Leader of Opposition: “It is time to send a strong message”
John Briceño
Lev Dermen received Belizean nationality in 2013 under his past name, Levon Termendzhyan. It is not certain if he obtained a passport since none was found prior, but a Special Audit verifies he received a nationality certificate. During his press conference, PM Barrow tied the questionable nationality certificate to the Elvin Penner immigration scandal. But Opposition Leader John Briceño says that Penner is the past and that the PM needs to deal with ministers who were in bed with the alleged Armenian criminal.
John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition
“The Prime Minister’s usual spiel of legal guilt as opposed to factual guilt used in the Elvin Penner immigration scandal will not be tolerated. Yesterday the prime minister did not say that he did not say about this. What he said and I am quoting him, here “the documents call no names and appeared to be a preliminary description of evidence to be led when a trial starts”. I believe that he is aware of who these ministers are therefore he must act now. Too much corruption has been allowed under this U.D.P. administration. We cannot allow it to continue under this or any administration to come. It is time to send a strong message. It is time to do away once and for all with politics as usual. Corruption affects all of us, every single one of us and it must come to a stop now. Remember how he stood up for Penner and talk about legal guilt and factual guilt. Well he know what was happening with his government. But he was not able to go after Penner because it seems that other ministers were also implicated. Their names came out in the senate investigation. Probably he was afraid. But who knows, maybe he will try to throw Penner under the bus but if he was to do that it is a little too late for him to be able to even consider going after Penner. Penner is the past. Yes Penner should be criminally prosecuted but he needs to deal with his ministers seen supposedly friends, cronies, partners with this Armenian Criminal.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Sir what do you make of the fact that Lev Dermen’s past name appears in the Auditor General’s Special report that he got Belizean nationality and his nationality file could not be located by the Auditor’s general team’s?”
John Briceño
“Well that leads to the very thing that we are talking about. It is because of the pressure that we put. Remember I was the one who broke out about the two thousand plus people that got their nationality just before the 2012 election. Dermen is one of the names that were there that was brought in with the other people.”
