution, any move that alters the fundamental rights of citizens must be approached with extreme caution. Many argue that the language of the proposed amendment is too vague and potentially opens the door to abuse. Bradley also warned that it could enable legislation that disproportionately targets certain groups or suppresses dissent under the guise of maintaining order.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “When they come with this, we are better than this. We can do better than this. Let there be no mistake that this is no way to fight crime.  No gun court. No 13th Amendment locking up people, solve the social and economic problem. I want to finish this. We as a people have to say to the government you have failed in coming up with sustainable and workable solutions. You have failed to do it. Not just you, don’t feel bad. The government which was there 13 years was a bigger failure because they had 600, Johnny Briceño told me they had 600 million dollars from the PetroCaribe money. And then the little bit of oil that we were selling. You had resources, we all know they stole the money, corrupted the country and so on. We know that but listen they are one of two of the biggest gangs in the country it’s them that should be under the SOE. You are ruining a country. We have 60% poor people who are struggling to find food to live, won’t know what tomorrow will bring. We’re not focusing attention on the problem. That’s what I want to say. I want to say that this is a bandaid and this is a distraction and this is a diversion from a serious problem. You could go through the ghetto and pick up every poor boy right now and lock them up and crime will continue because the situation that breeds crime is still there. You have treated human beings like they’re pot lickers. In fact not even pot lickers because I notice the dogs go on Albert Street. Not even they’re bring rounded up. But human beings are being rounded up and now they will really be rounded up because the Commissioner of Police is a 1000% believer in locking them up to hell with their rights.”

The consultation starts this Wednesday at Swift Hall.