Barrow says “two report” solution is fine
As previously noted, Belize’s media houses reacted to the Lord report and subsequent injunction in ways that were not always predictable. For Kremandala it was a case of ignoring the report’s contents but lash the Prime Minister for accepting and releasing it. The U.D.P.’s Wave Radio was only too happy to use the report’s particulars to bring heat on the P.U.P. appointees who made a grab tub of the D.F.C. Perhaps most inexplicably, instead of staunchly defending the government and its release of the Lord report, Positive Vibes morning host Glenn Tillett chose to endorse the C.J.’s ruling and protect what he believes to be the rights of former D.F.C. Chairman Glenn Godfrey … which has Tillett’s bosses wondering exactly whose payroll he’s on. And while the P.U.P. Secretariat declined to provide an official elaboration, U.D.P. Leader Dean Barrow did not hesitate to put forth his own views on the matter, which combine his unique expertise as a lawyer and politician.
Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“My understanding of the law—and precedent—is that it is perfectly acceptable for each commissioner to submit an individual report. I believe that Lord ought not have submitted his report first in point of time without there being a proper explanation, without it being made clear that in fact his report is not the report of the Commission it is the individual report of one Commissioner a second report is to follow that it is clear to Lord that there is not a basis on which the two Commissioners can agree. With that kind of an explanation it seems to me that nothing has gone fundamentally wrong, legally. Politically, and in terms of the perception of the public, the way Lord has moved perhaps aided and abetted by government has served to muddy the waters and to confuse people and that’s very unfortunate. But I believe that legally, no great damage has been done. All this talk about the Commission is therefore now dissolved is absolute nonsense. The fact that Lord has gone ahead and issued his individual report cannot mean that Bailey-Martinez’s report is therefore foreclosed and I think that seen in that context hopefully people will understand that they can make what they will of Lord’s report, but Bailey-Martinez’s report is still to come and I think for most people that is the report that is now eagerly awaited and that is the report that, just in terms of perception and judgment, will be seen as the defining report.”
Stewart Krohn
“Have you read Lord’s report?”
Dean Barrow
“No I haven’t. I’ve been in the districts and I haven’t had a chance, but from what I hear there is enough there out of which people can make a meal politically. There is a perception that that report would have been meant to serve the government’s cause. My understanding of what it says convinces me that it doesn’t do that, at least not in terms of letting the government off the hook. If the report indicts Glenn Godfrey, Troy Gabb, Abou-Nahra, all known insiders of the ruling party, all appointees deliberately appointed by the government, I don’t see how that lets the government off the hook. So for me I want to make a meal out of Lord’s report knowing that in fact—at least believing that in fact the table will be even more lavishly spread when Bailey-Martinez’s report comes out, but I am not going to throw Lord’s report out the window at all.”
Stewart Krohn
“Do you think the Chief Justice’s ruling, which albeit is a temporary injunction that he’s granted, do you think, as one of the country’s top lawyers, do you think it will hold up?”
Dean Barrow
“Well, that is only as I understand it, an ex parte injunction. I cannot imagine that the government will want to move to have that injunction set aside, so I don’t think it will hold up. But basically there is also a problem of interpretation. While the Chief Justice talks about the need for Commissioners, deliberating using the plural quoting from the Act, he talks about the need for Commissioners to submit a report, I don’t know that he’s saying as the N.T.U.C.B. seems to be saying that there therefore must be only one report jointly authored by the two Commissioners. I don’t get that from his ruling and I don’t think it would be fair to come up with that sort of an interpretation. I think all he is saying is while in the circumstances, basically one ought to wait until the two individual reports have been prepared and given to the Prime Minister and they ought to be released at the same time. I do not think that he is saying there can only be one report that’s jointly signed by the two Commissioners. If that’s what he’s saying, respectfully I disagree with that.”
At newstime tonight the text of the Lord report had been removed from the Belize government website.
