It might not have the immediacy of inflation, or the urgency of gas prices, but when we're looking at the shape of things to come for the Government of Belize - the Ashcroft Alliance invoking the UK - Belize Investment Treaty is about the biggest thing on the horizon.
We say that because the last time the Alliance invoked that treaty, it ended dup costing taxpayers about 600 million dollars - the price paid for BTL.
Last night you heard the PM's remarks that he made last week about Government's position on the Alliance invoking the treaty. Yesterday on Sunup, he kind of refined the government's position. Here's how he put it:
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We believe and we can say sincerely that we believe that we are following the process and we just need to meet the environmental standards that is expected of them for a project of that size because you are talking about millions of cubic feet of mud and debris that is going to be dredged and unfortunately it will be dumped back into the sea. We have to be concerned about the reef and that reef is priceless, we have a responsibility not only to future generations, Belizeans, but to the planet, doing everything possible within our power to protect the reef, and so we have been doing that and it's their right, if they want to take Belize and I don't relish going to arbitration with Mr Ashcroft. I think he would want to take it to court over and over, but I can tell you the difference between our government and the previous government with the acquisition of BTL, it was illegally done and the then prime minister knew it and he was just fighting on and on all over the world knowing that fully well that at the end of the day they would have to pay. In this instance we have not taken anything from Mr. Ashcroft. All we are doing is protecting the interest of our citizens and the country."
