Politics - Channel 5 Belize

Opposition Leader says PM Briceño Raised the White Flag

Reporters spoke with the Leader of the Opposition, following his State of the Nation address. He was asked to comment on the agreement he reached with the prime minister to deliver their State of the Nation Address ahead of the Independence Day ceremony. Barrow says that Briceño was the chief political mudslinger while in opposition and now that he is in government he cannot handle the heat.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“I believe that the state of the nation speech is important. Thee prime minister had reached out and we discussed the matter and we agreed that we would forgo the normal Independence Day attacks, which again, the prime minister is such a dishonest person. It’s hard to be cordial with him and find common ground with him because he lies profusely. Everyone knows that John Briceno as a leader of the opposition was one of the worst terrorists of Independence Day. He would go, it would be the Independence Day massacre when he would go and attack Dean Barrow. It was terrible and you the media those of you like Marisol, you have been there. You’re a senior. You remember that You He never gave any statesman speech or any patriotic speech. So, to pretend as if my speeches were anything different, what he can’t do, he can’t win that battle. So, he has put up the white flag and say, you know what? I can’t take it please. However, I do concede that there is a time and place for everything and it is long overdue that certain days be de-politicized, the 10th and 21st, two of our most important days in the calendar should certainly qualify for that. So, I had no difficulty restraining my remarks in the Independence Day speech to patriotism and celebrating the 21st, our independence, and to just give the state of the nation today.”

Was PM’s Address “Safe, Superficial and Lacking Depth?”

Barrow was also asked for his thoughts on Prime Minister John Briceño’s twenty-minute State of the Nation address. He described it as safe, superficial and lacking depth. Here is what he told reporters.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“I think his speech was quintessential John Briceno, thirty years status quo, safe, light, you know, superficial, nothing in depth, nothing groundbreaking. Again, when you talk about the tax, raising the threshold, what he needs to talk about is tax compliance. What he needs to talk about is collecting taxes from all of those people that are evading taxes, talking about million-dollar corporations. What they need to do is talk about the tax disparity, where, as I said, working class Belizeans are paying twenty-five percent tax, while certain special Belizeans are paying, six percent tax. and three percent. And you have these corporations that are price gouging, that are exploiting Belizean people, evading taxes. That is what we need to look at.”

Reporter

“So, I also have to point out the difference between the atmosphere here versus this prime minister’s speech. You know, he brought out the entire show. He had his CEOs, his ministers, Children from my school, I guess, develop on. Whereas you seem to be out a one-man band today. Yellow man is in the audience. There’s like three people in the audience. You know, we had Mr. Jones and we had Shane. We have people who work here as well as people who are always here. It’s a, it’s a huge disparity, a huge difference.”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“Well, it is typical. This is the opposition. He used the government’s tax paying dollars to put on this show. And it is normal for any response of the state of the nation that the opposition gives to be based on substance, not hype. So, I was not interested in putting on a facade and pomp and circumstance.”

As Government, Would U.D.P. Severe Ties with Taiwan?

On Friday, the Leader of the Opposition abstained from voting on a motion to celebrate thirty-five years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Patrick Faber and Tracy Panton both supported the motion, though Shyne Barrow asserts that they do not speak for the U.D.P. Hugo Patt also supported the motion. Today, Barrow was asked if he will switch the country’s allegiance to China if he becomes prime minister.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel as U.D.P. leader established diplomatic ties with China. That is the truth in 1984. So let us be factual. So, every U.D.P. leader has not supported Taiwan. Sir Manuel Esquivel in 1984 established relations with China. That is the history of U.D.P. Tell the truth. Tell the factual history of it. Don’t see that every leader in the U.D.P. has supported Taiwan. There is a history in the U.D.P., where the U.D.P. supported China.”

Reporter

“Will you follow his lead?”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“My position as it relates to Taiwan was on a specific basis.”

Reporter

“What about Hugo Patt, do you hold the view that your member, your U.D.P. member should have also abstained?”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“We discussed it before the fact, and I told him he was free to abstain and he knows the history and why I have taken the position and many in the party take the position I take and it is something we need to sit down and discuss and I will be guided by whatever decision the party makes. I will not make the decision unilaterally. This is a form of protest, expressing the dissatisfaction with the facts. I have great difficulty with the behavior of Taiwan. China is the world’s second largest economy. America, the UK, France, all of the G7 has relations with China. There are only ten nations out of all of the UN that have relations with Taiwan.”

U.D.P. Leader Says Faber, Panton, Saldivar, Williams Expelled

And, if there were any doubts about the status of Patrick Faber, John Saldivar, Tracy Panton and Beverly Williams in the United Democratic Party, today the party leader confirmed that they have been expelled. It is a much more rigid position than what the party initially took when they declared the four “constructively resigned”. Barrow says, Faber is facing karma.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“One of the things that I just take whatever affliction of pain the media decides to give to me, but let us deal with the facts. Patrick Faber created constructive resignation. He created it. It is not in the national constitution, granted, and the speaker made her decision. But in the U.D.P., he removed a sitting member from the party and all that is happening now is karma. He can’t undo the precedent he set as party chairman. Our party chairman has been in the party just as long as him, has sacrificed just as long as him, served as senator, served as speaker, served as minister. That is the problem. In a democracy we are all equal. The people is equal to the prime minister.”

No General Elections Until 2025

The prime minister is yet to announce a date for the upcoming general elections. There were speculations that he would make the announcement today. That did not happen. So, we asked him about it after the ceremony. Here is what he told us.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“As I have said repeatedly, we were elected for five years. I try to go as close as possible to the five years. But, there would be no elections in 2024. That election will be called in 2025, where I believe that after consultation with different people when we believe would be the opportune time to have it. It is not only about winning the election, but we believe that we have accomplished a lot, not everything, far from accomplishing what we have promised. I mentioned Plan Belize is not a five-year manifesto. It is a transformative document, a living document that we continue to tweak overtime. So that will be there for ten, fifteen, twenty years. So, we want to believe that we have accomplished enough so that we can go to the Belizean people and say listen this is what we have done, judge us on our accomplishments and we have every confidence that the Belizean people will hear from us again.”

Shyne Barrow, “No national convention on October twentieth.”

A national convention has been called for October twentieth and, according to Shyne Barrow, the gathering of U.D.P. delegates from across the country isn’t sanctioned by the United Democratic Party. The special unity convention was announced by the Alliance for Democracy earlier this month, amid a widening chasm within the U.D.P. Since then, Albert Area Representative Tracy Panton has been touting the upcoming event as an opportunity for the voices of avid supporters to be heard. On Sunday, the chairman of the U.D.P. sent out a public notice to all delegates, echoing the executive’s decision that members of the Alliance, including Patrick Faber, Tracy Panton and John Saldivar, have been kicked out of the party. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte also reminded that, “any decisions derived from this event are without substance and with no legal bearing on the U.D.P. and will therefore not be recognized by the U.D.P.”

Shyne Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.

“There is no national convention on October twentieth. It’s similar to me coming to the House and telling the Speaker you have to vacate those seats and I don’t agree with your decision. And I implore the media to be responsible, John Saldivar is not a member of the UDP. Patrick Faber is not a member of the UDP. Tracy Panton is not a member of the UDP. So whatever activity or convention that they will be having is not a UDP convention, we have an elected party chairman. We have an elected leadership executive. So what if I get up now on the adjournment and say November sixth, we’re gonna have general elections and I invite everybody to come out, are you going to say well if everybody comes out and votes for the UDP then you will be the prime minister, Shyne? It doesn’t work like that. It is in the UDP constitution that their behavior is illegal and their behavior warrants expulsion, and it is in the UDP precedent from the former party chairman, Mr. Patrick Faber, under the leadership of Dean Barrow, that the NPC, according to him, CEC, everyone voted that due to the behavior of that member he was constructively resigned. So according to our party, there is precedent, according to the violations of the constitution and the NPC, they are no longer members of the party. That was not a Shyne Barrow decision, that was not a Mike Peyrefitte decision. We voted on that as a party and we move forward.”

LOO Says All Attempts at Mediation with Breakaway Faction Failed

Following Friday’s house meeting, Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow told reporters what other members of the U.D.P. executive had been saying previously, that all efforts were made to resolve the issue through mediation.

Shyne Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.

“It was our hope that we could mediate, as you’ve heard many of our executives, not me, this is the first time you’re talking to me in a few weeks and you’ve heard several members of the executive of the United Democratic Party tell you the truth, not the propaganda that they were spreading and explain to you that I have done, we have done everything to try to accommodate some type of mediation. So we had anticipated that by the constructive resignation which was the precedent in 2011, that that would jolt them into coming to their senses and we could return and focus on the People’s United Party. It really is a shame and an attack on our democracy when every time we speak, we need to speak about two members who can’t have their way and are causing this distraction and disruption until they get their way.”

New Member of Parliament Sworn In

For the first time since the construction of the National Assembly Building, the parliamentary proceedings are being held at another location so that the building can be renovated. The George Price Centre for Peace and Development will for the next twelve months, be the venue where all House Meetings will be held. The first order of business at the new location today was the swearing in of the House of Representative’s newest member, Doctor Osmond Martinez, who replaces the late Mike Espat in Toledo East. Martinez took the Oath of Office, after which Prime Minister John Briceño welcomed him officially as an elected representative to the House.

Osmond Martinez, Area Representative, Toledo East

“I, Osmond Martinez, do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Belize, and will uphold the Constitution and the law, and that I will conscientiously, impartially, and to the best of my ability, discharge my duties as a member of the House of Representatives, and do right to all manner of people, without fear or favor, affection or ill will, so help me God.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Dr. Martinez, or the honorable Member from Toledo East, comes from very, very humble beginnings, living in a banana farm, and his parents were, um, originally from another country. And here we have this gentleman who, as a child, did not have electricity, and he lived in a very, very humble family, at a very humble beginnings, but because of his determination and working in school and because there were so good teachers that mentored him, he managed to get to the point where he earned a doctorate, and that today the people of Toledo East decided to elect him to represent him, so I want to congratulate, Oswald, my brother. Congratulations to you, your mom must be very proud. So is your dad, who’s not here, but your entire family and friends. So on behalf of all of us here on this side, and I’m sure on the other side, congratulations and welcome.”

Government and LOO Disagree on Celebrating Ties with Taiwan

Taiwan has been Belize’s diplomatic ally since October eleventh, 1989, and Belize has benefited from Taiwan’s friendship under both U.D.P. and P.U.P. administrations. Today, Prime Minister John Briceño presented a motion to celebrate our two countries’ thirty-fifth anniversary of those ties, a motion that got overwhelming support from the government representatives and from the Collet and Albert area representatives, Patrick Faber and Tracy Taegar-Panton. Representatives referred to Taiwan’s significant support for women empowerment projects to improve the lives of Belizean women. With Taiwan’s Ambassador, Lily Li-Wen Hsu in attendance as a guest at the House Meeting today, the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow did not support the motion. We share tidbits on Taegar-Panton and Faber’s support of the motion, followed by PM Briceño expressing his disappointment that the Leader of the Opposition did not endorse the motion. During that portion of the presentation, Barrow blurted out that Taiwan had supported the PM’s sister’s non-government organization with funding in the past.

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“On behalf of the Opposition, we express our full support -there’s one Opposition. It’s an Opposition to the government. His Majesty’s loyal opposition. On behalf of the Opposition, we express our full support for this motion to commemorate and celebrate 35 years of diplomatic ties between Belize and the Republic of China, Taiwan. This longstanding partnership has been built on mutual respect, shared values and a commitment to democracy, freedom and human rights.”

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert

“I stand in this honorable house, Madam Speaker – can we have respect for the motion Member for Pickstock, thank you – to affirm and support this motion that seeks to solidify the relationship, the friendship, the partnership between Belize and Taiwan. We thank the government and people of the Republic of China Taiwan for their solidarity, for their support for Belize’s sovereignty, as it relates to the territorial claim of Guatemala on portions of our country. We thank them for supporting our shared values.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We have two of the members getting up and to support this motion, but it troubles me, Madam Speaker, that the official leader of the opposition for now, I don’t know for how long, refuses to get up and to say that they support this motion. I find this incredible. After all that Taiwan has done for this country, this gentleman over there is going to sit down quietly and refuses to get up and say that they support the good people and government of Taiwan. It is troubling to this country, Madam Speaker, because it seems that he wants to sell out. It seems that that is what he wants, you want to sell us out now to the other side, why you don’t want to get up and talk? Come on. It’s a shame, man.

[Barrow interrupting]

“See, there you go, see?”

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“No member, there’s no point of order. Member.”

Valerie Woods

“Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition.

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

[Interruption]

“Madam Speaker, the point is that we have two honorable members of the opposition that had the decency and the honor to get up and support this motion.”

Collet Area Rep Says He Will Never Resign from the U.D.P.

With all the internal wranglings in the U.D.P. over the past few months, the Opposition has whittled to the point where the seating arrangement in the House of Representatives has also been changed. Today the media noted with interest that the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow has instructed that the Collet and Albert Area Representatives, Patrick Faber and Tracy Taegar-Panton, sit furthest away from him. Interestingly, the representative from Queen Square, Denise “Sista B” Barrow, who has missed all but one sitting, has been moved to sit closer to the leader. Today, however, Faber got up to say he doesn’t care where along the line they put him to sit, but he will never resign from the UDP.

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“I feel compelled to stand this evening to make it unequivocally clear that my colleague from Albert and I have not resigned from the United Democratic Party, nor do we accept, Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of our party’s opposition, that we have resigned from the United Democratic Party. I say, Madam Speaker, that we are not aggrieved enough. Even though, I will tell you, that it..”

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“Just for clarity of the record, what is the matter of, public importance? We normally ask that that be stated.”

Patrick Faber

“The matter of public importance, Madam Speaker, is that the Leader of the Opposition, even though it was not his official presentation, just now when he stood on the adjournment, I would have left it alone, had he not been allowed to say things. And I don’t accuse you, Madam Speaker, you probably did not even know that what matter he would have spoken. In fact, he just snuck it in there. He was actually speaking on the hospital land deal. But the Belizean people must know, and if that is going to reflect on the record, then we must put on the record that we absolutely have not resigned, and that we reject, and we reject the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the UDP’s position that we have constructively resigned. Just let me, let me, let me illustrate to you, Madam Speaker, because we do have a Member from Mesopotamia.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“Please, on a point of order, Madam Speaker, you asked what is the issue of national importance. I still have not heard in that response.”

Patrick Faber

“It is a matter of national importanceIt is a matter of national importance, Madam Speaker, when the leader of a political party attempts to have duly elected representatives of his own party be removed, if that is not an emergency for the nation and I don’t know what is.”