And while that’s what the establishment PUP was doing today, what we have to call a splinter group of the party was busy meeting. The group is called “PUP’s standing up against injustice” and a release this evening said that they met this afternoon. The group includes Leader Emeritus George Price, former Prime Minister Said Musa, and - according to the release - PUP members of the House, Standard Bearers and other party supporters.
The splinter group’s main concern at this time is the imminent arrest of Said Musa and it says that, “after nine months of being goaded by a lynch-mob media organization - namely the Kremandala group, and the UDP-sponsored ACB, Dean Barrow is now moving to subvert the rule of law and the justice system in an attempt to destroy his political opposition.”
The release goes on to allege that the, “political persecution is meant to be a distraction from the critical problems facing Belizeans.” The release also defended the actions of former Prime Minister Musa, saying he took a “policy decision” by requesting a grant from the Venezuelan government specifically to settle the Universal debt.
The text of the release is basically boiler plate rhetoric, but what is very newsworthy is that it sees the party’s old guard re-asserting itself. More than that, the position of this splinter group is very different from the public position taken by Party Leader John Briceno last Friday. When asked about Musa’s arrest, Briceno would only say that his former party leader must get a fair trial.
