Details may be shaky but PUP says Marconi?s story proves bribery by Fernandez and Esquivel
It’s day two in the latest war of nerves and words between our two main political parties. And as usual the controversy boils down to how you want to look at it. The U.D.P. says that Marconi Matus is a liar. His specific statements about meetings with Manuel Esquivel have been proven false and thus his entire story falls in a heap of incredibility. The P.U.P., however, says the important thing is not any one detail, like the date of a meeting, but the entire weight of his accusations which point to an attempt at bribery. News Five’s Stewart Krohn today asked P.U.P. Secretary General Godfrey Smith if Marconi Matus was telling the truth.
Godfrey Smith, Secretary General, PUP
“I think Stewart we have to look at the evidence that we have before us. I do not think that we should get side tracked as to timing and who was where at a particular hour. I think we need to look very carefully at what the evidence has been. We have a tape here which I have played for you which you’re taking back to your studios to listen to very carefully. We also have a transcript of that tape. On that tape we are, it is clear and we back it one hundred percent. We have on that tape Salvador Fernandez making an offer of money and land to Marconi Matus, for him to join the U.D.P. Also and most importantly on that tape, is Salvador Fernandez saying that Esquivel knows about this offer to him, Matus. So that being the case then our position is that that constitutes a criminal offense: corrupting a public official. We have it out of the mouth, not from us, out of the Minister Fernandez himself, saying that the Prime Minister knows about it.”
The tape itself is of terrible quality but a very close listen does seem to confirm that someone who sounds like Salvador Fernandez is in deed involved in some kind of negotiation with Marconi Matus. And whatever it is they’re talking about he says that Esquivel knows what’s going on. For Smith this is proof enough.
Godfrey Smith
“You’ve heard the Prime Minister on Channel Seven saying that “yes” Salvador Fernandez did approach him saying that Matus wanted to see him and that Matus was making all these demands. I think he used the words a “bazaar” it was. If that is the case, why did he admit on television that he agreed to meet with Matus on Tuesday morning at ten forty five. To me that is ridiculous. If a man is coming to you, coming to you to make unreasonable demands, certainly you would say well I don’t want to meet with him. Perhaps his intention was to bargain down Matus for something. But what is clear is that Salvador Fernandez implicates his Prime Minister, Manuel Esquivel, in this offer of money and land to Marconi Matus.”
But what of the credibility of Marconi Matus? Why should we believe him when an independent verification of the Prime Minister’s whereabouts proves conclusively that Mr. Esquivel was in Belmopan at eight on Sunday night, not at home as Matus contends. So I asked Godfrey Smith: Did Marconi Matus speak to the P.M. on Sunday night?
Godfrey Smith
“He has said that. We have tried to get the printout of telephone calls from his telephone from B.T.L. in San Ignacio. Three attempts were made. The first attempt we were denied completely any access to any printout of telephone calls made from Marconi Matus’ telephone. The second attempt, we were given a printout which contains no telephone calls made from Marconi Matus’ house. We went back again and the third time there was one telephone call made to Belmopan, one call in his entire bill.”
Q: “Marconi Matus is obviously staking his reputation on the total veracity of his statement. It was obviously read very carefully by yourself and other high ranking members of the People’s United Party. O.K. He is staking his reputation. Will you, Godfrey Smith, stake your reputation and the reputation of your party on the veracity of this statement?”
Godfrey Smith
“I have been advising Marconi Matus on this matter. I stood at the press conference as his legal advisor. I maintain and will continue to be his legal advisor on this matter.”
Q: “Let me ask you again, would you stake your reputation on the accuracy of his statement?”
Godfrey Smith
“I stake my reputation and the reputation of the People’s United Party on what I have heard on this machine here today which I have played for you and which I hope that you will take to the studio and listen to it carefully. That is what I am staking my reputation on.”
Q: “You will admit then that these exact statements about any particular meeting at any particular time may not be in fact accurate?”
Godfrey Smith
“I am not saying that; all we’re saying is that everything that Matus says in his statement is not on this tape. We are staking, we are stating very carefully and very forcefully that we are convinced that the issue in all of this is whether or not a criminal offense has been committed, namely bribery and corrupting of a public official. We are convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that we have evidence of that on this tape which we are releasing to the proper authorities as early as tomorrow.”
And that means that those of us in the press will have plenty to talk about in the weeks ahead.
Stewart Krohn for News Five.
While on the subject of Marconi Matus’ alleged phone call to Manuel Esquivel, Smith did not rule out the possibility that Esquivel could have had a call forwarding feature on his home telephone that transferred the call to his cellular phone in Belmopan. It is understood that Salvador Fernandez has this afternoon denied that it is his voice on the P.U.P. tape.
