Wednesday, June 24, 2015. BMG: The buzz about the incident in Santa Cruz Village in The Toledo District remains to be in the public domain. As we’ve reported, Rupert Myles was handcuffed, hogtied
and escorted through the village because of what the villagers claimed to be a violation of “Mayan Land Rights”.
Mr. Myles refuted those claims, saying that the Mayans did that to him because he is a ‘black man’.
Various Mayan groups and even the East Indian Council have issued press releases stating their views on the matter and now the leader of the country, PM Dean Barrow has weighed in on the alleged case of racism.
Dean Barrow
In an interview with the media, Hon. Barrow said that what the Mayan people did to Mr. Rupert was outrageous and that their disregard for the man’s human rights is unjustifiable. The PM, obviously displeased by the situation, went on to say that the villagers have lost whatever moral high ground they had and that he will see if any of them can be criminally charged for their acts because that kind of behavior is intolerable.
Mayan Leaders Alliance, the representative of the Mayan people of Toledo then issued a press release in response to what the PM had said. The press release stated that in the Maya Customary law, Mr. Myles violated a part of Belizean Law and that Mayan people have lived and worked with many non-Mayans while appreciating their contribution to the villages.
Punta Gorda Police say that Myles has lodged a criminal complaint against the villagers. Currently, multiple persons are being sought for questioning.