Two days ago, UDP Area Representative for Mesop Michael Finnegan blazed out on Preventative Detention - saying that he had gotten feedback from the community - and the initiative was unpopular with regular folks.
Finnegan said he took the matter to the Prime Minister on Friday and he seemed receptive. Today the Prime Minister confirmed that the anti-crime measure and the constitutional amendment that would beget it, is being put aside for the time being - in favor of another higher priority amendment that is being introduced on Friday:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"It's in the refrigerator. I've explained that on Friday we're going to introduce the Constitutional Amendment to enshrine the ownership of the public utilities in the Government and People of Belize, and we want to take that through the public consultation process, and concentrate on that. So certainly, for that period of 90 plus days, there will be no focus on preventative detention at all. So it's on pause, it's on hold until, at the very least, we can get through what we plan to introduce on Friday."
Jules Vasquez
"Is this "encouchment", or this protection of the utilities in public hands by constitutional amendment. Is it a way, again, to try to safeguard the re-nationalization of BTL, or to try to protect it from another legal attack? Mr. Ashcroft has said that he feels this one is even more vulnerable."
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"Well, I suppose you will want to look very carefully at the way in which the amendment is framed. I would think that, inherent in enshrining ownership in the Constitution, is in fact protection against a challenge to that ownership. So I would think that you ask a very good question, and I would think that the answer to that question is yes."
