Since yesterday afternoon, there had been rumors about that FECTAB and the tender operators would stage a protest in front of the Fort Street Tourism Village to coincide with the arrival of the Carnival Legend.
Public expectation was high after last week's talk about getting on a boat and waving goodbye to the largest cruise line in the world.
But Let's just say that didn't happen….according to what we heard those tender operators weren't waving goodbye, they were saying "hola" to passengers from the Carnival Legend. The small and medium tenders worked as per normal with Eurocaribe to ferry passengers into the city.
So, the protest fizzled, but it seems that firebrand Tour Guide Yohnnie Rosado never got the memo - and he was in a zone, in the TOURISM zone on his own this morning.
We got the call when one of his busses was accused of attempting to block Fort Street - by the time we got there the bus was moving off, but the battle had just begun. Jules Vasquez has the timeline.
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Tom Greenwood and Yohnnie Rosado stood in front of the village to greet their guests. But we knew smoothing was up when we saw the Belizeans for justice crew in the area.
And then, Yohnnie Rosado got word that his bus drivers were being harassed by police and we went with him and Greenwood to the parking area.
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"I would like to invite the media. If you have something to say, let the public know. I don't know."
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"We don't have any problem as far as I see right. If you have anything to express….."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"One of your officers told me that it was illegal. That we need to move everything or else we will be arrested."
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Listen I am telling you right now that we are not going to arrest anyone."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"Well how come you tell your officers something else? Or is it because the camera is here?"
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"I am not afraid of the camera."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"As a citizen of this country, we stand up and tell Carnival to do the right thing. We love Carnival, we need Carnival, we want Carnival but you don't come to our country and disrespect our PM, your boss."
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Listen to me; I don't know what issues and agenda you have out here."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"This is the agenda boss."
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Nobody is stopping you from your opinion. All I am telling you as the law enforcement entity out here is that once you carry out......"
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"But you are talking to me as though we are breaking the law!"
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Have I told you that you have broken the law? You obviously have certain agendas."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"What agendas?"
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Listen to me."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"If the cameras were not here by now probably I would have been arrested, only because thanks to the media we have a little bit of respect or else."
ACP Elodio Aragon
"Obviously you have an issue."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"Why are there so many officers against this bus?"
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"Nobody is against the bus."
Tom Greenwood, President, FECTAB
"Officer, I am president of the federation. I need to make it clear that this is not an effort by...."
Bus Driver
"They told me that they can't allow my bus to go. Anytime my bus moves there are going to be 2-3 police officers in my bus. If not, I will get lock up. They want me to open the door so that they can rough me up."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"They want to lock you up because they think you will do something illegal?"
Bus Driver
"This is nothing illegal."
Tom Greenwood, President, FECTAB
"We are saying this to Carnival - this is going to start now and its going to step up and keep going but we are going to operate with the police and under the law, that's how we are going to do it. We just don't want any police officer or anybody to step out of line and that's why the senior officers are here to both make sure we do things right and their police officers don't step out of line. Meanwhile we say this to the Belizean people that we are not going to stop until two things happen: Carnival stop stomping on the heads of native Belizeans! And Chukka Cove, from the time you come here in June last year we have crisis upon crisis because this is what you are. This is what you are! You are getting out of Belize, you hear me, you are going to go!"
And that's more or less the message that was on the busses today: "Carnival work with our Belizena tenders or get the hell out."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"Carnival can't come to our city or country and disrespect us like that. If they are coming to extract all the beauties of our rainforest, of our reef, of our caves. Share some with the people so we can keep quiet. It is very simple - if Carnival don't want any more banners like this, share the profit with the Belizean people."
And while some of his busses were used for sign space, we saw at least one of his cavetubing.com busses leave the tourism village full of guests, a contradiction for this man protesting against Carnival.
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"It's not good for a businessman to stand up against a corporation that's feeding you, it's not smart but sometimes you have to play dumb if that what it takes to do the right thing. I shouldn't be fighting Carnival, I shouldn't be protesting against Carnival but if the tenders have a problem then it is our problem also. Whenever someone in the cruise industry have a problem with Chukka of Carnival it is a problem, so we have to learn to stand up before our time comes."
And his time came shortly after as the regulators of the tourism zone showed up. They are Kevin Gonzalez and Nigel Martinez, coordinators of the Tourism Zone from the BTB.
And they laid down the law to Rosado:
Tourism Police Officer
"By right coming into the zone you have to apply to the committee and all of that."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"I am working here long before they come into the tourism business."
Tourism Officer
"We are not disputing that."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"What is the question now? Get to the point. I only feel free in my country when the cameras are rolling that is only then people talk the truth."
Nigel Martinez, Coordinator FGTZ
"You want an audience."
Tourism Officer
"You can't have a sign like that inside this area. This is a controlled area and that kind of demonstration, you can't have on your bus and we have not given any permission for you to display that kind of information on your bus so that information needs to be taken down. First the bus has to move from out of the area. As long as that bus is within this controlled area, that sign need to be taken down from there."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"I will move the bus and the sign. Where does the zone end? Where is the borderline with the zone? If I go by the round-about, Is that good enough?"
Tourism Officer
"That's still in the zone."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"If I go by the BTL Park, is that good enough? You think I am out here because I am crazy? You think I am out here because I want? We have had many gatherings."
Tourism Officer
"Yohnnie, I understand all of that. What I am asking is for you to move the bus for me right now along with your signs, please. You won't be able to block the road there you know."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"What block the road?"
Tourism Officer
"I am just saying. There is a process in demonstration, okay?"
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"Jules if you notice right now this is just like Carnival, these people learn from Carnival; 'Move from here'. We go to BTL Park, but you can't go to BTL Park. It's the same game they are playing with us."
But for now it was game over - as Rosado had to move the busses - under pressure from the area manager. The busses rolled out - their message had been sent loud and clear.
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"My driver was approached about 4 times by different officers to say the same thing. When I asked the media, Jules to be specific, he told me that it was not illegal and only because of the media i was not arrested earlier this morning."
Elodio Aragon, Jr. Assistant Commissioner of Police
"That definitely was not the case. The police came out here, I was here personally and we just came here to see what was happening. To ensure that there was no one impeding the normal course of business because definitely we cannot allow a few people or one person to come and create a situation where the normal course of business cannot continue for other people."
Tourism Officer
"There is policies, there is procedures and one of those policies is that he cannot demonstrate in any form; busses, signs or whatever, he cannot within this control area. People have the right to demonstrate within this entire country of Belize. However where there is a control zone, there are procedures and those procedures need to be adhered to. He could have faced some serious sanctions in reference to his tour guide license and his tour operator license for the mere fact that he violated his code of conduct. Remember as I mentioned there is a code of conduct for this general area and there is a code of conduct that goes with his tour operator license and his tour guide license. Whatever business or activities get done within this area, that activity needs to get approved by our committee - the Fort George Tourism Zone Committee."
Yohnnie Rosado, Treasurer FECTAB
"You understand that this is not Yohnnie standing up, it is FECTAB, it is COLA."
But Rosado was the only one standing there - despite protestations of collective responsibility:
Tom Greenwood, President, FECTAB
"Jules, I want to make sure that we say that this is not an effort by our tour operator here, its an effort by the federation. It is time we stop press conferences and it is time we told the giant that they've got their big feet down on top of all our heads."
According to best information other groups were supposed to participate, but the idea was scrapped at the last minute, and everyone pulled out, except Rosado.
According to our information, the tenders operators are preserving their position as negotiations with Carnival are still underway.
Later on, we'll have a different perspective on the dispute, as we'll speak to some cruise tourists who have a message for Carnival and its future in Belize….
