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Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage gets 17,000 signatures

Audrey Matura-Shepherd, V.P., Oceana Belize
“The campaign to get a referendum to get the signatures is an initiative from the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage. Oceana is only one of the members assisting. We’ve been very proactive in how we attain these signatures and today we are proud to report that we’ve passed the seventeen thousand (17,000) bench mark. We have not made a big deal about it per say because we know while that legally is the amount of signatures we need to be able to present to the Governor General to trigger the referendum, we have always been very cognizant that that it is only ten percent of the voting population and the legislation requires that sixty (60) percent or more of the voters come out to be able to make this a successful referendum. Also from that sixty percent, on our issue, we need to get the majority. So that was only phase 1. Phase 2 is we’re going to our massive public outreach and campaign. Wherein we’re moving into cities, towns and villages and house to house we hope to visit people. We want that when we go that they to welcome us so that they only hear the information and then they make up their mind as to what they want.”
CH5

Before referendum, Oceana says government on propaganda trail

The signature collection victory is only one hurdle facing the environmentalists. Apparently, the Prime Minister recently made comments on a government program, which has Oceana Belize’s Vice president steaming. According to Audrey Matura Shepherd, the P.M. is calling for the public to support drilling in any part of the country with a promise to make legislative changes to protect the environment later on. Matura Shepherd calls the promise government propaganda and says it is in bad faith.

Audrey Matura-Shepherd, V.P., Oceana Belize
“On the Prime Minister report, he took the opportunity to make a very profound statement—I don’t know if people saw it or understood the implication of it. But basically what is the government’s position which is presented by the Prime Minister is that they are telling people that when the referendum does come into effect, we want you to go and vote in favor of the government’s position which is that there should be drilling both offshore and in all protected areas—basically throughout Belize because we were only excluding those and the rest of the country was still available. So basically the government is saying let there be drilling everywhere: land and in sea, everywhere, with the proper regulatory and legislative framework in place. That sounds good. And why is it that I say that sounds good is because that is for me what I call propaganda. The reality is if any government is serious about making these legislative changes, there are some basic things that need to be done and while Oceana has been quite as to some of the response we’ve been getting from government, I think the time has come that we need to reveal certain things to people. First; if there is to be genuine revision and then subsequent adaptation of new provisions in the petroleum act, the consultation process has to start. And it has to start with people who have an interest and that doesn’t mean only the N.G.O. community, but community at large and that has not happened yet. So that’s step number 1. Step number two; Oceana has kept reaching out to the government with the hope that we’ll be able to start that process with them. For example we’ve written the most recent letter to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister asking them to form a team so that we can start talking about the issue of offshore oil. We have not gotten a response to that. Third; we did sent a letter to Prime Minister asking if Doctor Daniel Pauly, when he is in the country, could have a private presentation with Cabinet because we have been asking to present to Cabinet so that they can hear more about the issues. It’s not all environment—it has to do with policy, legislative, the science that they don’t know, the whole economics as we see it. Well I got a letter from the Prime Minister saying that we welcome the written, but we cannot make ourselves available for that dialogue. To me that shows bad faith. To me you cannot say you want legislative change and you don’t do anything to that effect. And then fourth; we’ve written several letters to petroleum and geology department requesting information so that we can use it with formulating the proposal we want to present to government because while government is not working yet on this revision we know that it is something that is long overdue. But of course we are a stalled when government doesn’t want to give us key information that is from the technical people. And the technical people only so be brave and obnoxious in their response to us or ignore our request if they have their back as you would say by the higher officials. So now to go to the Belizean public and say you should vote this way providing that this is in place to me is duplicitous. Because what I have to say to the Belizean people is that you should say to the Prime Minister, okay let’s put those measures in places and once we know it’s in place, it’s easier for us to have a say as to how to vote. Don’t be tricked again by any government.”
Matura Shepherd says the Coalition’s campaign on oil drilling will continue.
CH5

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