Belmopan Mayor Anthony Chanona says "He's sorry". How sorry? well, the Mayor today told us that he's going to Punta Gorda to meet with the Mayan Leaders Alliance to apologize in person for insensitive use of the word "Indians" in a letter he wrote to the Prime Minister (See Belmopan Mayor wants "Indians" out of his Garden City). He says there was no malice intended, and for that reason, he has no problem with apologizing.
But, the Mayor maintains that something has to be done to reconcile the conflicts between squatting and the allocation of urban land. A Belmopan city council survey of the area has turned up that 24 families comprising 99 persons are squatting. Of those families, 20 of them are Belizeans, specifically Mayans from the Toledo District. The Mayor says he is also ready to meet with these residents. And while he won’t be able to make the Sunday meeting that he's been called, to, he says he's contacted Valentino Shal to see if that meeting can be moved up to Friday.
We'll keep monitoring the situation, and you can take part as well, by participating in our online poll on the issue. We'll note that, so far, the Mayor's "clean sweep" approach is unpopular: of the nearly 400 voters, an overwhelming 80% say the Mayans should not be moved.