We also asked the Mesopotamia Area Rep. if he knows what is fueling the current gang war taking place in his constituency. Barrow insists that he has been trying to do his part to cool tensions between warring groups. Here's what he had to say this afternoon:
Hon. Moses "Shyne" Barrow - UDP Area Rep., Mesopotamia
"I've reached out to both sides, to plead for calm and for restraint, and for an end to the violence. I have done that. I have always done that, and I've done that as recently as today. But again, as the Minister of Police rightfully pointed out, we need a national plan of action that has all hands on deck."
Reporter
"Give us some insight as to what is the dispute that's causing all this bloodshed?"
Hon. Moses "Shyne" Barrow
"Again, the Minister of Police said it best when he was in Opposition. He had the answer. The answer is that the violence, the murders, is a symptom of the chronic disease of poverty, right. But, I will go further than that. We need - and I asked the Minister. If you pay attention to the happenings in the honorable House of Representatives, I asked him in my question to ministers, what is the plan to increase the murder conviction rate? And he went into this beautiful presentation, but until people start to go away for life, and pay for their mistakes - because, remember, I was a child. I made mistakes, I paid for them, and it made me the man I am today, a better man because I had to atone for my sins. I had to repent, and I had to change course."
"Murder is the easiest thing to get away with in Belize. You go and try to steal corned beef, you will get arrested and convicted for that. But, you go and kill another Belizean. You will sit for 2 years. The witness won't come, and the prosecutor will drop the case."
