And Chairman of the commission Andrew Marshalleck completely supports Martinez's right to make a statement.
He says Martinez arrived at the hearing and asked his permission to read the statement which he gave Marshalleck to review.
He scanned it and approved his reading of it. Today, Marshalleck told us he supports what Martinez had to say:
Andrew Marshalleck, SC - Chairman, Commission of Inquiry "I think it should have been made. And if the unions have certain things to say about sales that have taken place - and I don't hear anybody denying that the sales took place - I don't have a problem with the criticism. I think the criticism is to some extent warranted."
Jules Vasquez "Has the commission served its useful political purpose for the political directorate and now it's just nothing to them? Is that why it was cut this morning?"
Andrew Marshalleck, SC "You would have to ask them that. From my perspective our purpose has not yet been served. But the simple fact that it served a political purpose does not mean that it cannot serve a useful purpose otherwise."
Jules Vasquez "Is it that the government is so cynical that once it served a political purpose, we don't care about the useful purpose because nobody going to jump on the government of Belize Facebook page and start to diss the government of Belize."
Andrew Marshalleck, SC "Well, I would hope not, Jules, and we don't have to descend to that level of, it's a lack of maturity, to that level of immaturity."
Jules Vasquez "But it could not have been cut without a directive from a senior person."
Andrew Marshalleck, SC "I would expect so, but I don't know. But, what I'm saying here, and the point I want to make is that while it might be convenient to seek to attribute whatever wrongdoing you want to identify to a single person and to demonise him, there's a culture that supports it, and you have to address it."
Jules Vasquez "You are trying to pass off a transgression, this is a transgression against free speech. And you are trying to pass this off on a nameless public officer when you know Mr Marshalleck how..."
Andrew Marshalleck, SC "I am not trying to pass it off Jules. I have acknowledged as far as I can that it's wrong."
Jules Vasquez "But you know that a directive has to come from the top of the political directorate."
Andrew Marshalleck, SC "I don't know any such thing. But what I'm telling you - in the normal case if things work as they normally do, I would expect that somebody gave an instruction."
