Former Jamaican P.M., P.J. Patterson laments Price’s passing

Additional details are becoming available for the state funeral of the Right Honorable George. But first, his passing has been felt well beyond our borders since he died last Monday morning at the Belize Healthcare Partners. On Tuesday, the former US President, Jimmy Carter, paid tribute to him for advancing the democratic process in this hemisphere. Price was a vice president of the Carter Centre. This morning, speaking from New York, the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, PJ Patterson, provided a regional perspective of the man we recognize as the father of the nation.  Patterson described Price as a man of steal who had unflinching commitment to Belize’s territorial integrity.

Via Phone: PJ Patterson, Former Prime Minister, Jamaica

PJ Patterson

“He was a man of considerable stature. As I said, certainly in the Caribbean he was involved in the movement of CARIFTA, which was a purely free trade area, into CARICOM and then laid the foundation for the eventual moving into the Caribbean Community which now exists. I also saw him at work in other forums, particularly in meetings of commonwealth heads and I saw him at work in New York at the United Nations. As I said, his style was not one of flamboyance but at the same time he stood out because of his manner. He was gentle and he had a very artful way of getting you on his side by commencing a conversation after outlining his concern or the problem which was gaining his attention by asking simply what do you think, how do you think I should go about that? And the moment you would produce that position, you were in a sense—not just induced, but coerced into finding some response and being part of the solution which he sought to put into effect.”