It was to have been a showdown between Jeffrey Prosser and the Government in the BTL boardroom this morning when the deadlocked board of directors met with 4 directors for Prosser and 4 for Michael Ashcroft and the Government of Belize. But that meeting never happened. Early this morning, attorneys for Ashcroft and GOB got the Chief Justice to grant an injunction blocking that meeting and Jeffrey Prosser's Attorney Lionel Welch didn't object.
So with no boardroom showdown, the attorneys filed out of the Chief Justice's chambers into the courtroom to argue whether Prosser's "C" directors had been legally removed by government on February 6th. Appearing on the government's and Michael Ashcroft's side were the Solicitor General, Elson Kaseke, attorney for BTL, Michael Young, and attorney for Michael Ashcroft's E-com, Dean Barrow. Appearing for Jeffrey Prosser were Lionel Welch and B.Q. Pitts. Both sides argued until 1:30 this afternoon when the Chief Justice announced that judgement is reserved until tomorrow. Barrow outlined the case and discussed the delicate political terrain.
Dean Barrow, Attorney for Government and Ashcroft
"Well the court will determine whether the removal of Mr. Prosser's two directors by the combination of the government of Belize and the other 'C' shareholders, whether that removal is valid; it will determine who controls or is to control the board of directors. I can't put it any more simply than that."
Jules Vasquez,
Are you of the feeling that this may be Mr. Prosser's last stand if the judge upholds your argument that with 37.5%, you can't do anything and additionally as holder of the special share, you can act only as an agent of the government of Belize?
Dean Barrow,
"If the judge rules against him on the issues raised today, he really is out in the short-term and clearly as well even in the long term."
Jules Vasquez,
There is, as you mentioned, a political dimension here. You are the Leader of the Opposition but also in court this morning you were attorney for Michael Ashcroft's company E-com. Do you see this as a contradiction or a sellout?
Dean Barrow,
"Absolutely not. I try to separate my role as an attorney and my role as Leader of the Opposition. In any case I will say this: in terms of what Mr. Prosser has been up to in Miami, without absolving the government of any blame, all this is as a consequence of the government's actions for which they must be held accountable, but in terms of that injunction Mr. Prosser has been able to obtain in Miami, any thing that can help with respect to a local ruling that says that in fact Mr. Prosser is not in a position to control the board of directors of BTL, I think will be in the national interest. But I am here principally as a professional, as an attorney, who of course is being well-paid to do what I am doing this morning."
Jules Vasquez,
Doesn't it make, to paraphrase the old song 'your red eyes blue,' to help the government of Belize to extricate itself from, as you said, a mess which has been completely its own making and a mess, which I will add, has been all predicated on the necessity to do away to dispose of this Intelco corpse that the ratepayers and taxpayers and the government of Belize has been hauling around?
Dean Barrow,
"It absolutely does, I mean this has been one hell of a ride, one saga, that has had horrendous implications for our country that has seen us go from boom to bust, or from the appearance of boom to bust, that has had all of us quaking in our shoes with worry about the consequences of the Miami court's injunction and the holding of the government in contempt. And it is all ultimately, principally, centrally the fault of the government. I would hope that whatever happens in the immediate future, there is no forgetting, in terms of all that has taken place to this point, and there will be an insistence on holding government accountable."
Jules Vasquez,
And are you not helping to extricate them from this muddle that they have created?
Dean Barrow,
"No if our application succeeds it certainly helps to extricate them from the Prosser factor as so far the 52% shareholding is concerned. And I will tell you straight-off, for me, nobody can be as bad as Prosser. Prosser is the one who in fact has the specter of this injunction over our heads and Prosser is the one who, from the start, said that he didn't want any element of Belizeanation to his ownership of the company. If you force me I will tell you that I think Ashcroft is by far the lesser of two evils visa vie Prosser. So I have no apologies to make about trying to extricate BTL, and in fact Belizeans. from any kind of Prosser strangle-hold, ownership, control of BTL."
As we noted, the Chief Justice will deliver his judgement tomorrow morning. But it should be noted that while a favorable decision could bolster government's position locally Miami Judge Ursula Ungaro Benages has said that she will not be put off by what she called "parallel litigation." She added that she is in it for the long run and will stick to the case. In that vein, she also indicated that government's U.S. assets could be called upon to defray damages against Prosser.
