U.D.P. plans civil disobedience to force elections

With the phones disconnected at B.T.L., a contempt of court ruling hanging over its head in Miami, investigations probing misconduct at S.S.B. and D.F.C., a dangerously low credit rating, and the I.M.F. coming to town, it’s pretty clear that the government of the ruling People’s United Party is learning new definitions for the word “pressure”. But in politics–as in most things–timing is everything, and after several months of riding the coattails of public protest, the opposition United Democratic Party has apparently decided that the time is ripe to make its serious bid for an early return to power. This morning the U.D.P. outlined its plans.

Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, U.D.P.
?As the long nightfall of the P.U.P. departs, it is the U.D.P. that cometh in the morn.?

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
As the country enters its fifth day of global isolation and severely limited local telecommunications, this morning the opposition United Democratic Party held a press conference in Belize City to declare its position on the workers? demand for shares in B.T.L., and its own political intentions in the midst of the national crisis. According to leader Dean Barrow, a new U.D.P. government would not hesitate to help B.T.L. employees acquire a stake in the company.

Dean Barrow
?The United Democratic Party would do two things: it would provide a sovereign guarantee for a loan to be raised by the B.T.L. workers to purchase the thirty-seven percent shares in B.T.L. currently held by government. With respect to offering a sovereign guarantee, my God, the current administration has offered sovereign guarantees to every conceivable crony you can imagine. I am positive that the Belizean people will applaud the offering of a U.D.P. government?s sovereign guarantee for what is clearly an excellent cause in the national interest.?

?We all want the shares to be re-Belizeanized. If he now wishes to offer a sovereign guarantee and to send the financial engineer to stitch up one of his deals with the banks abroad, so that the financing might become available for the union, we would actually applaud that. We know how good they say they are at putting together these complex financial transactions. Well for once, let them put together such a complex financial transaction that will result in the financing becoming available to the B.T.L. employees for the purchase of those shares.?

And as employees take to the streets, Barrow says he and his party will join the ranks.

Dean Barrow
?The United Democratic Party calls for and will urgently seek a formal alliance with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the Association of Concerned Belizeans, and all other interest groups that are determined to realize the objective.?

?In any case, the U.D.P. will, for its part, begin now a sustained campaign of civil disobedience. I have chosen that word deliberately in contrast to any other that might conjure up the spectre of violence. We are convinced that the objective can be achieved without any resort to violence.?

But with tensions already running high and memories of the violent clash on January twenty-first still haunting Belmopan, the U.D.P. admits that in order to peacefully execute ?civil disobedience?, the Police Department?s role is crucial.

Dean Barrow
?We are not going to encourage violence and we?re going to do everything in our power to discourage violence. There are times of course when a peaceful gathering turns ugly and I?m not going to seek to lay any blame on the security forces, but as we go forward there must be a mutual determination. Not only on the part of the United Democratic Party and others who will engage in public protest, but on the part of the security forces as well to prevent situations from becoming too confrontational.?

Audience Member
?Jeffreys.?

Dean Barrow
?I?m not going to call any names, but we have seen on television the–and again I want to chose my words carefully and be as kind and perhaps as euphemistic as possible, the provocative behaviour of certain extremely senior officials of the security forces. That needs to stop. The government is required, I think, to put senior officers in charge of the security situation on the streets who possess a level of maturity, experience, and wisdom in dealing with the process that is ongoing and that is clearly not going to stop.?

And even though the United Democratic Party has persistently called on the Prime Minister to resign, tonight Barrow is hinting that more utility strikes are imminent, which will cause the business community to turn against the Musa administration.

Dean Barrow
?Things are not only not going to return to normal any time soon, but that in fact there are going to escalate. And I?m not talking necessarily about the confrontation of people in the streets with the security forces. I?m talking about the sorts of things that would be akin to what is happening with the disruption in telecommunications services. Without wishing to speculate too much, without wanting to place the other utility unions in any compromising position, I believe the wise bet would be on similar actions, such as we have seen in telecommunications, occurring. That sort of thing even more than any sort of street action is what will force this government to resign. I was talking to one of the B.T.L. personalities last night and he made a point to me. The P.U.P. is particularly afraid of losing the support of the moneyed people in this society–the business classes, the entrepreneurs. And when they provoke a situation in which those people?s monies and business interests, the economic, the overarching economic interests of this country are being jeopardized, there will be a reaction from that section of the society which will also tell the Prime Minister, you need to go. If I could bruk it down inna Creole, Prime Minista weh di happen interfere with we cheese, you need to go. So I am convinced that the leverage that will be applied will be not just the protest actions in the streets, as I say, but what is going to be happening with our essential services.?

With the U.D.P. smelling blood in the water, already the party is rallying its supporters, calling its candidates to arms and fine-tuning what it is calling its ?economic rescue? programme…all in anticipation of the early general elections the United Democratic Party now seems to be expecting.