Surrender Your Guns and Regain Your Freedom?

The state of emergency that has been in effect for the past ninety days across portions of Belize City and the Cayo District will expire in five days. So, will the S.O.E. be extended for an additional period? Commissioner Williams says it’s an option that’s still on the table. But he says that the police department has worked out a deal with these alleged gang members, a tradeoff of sorts. Here is how he puts it.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I met with the people under the SOE two days ago. And, I have laid the cards on the table for them. They all said that they want this gang issue to stop. They want to be released and come home to their families. And I said to them, if they can see how peaceful the country has been since they were detained, it simply goes to show that they were the problem. They conceded to that and pledged that  coming out of prison, so it’s not extended. They will work with the programs that we have in place,  brother Nuri has committed to work with them continuously to see how we can help them to overcome whatever issues they may have. And I said to them, the same way how you all can live together in prison, why can’t you live this way when you’re out on the streets? You don’t need to be in prison to learn to live this way. And they agreed. But the important thing I said to them was that since you so want to change your life, you don’t want to go back to the gang life, usually you don’t want to go back to the shooting and killing of others, then surrender your guns. You don’t need, you’re no longer a gang member,  surrender your guns. They agreed that they’re going to surrender their guns. So we’ll see what that goes.”