MIAMI, Nov. 6. - The newly-elected Prime Minister of Belize, Saud Musa, became the 19th head of government in the Americas to sign the Declaration of Chapultepec when he put his signature to the document in a special ceremony Thursday in Belmopan, capital of the Central American nation. The Declaration was drafted at a hemisphere conference on free speech in Mexico City in 1994 sponsored by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). It sets out 10 principles for ensuring freedom of the press. Musa, who played a leading part in helping his country gain independence from Britain in 1981, said during the ceremony that his government stood behind the principles and pledged it would continue to foster a free press in Belize. Musa was a key figure in drafting Belize’s Constitution, which contains guarantees for free speech and other fundamental human rights. He is his nation’s third prime minister since independence. IAPA President Oliver Clarke, chairman of The Daily Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica, presented Musa with a plaque commemorating his endorsement of the Declaration and commitment to free speech and press freedom. “We hope that Mr. Musa’s example will continue to spread throughout the nations that have not signed the Declaration, especially in the English-speaking Caribbean – bringing hope and strength to our struggle in protecting the freedom of journalists to report the truth and the rights of all citizens to freely express themselves,” Clarke said. Clarke and Sean Casey, administrator of IAPA’s Chapultepec Project, met with representatives of local news media during their visit to stress the importance of the Declaration of Chapultepec to democracy in the Americas today. This included guest appearances on the weekly local talk show, “One-on-One.”
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