Belize town gives thumbs down to Royal visit

AFP- Belize – Prince William and his wife, Catherine, have canceled a planned visit this weekend to a cocoa farm in Belize, the first leg of their Caribbean tour, due to “sensitive issues” involving the local population, their office said on Saturday.

The couple had to visit the plantation, located in the town of Indian Creek, on Sunday, but the event was finally canceled.

“We can confirm that due to sensitive issues involving the Indian Creek community, the visit has been moved to another location,” a Kensington Palace spokeswoman said, adding that more details would be forthcoming.

According to the Daily Mail, residents of the town of Indian Creek expressed their opposition to the royal couple’s visit on Friday.

Indian Creek has a dispute over a property with Flora and Fauna International, an organization sponsored by William Residents also criticized the couple’s helicopter landing on a town soccer field, according to the newspaper.

“We don’t want them to land on our land, that’s the message we want to send. They can land wherever they want, but not on our land,” said Sebastian Shol, president of the town, quoted by the Daily Mail.

In addition to Belize, Prince William, second in line to the British throne, and Catherine will travel to Jamaica and the Bahamas, during the one-week official tour that began Saturday and is organized on the occasion of  Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee.