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As the Prime Minister insists that the 13th amendment is an essential crime-fighting tool, Leader of the Opposition Tracy Panton says she feels the risk of authorities abusing their powers far outweighs the rewards. Panton spoke frankly with our newsroom today, saying she feels that the amendment is bad for Belize’s democracy and is rooted in classism and prejudice. According to Panton, the public consultation was inadequate, but she places the blame at the feet of the Briceno administration.
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition: “Our democracy is under siege and it’s under siege by the 13th Amendment Bill where a certain class of Belizeans will be most affected. And that, in my view, is not the solution to crime.”
Reporter: Are you content with the level of public consultation?
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition: “Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We advocated as members of the Constitutional and Foreign Affairs House Committee, which I sit on, we advocated for consultations to be done throughout the country. And you can have consultations in Belmopan at 10 o’clock in the day. Who will come? People are working. If you don’t represent a specific interest group who is prepared to give you some time off, like the PSU, then you don’t have a say. And why are we having consultations in Belmopan only? There was one in Belize City, but again, it was in the middle of the day. What is even more concerning to me is that we just completed a whole process with so many key stakeholders, 30 or so overwhelming a number of stakeholders to look at the constitutional reform in this country, the PCC. We spent millions of dollars to come up with solid recommendations on where and how we can amend the constitution, not to infringe on the rights of Belizeans but to safeguard and to increase the rights of Belizeans. And there were specific recommendations in that PCC report on how to deal with state of emergencies and none of that is taken into account.”
Panton says that the government seems intent on using its super majority in the House to pass the amendment, which leaves her greatly concerned, particularly for those in her constituency.
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition: “I am very concerned. You see, I represent a South Side constituency and I know what this amendment will mean for the young men in my constituency. Some may be affiliated with gangs but many are just trying to survive out here. And because they are of a certain color and have certain social ethnic background, because they live in a certain area, they are cast under a net and they pulled into a system and they don’t have any due process. And they don’t have a voice and if you can’t afford it, don’t tell me about going to legal aid. Don’t tell me about going to legal aid. They turn you around in circles. They turn you around in circles. And so you can’t even afford to live out here, much less afford to get an attorney to represent your interests. You know, I was listening to ASP Smith at the consultation in Belmoan and she said, you know, we’re not trying to cast a wide net. We know who the people are. In fact, the last time we did an SOE we only got 35 people because we know who we’re looking for. So if we know who we’re looking for, if we know who are the perpetrators, why are we going to rescind the provisions out of the criminal act to put it in the Constitution? It strengthened the Criminal Act, Criminal Reform Act. Strengthen that Act. Don’t repeal those provisions out of that Act to put it in the Constitution. If we are talking about 35 people, if we are talking about 422 gang members, why should a population of 400,000 people have to deal with the ramifications of a constitutional amendment that takes away our fundamental rights and privileges as citizens of this country ? It makes no sense.”
The LOTO also said she feels that the government’s adamant stance to pass the amendment trivialized the work of the People’s Constitution Commission and the recommendations made in its report.
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