Tomorrow, Jeffrey Prosser will go to federal court in Miami to have the Government of Belize declared in contempt for basically ignoring the directives of Justice Ursula Ungaro Benages. For its part, government says that the Belize Supreme Court has found that Miami judges can say what they want, their judgement do not pertain in Belize. Well tomorrow, attorneys for both sides will argue that point.
And while that matter goes to Miami, pressure on the government is mounting right here at home. The Association of Concerned Belizean has issued a release criticizing the government for its mishandling of the BTL matter. The release characterizes the buyback deal with Ashcroft as, "a defrauding of the Belizean people." And referring to the settlement agreement in which government forgives all Ashcroft's business tax debt, the release goes on to say that it is_ "unconscionable that the government would forego $12 million in tax revenues."
Government has maintained that forgiving the back tax was a difficult decision meant to settle the BTL matter. But as is clear by developments in Miami, tonight, it is hardly settled or even near that point, and Prosser's people have made it clear that if government does not come around to its point of view they intend to embarrass the government in the international community.
