Last Friday, we told you how 11 independent media houses voted for Plus TV's Louise Wade Jr to represent the press as part of the People's Constitution Commission.
This Commission is supposed to update and reform the country's Constitution to make it more relevant to the 21ST century realities of the current Belizean society.
After hearing this station raise the concern that the press is not represented as a stakeholder on this Commission, the Briceno Government invited the independent media to sit on the Commission that should deliberate for about a year and come up with a final report on proposed changes for Cabinet to consider.
After an election last Thursday and Friday, Wade was chosen by 6 of the 11 media houses that participated, and Caleb Orozco, a local gay rights activist, immediately flamed that nomination. That's because Wade is also a staunch advocate on behalf of the moral stances of the church.
Today, a joint press release was sent out by Orozco's organization, United Belize Advocacy Movement (UniBAM), and its allies, Belize Trans Colors and Empower Yourself Belize.
In their statement, the gay rights activist groups expressed, quote, "...deep concern about the announcement of Louis Wade, nomination as media representative to the Constitutional Commission. Louis Wade's nomination by the majority of eleven media organizations demonstrates the media complicity by omission, inaction, and indifference in supporting the anti-rights history of Louis Wade, who has shaped or influenced the tone of misogyny and homophobia for the last decade." End quote.
That's some harsh criticism of Wade and, by extension, the media. So today, we spoke with Orozco on that topic. Here's how he justified the views expressed in their press release:
Caleb Orozco, Executive Director, UNIBAM
"If Louis Wade with a singular agenda in serving the media there would be no issue. If Louis Wade had a history of demanding fairness for all our citizens there would be no issue. If Louis Wade had a history that serves the common good of all our citizens there would be no issue. Louis Wade, however over a 10-year period has a track record of generating hostility against the sexual reproductive rights of women, has generated an environment of hostility that has affected LGBT populations. Have generated an environment of hostility with regards with progressive rights protection for all our people. Louis Wade's 10 years record does not reflect his current position that the constitution belongs to all of us and that ot should be possible for everybody to be protected."
"It is in the context of the Belize coalition of churches his use of PlusTV as bullying pulpit to generate hostility that we expressed our deep concerns. Louis Wade have always have a concern about free speech and ensuring that media has access to information, so that's a good thing. The other good thing is Louis Wade have demonstrated passionately that when he believes in an issue he speaks out. So that's a good thing. It's going to be a dynamic process in term of engagement and representation, but the process has no guarantee and no certainty that Louis Wade will operate in a genuine way that is grounded wholeheartedly in the integrity and concerns of his audience. Time will tell whether his anti-right views creep in to his recommendations, the media who voted him in has a responsibility to ensure that he does no deviate from the recommendation that is provided and that they have a responsibility to ensure that they are monitoring, not only the dynamics of the constitutional commission, but the action of their representation as well."
And while these gay rights organizations make a logical leap to say that the media, through its support of Wade, are complicit in misogyny and homophobia, Channel 7's News Director, Jules Vasquez, does agree that Wade wasn't the appropriate pick. Here's how explained why this morning, SunUp:
Jules Vasquez
"First of all, Louis Wade has my love, respect, and my sympathy as a fellow media co-owner because we are brothers in affliction. So I have maximum respect for Louis Wade, both as a media personality and as an advocate for various causes. The most public causes he's come out on are the LGBT issue and the marijuana issue. We do not agree personally on those issues, but I completely respect his total clarity and commitment and the moral certitude with which he approaches those subjects. I don't agree with it, but that's another matter. This is not personal about Louis Wade, but this is a disaster for the media. I am the one on this segment who raise the alarm saying that the media has to have representation. They gave us representation and in my respectful opinion we messed up. How did we mess up? because we, the media, have made someone who is a spokesperson for the church on the marijuana issue, who is an extremely devoted anti-LGBT personality advocate, lobbyist. We have put him in charge of media affairs. Now, I am sure he will faithfully represent the media. However, this is not a true reflection of the media's personality. Louis Wade first calling is to the church. God bless him. We in the media have created an additional seat for the church."
Keeping it on the topic of the People's Constitution Commission, the Belize Peace Movement says that no reform process should take place until the entire population of Belize is fully educated on the topic.
Today, the Peace Movement sent out a press release of their own saying quote, "The BPM...calls for an immediate transformation of THE PEOPLE'S CONSTITUTION COMMISSION BILL, 2022, to an immediate launch of a two-year educational campaign."
