Opposition Leader Meets P.C.C. Chairman Tony Chanona
On Tuesday, the chairman of the People’s Constitution Commission met with Party Leader Shyne Barrow and U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte to provide a comprehensive update on the work of the task force. The meeting was also an opportunity for Barrow and Peyrefitte to discuss issues involving the judiciary, the role of the opposition, as well as freedom of the press, among other topics. Barrow spoke with reporters from his office in Belize City earlier today.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“Overall, the view of the opposition is that this undertaking, this hallowed undertaking should be guided by two main principles, that is to strengthen the protection of the rights that Belizeans have enshrined in the constitution and to expand rights of Belizeans, such as freedom of the press, such as equal opportunity to prevent against things relating to gender-based discrimination, ethnic discrimination. Really, the constitution is the guard, the shield of our society, so we should be looking at ways, again, to strengthen the rights that are already enshrined in our constitution and to expand to give more rights to have a more free, a more democratic and a completely sovereign nation. I did insist to Chairman Chanona that this would be in the public interest because there should be no confidentiality in this engagement. This is our national constitution and any amendment, as I said, should be guided by those principles of protection of rights and expansion of rights and so we need to do this in the open. Such an undertaking, I pray and I plead with the Belizean public to stay engaged, to make it their priority to know what is happening with this process every step of the way because you don’t want in the genesis certain decisions will be made that will guide the rest of the process and so by the time we get to public consultations or public education, there is already a slant, there is already a direction that, you know, certain elements may want to go.”
