And perhaps the most hot-button issue of the Constitution Reform Committee's agenda is whether or not Belize should bid farewell to King Charles III as head of state.
When discussing the topic today Barrow didn't mince words on his personal opinion but he says he disagrees with the Prime Minister's position that the monarch can be gone with just a simple vote in parliament. Barrow instead believes that such an emotionally charged subject can't be decided by anything but a referendum.
Here's what he told us:
Shyne Barrow, Leader Of The Opposition
"My position in the discussions that we had was not trying to convince the chairman or the constitution commission that. The monarch should go, the discussion is how, and so that has to be done by referendum I completely disagree with the Prime Minister Of Belize saying that the house will make that decision, that is not a decision fo the House of Representatives. As, much as I would like for the Head of state to be the Prime Minister or President, whatever, the people will decide, I believe the monarch should have gone when we got our independence but it did not happen that way, we are here now and it is a decision that should be made at a referendum."
"The idea that removing the monarch, the British monarch as our head of state would have some type of negative impact is absolute untruth, absolute myth, absolute propaganda. As it stands we have absolutely no written or verbal agreement with the British government because the British monarch is powerless that is merely a ceremonial exercise."
"I am not anti-britain, I am not against developing stronger bilateral relations with Prime Minister Rishi and whoever is in the government of Britain so I don't want to be misinterpreted but for me personally the monarch is the equivalent of Hitler."
"As far as Belize is concerned we have never and at this day and age do not have any agreement from the British government for any type of military guarantee or military protection, we have more, I think more, youth troops in this country than we do, well not troops but I'm saying military personnel from the United States than we do the British, so when you say, you know a fallout I do not believe that this would in any way impact our bilateral relations with the British government."
7 News notes that while our street sampling found widespread apathy toward the king and the monarch in general, Belizeans seem largely opposed to the concept of becoming a republic.
