And while they prepare to fight the Carnival contract in court, the BTIA is also fighting some internal demons.
Before the start of this morning's meeting, Central Bank security guards escorted BTIA's Belize District President Alexandria Nicholson, who runs the Maruba Resort, outside the building. Nicholson who claims she elected to head the Belize chapter back in August fell out of favor with her colleagues around the country after an article in last week's Belize times newspaper where she voiced her support for the carnival contract and her opposition to the BTIA's legal challenge. Well, today, it all came falling down for Nicholson when she was thrown out. We have both sides of the story from both Fleming and Nicholson who we will let duke it out and you decide.
Alexandria Nicholson, Ousted Belize District President
"As I sat down I was told by one of the board members that I am not privy and I am not a party to this meeting eventhough I am still the Belize District BTIA President. I was only sent an email on Friday notifying me that all my board members had resigned. Therefore I had a scheduled meeting already on Sunday at the Princess Hotel which I had temporarily instituted or we voted upon a new temporary board of directors for the Belize district of BTIA. So I am coming to the meeting today with good faith and clean hands and an open heart for my district here and I was physically ousted from the Central Bank today. Physically ousted, that was such an embarrassment."
Keith Swift,
You said physically ousted, what happened?
Alexandria Nicholson,
"I was physically ousted by the Central Bank security guard and told I was not allowed to come inside that building."
Keith Swift,
The head of your Belize district chapter who came to the meeting was physically removed. Why?
Lucy Fleming, BTIA President
"Okay Keith the Belize district board came to our offices last week and submitted letters which basically told us they had a vote of no confidence in their representative. So that board has been dissolved and we will be holding new elections for the Belize district chapter."
Keith Swift,
Was Ms. Nicholson notified of this?
Lucy Fleming,
"Yes indeed she was informed that she had no place in the meeting today. We did had a representative there from the Belize district chapter actually, we had Mr. Thurton, and we do know not why Ms. Nicholson attended the meeting. She had no place there."
Keith Swift,
She is saying this is because she supported the Carnival contract going against the position of the BTIA so is saying she is being punished. Was that why she was kicked out?
Lucy Fleming,
"It is not a matter of us kicking her out, it was her own board who came to us and said that they really were not...first of all she didn't let them know what she was doing. They had no idea of what she was up to."
Alexandria Nicholson,
"When I was elected, I was the only board member in support of the cruise ship industry and then again in favor of at least finding solutions to the revise the Carnival contract because we weren't privy to it at the general BTIA meeting. So yes this is the basis of this obviously whatever is going on here. I have no idea."
Keith Swift,
Do you still consider yourself the president of the Belize district BTIA?
Alexandria Nicholson,
"Yes I do and yes I am still the president until they show me in the laws that I am not."
Lucy Fleming,
"We are saying that she is not basically because her board has given us a vote of no confidence and we as you know are an umbrella organization and we have representative from all the various districts. And yeah absolutely she is no longer their representative and that was their vote, not our vote, and we are following their dictate. Basically she no longer represents the Belize district nor does she have any representation with BTIA."
Fleming says elections for a new Belize district board are in the pipeline.