Barrow is bogus

by glenntillett@yahoo.com

I am not surprised my co-host Vaughan Gill was “busted” over the weekend – that is arrested and charged, and now faces the distinct possibility of having to stand trial. We ended 2008 with several prominent members of the Peoples United Party facing indictment and having been brought up on charges that were nebulous at best. It should therefore be no surprise that we end the year with the persecution continuing.

You could see this one coming and I expect any day that it will be my turn. As I wrote in this space a few weeks ago, the level and types of threats against my person has been increasing, and I take it seriously. People like me, Vaughan Gill, Mike Rudon, and indeed anyone who is public in their criticism of the Barrow administration are targets for their vindictiveness and there is little they will not do to shut us up.

This is the third time in less than a month that the police have been after Vaughan. It is the third time they’ve tried to arrest him and cart him off to jail on a Friday.

I hope the people over at the National Perspective are also taking notice. I include them in this cautionary essay because I know that there are some who think that because they have been critical of the current PUP leadership that they may get a pass from the Barrow administration. Believe me, they may not go out of their way right now but if the opportunity presents itself they’ll take advantage of it.

This is the worst of times for the majority of Belizeans. We are in the midst of a cruel recession at a time when half of the population is being denied their basic right to own land or have employment opportunities in the public sector.

If there is one constant theme throughout our political discourse in 2009 it is the continued efforts of the Barrow administration to victimize or otherwise limit the rights of Belizeans who oppose them, especially those they have publicly declared their enemies.

The year started with the holiday season a mere respite from the political stirrings of a municipal elections campaign even as Said Musa and Ralph Fonseca had been arrested the month before. In retrospect it is now obvious the strategic timing of the arrests.

By the end of the month the Barrow administration had shot 5 cane farmers protesting at Tower Hill, one of them fatally. To date the administration has never expressed regret for the loss of life or offered condolences to the widow and children.

The following month when a cabinet minister protested a secret contract signed by his CEO, a Dean Barrow appointee and personal favorite, it was the minister who was demoted.

These are only some of the examples of how this Dean Barrow administration deals with dissenters. And please note that Dean Barrow does not play favorites, however, with those who are opposed to him – he is an equal opportunity oppressor.

At times like this I keep hoping that like Scrooge in the classic tale A Christmas Carol, the spirits of compassion, of caring, and of love would visit Dean Oliver and like Scrooge manage to shock him to some semblance of respect and common decency.

I keep thinking about the late Charlie Good and I am determined that his sacrifice will not be in vain.

Barrow will never ever express regret over the death of Charlie Good because in his world political expedience trumps his basic humanity each and every time.

Charlie Good stood up for a basic principle – the fundamental right of Belizeans not to be deprived of their means of earning their livelihood for no good reason. In particular Charlie Good was standing up for his wife’s right to remain employed in a job she was excellent at, and which she enjoyed.

His wife was terminated from her job simply because Patrick Faber wanted her job to give to one of his supporters. He publicly admitted as much on two separate occasions.

Charlie Good protested loudly and publicly and in so doing embarrassed this administration. He resisted their blandishments and was not deterred by their attempts at intimidation.

I was appalled and more than a little bit frightened as I watched the police, the security forces Charlie Good had helped to build, play cat and mouse with Good and the media in an attempt to grab him and physically assault him. That they succeeded with hardly any outcry from us is to all our everlasting shame.

The lesson I learned from that incident, and indeed from all these incidents over the past year is that this Dean Barrow administration will do anything, will stop at nothing, including murder if it deems it necessary, to get at those whom it considers its enemies.

I repeat, I believe that this Dean Barrow administration will do anything, will stop at nothing, including murder if it deems it necessary, to get at those whom it considers its enemies.

Just think about all they had said prior to assuming office and the many things they have done since assuming office – the net effect has been to limit protest. Take their proposed constitutional amendments, for example, the net effect would be to limit the rights of citizens and the expansion of the power and authority of the state.

Barrow is bogus and more and more Belizeans are starting to agree that that is a fact. I am worried, though, that as Barrow and the UDP’s popularity continue to wane what they will do to remain in power. They waged a desperate campaign of lies and distortions to achieve power and so far the record shows that they are willing to go to extremes to crush dissent.

It is no wonder that Doctor Herbert Gayle, the criminal anthropologist recently pointed out that we have passed what is called the civil war benchmark of thirty homicides per hundred thousand and blamed political tribalism, the warlord mentality, as one of the factors in the continued surge in violent crime.

It means that even as I wish you and yours the very best for the formerly festive season, I know that my fears easily outweigh my hopes.

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