Elrington Says Demanding for His Removal is Futile
The Foreign Minister also spoke on the I.C.J. referendum. This comes on the heels of a People’s Declaration released on Wednesday by the People’s United Party. The P.U.P. announced its NO position with regards to taking Guatemala’s claim over Belize to the International Court of Justice for final resolution. The announcement was made by Leader John Briceño, after holding consultations in the thirty-one constituencies. The declaration contains the reasons for the party’s ‘no’ stance and makes demands on the government. One of the four demands is the immediate removal of Pickstock Area Representative as Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is not the first time that the P.U.P. has demanded that Elrington is removed. Elrington spoke passionately in defense of his performance as foreign minister. He also said that aside from the P.U.P., persons close to the Prime Minister and within the U.D.P. have called for his removal. In his view, repeating the same demand is futile.
Wilfred Elrington
Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“And with respect to the suggestion that I be removed as Foreign Minister I want to say in all earnestness to the leadership of the People’s United Party that they must study more Einstein and specially his very cryptic aphorisms. You don’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. They have been calling for my resignation from since 2008. I know for a fact, that people very close to the Prime Minister, people who are in the UDP camp, very close to him have been calling for my removal since 2008 and I have not been removed. And now it is kind of too late for that.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Ten years after.”
Wilfred Elrington
“Eleven.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Eleven years after.”
Wilfred Elrington
“And it seems as if the People’s United Party leadership has learned nothing about it. You are calling for my removal since 2008 and I have been re-elected twice after that. Clearly you are barking up the wrong tree.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Is it a futile demand, you would say?”
Wilfred Elrington
“It is a futile demand. It shows to my mind that there is really the absence of imagination, scarcity of originality, there is a barrenness in the party. The party needs good thinkers, that is devoid of strategy, good thinking. It is so obvious. Pickstock use to be a P.U.P. stronghold. I am the first candidate from the U.D.P. that won and I have won it thrice, consecutively and I will win it again. The truth is the only time I won’t win Pickstock is when I decide not to run. And because it seems to me that they are so insistent of seeing the last of me, I am resolved to stay there very long now. And I might just get more ambition and perhaps as ambitious as Cordel. So you have to tell them that they have to be careful with what they wish for. And over the last years they have told every lie on me that they could tell; every lie. Because nothing they said about me was true; nothing. It was all propaganda, lies and they still don’t learn. And they won’t find anything negative to talk about me. I don’t steal from the poor people. I don’t betray my country in the interest of any powerful capitalist. I don’t badmouth my country. I don’t take advantage of my constituents; man, woman or boy. All I do is spend all my time all my time trying to enhance the status of my constituents and my county and the like manner, on the international scene all I do is try to enhance the status of Belize with tremendous success.”
