Minister Musa Weighs in on SOE

We also heard from Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa about the ongoing state of emergency. When he was in opposition, Musa criticized SOEs as ineffective and a violation of the rights of citizens. That changed when he was elected to office. Musa has led more than one SOEs in response to gang violence in southside Belize City. We asked Minister Musa about his changing views.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs 

“I think in the past and if you could check your records, when it was done in the past it was just done with a broad stroke brush and everybody including working individuals from various areas of Belize City was picked with no sort of investigation being carried out on those individuals before picking them up. The procedure now has been rectified and it is more of a targeted response. The police department knows exactly who the criminals are and we are bringing them to justice. We always have to remember that it is not a black and white situation when we look at crime. We have to utilize all the tools possible and I keep repeating that an SOE is not a solution to the crime problem. It hits the pause button for the police to carry out their investigations and you will see more and more charges, specifically in relation to those murders being committed, be laid.”

 

Paul Lopez

“On one hand we refer to them as criminals in this context but when we refer to them in the LIU program they are referred to in a different manner.”

 

Kareem Musa

“Again, and maybe it is not deliberate on your part, you look at things black and white. Do you know how many people from Belize City was detained under the SOE, thirty-five persons? Do you know how many at-risk youths we are dealing with at the LIU, over a thousand at risk youths are part of the various programs we have to offer. So what do you say about those at risk youths who do not want to live a life of crime, do we just abandon them and say you nine hundred and seventy youths, we don’t want anything to do with you, we have to incarcerate you? Absolutely not, there has to be a solution for you. And if you are hell bent on committing crime there is a remedy for you, you will be detained.”