Last Monday, we told you about the letter that Prime Minister John Briceno wrote to the President of Oceana's Board of Directors in Washington, DC.
He was attempting to convince Senator Janelle Chanona's bosses that his administration wasn't trying to open the door on offshore oil drilling with these very early talks about seismic testing. He made the point to Oceana's Board of Directors that the Belize chapter of Oceana is engaging in a signature collection drive for a referendum petition, a petition which he insisted was not needed.
Yesterday, we got a chance to speak via Zoom with Vice President Chanona about that letter and the reaction from the Board of Directors in Washington. Here's what she had to say:
Janelle Chanona, VP, Oceana Belize
"I did meet with the Oceana board in person actually last week, so we had the opportunity to discuss the letter, and I will say that the board is heartened by what I have conveyed to be confirmation and as the Prime Minister eloquently put it reaffirmation of the offshore oil moratorium and a written assurance of a referendum. As a policy advocate, I fully take on board the promise of a referendum and what we have conveyed is if that promise can be translated into existing legislation, so that legislation that creates a moratorium can be amended to include a referendum, then yes, I fully subscribe that the signature drive that we're on right on is unnecessary or would be unnecessary, because then we would have what the people clearly wants, which is a referendum of this issue. So, I haven't received a response yet to my December 7th letter, but I continue to be optimistic, because there are very many other issues that we need to take onboard that if we can reach an agreement to move to enact amendment to create a referendum as a part of the legislation so that any future administration who wants to have this issue back on the table would have to do so in the context of a referendum, then I would be fully prepared to stop what we're doing and consider that issue to be respectful of the fact that every time this issue has come up, Belizeans have come forward and come forward in great numbers and to have a referendum on that issue and public input on that issue."
Reporter
"So until then though the signature collection drive continues?"
Janelle Chanona, VP, Oceana Belize
"I think it must. As I said even if we reach our threshold before there is a response, we won't have to submit it, but if the government conveys that there is no interest in doing that then we would have to move as promise to triggering a referendum. But as I said given the tone and the severity of the language in terms of the clarity of the language and given the fact that there is bipartisan support, the opposition has said it is in full support of a referendum on this issue. I think it would be very rational, very reasonable to say well in the context of what we have before us it's a win-win scenario of amending the legislation to include a referendum so that anybody in the future is bound by that. At the end of the day, I work for Oceana, but I don't want a promise to be made to Oceana, I want a promise to be made to the people of Belize and a promise that the people of Belize can hold on to is having something in the law that says no matter what's happening, no matter who is around, no matter what's at stake, you will have a referendum on this issue and that's really as a Belizean what I want to see happen."
At this time, Oceana Belize continues to collect those signatures.
