And what Shyne Barrow said about the monarchy today - sounds a lot like what Father of the Nation George Price was saying - except he started all the way back in the 50's.
Price was the embodiment of the anti-monarch and anti colonialists. In fact, while he will be accurately remembered as a nation builder, when he started out in politics in 1950 he was essentially a troublemaker, shaking up the oppressive colonial establishment.
Today, the PUP's third and fifth party leader remembered the first - in his days as a young rebel against the colonial oppressor:
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister Of Belize
"That's what most Belizeans when they think about Mr Price they think about this old and frail gentleman and always very respectful but what they don't remember is that he was a revolutionary, he was as you said a radical in his days and he knew, he realized that for him to be able to move our people to start to think about independence he had to be able to make a distinction between England and the UK and the Queen as to what he wanted to represent for Belizean people, um, he has this strong conviction, strong belief that Belize can be a strong independent country whereas many people were telling him you know Belize is way too small we don't have the population and we don't have the infrastructure, we don't have the industry to become an independent country, he fervently believed every simple way that that is possible. When the Americans were telling him, well you know, maybe to have peace with Guatemala give up a portion of Belize. The British were telling him, many people were telling him. He said I am going to fight. To protect every single square inch of Belizean so we think about him as an old man because that is what we saw to the end, um, but he was really a radical in his days far more than what people could think or remember."
