body,td,th { font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; }
But of course, Barrow doesn't see it that way. He called it an attack on him, as the only current member of parliament who has served jail time. But he says he was sentenced 25 years ago, at the age of 19, and has completely reformed.
He also adds that the 11th amendment should not even be discussed since the PCC has been formed. He explained that the same senators that shot it down last time agree, once again, that it should not be on the table in this way.
Here's what he told us after the meeting today.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"When it was originally brought to the House Committee, there was great outrage, a public outrage, and I was reminded of that in my conversations with all of the members of the social partners, civil society senators. The church, the unions, the business community, and the NGO, all reminded me of their position when this was first tabled and that position has not changed. And the cry was, I believe they wrote a letter to the prime minister asking him to cease and desist from a piecemeal approach to amending the constitution and that there should be a wholistic approach and that is when the PUP government responded by creating the People's Constitution Commission."
"So what has changed from 2021 to now? The only thing that has changed, it is the prime minister that is being investigated by the Senate. It is the Portico corrupt agreement that is before us in the public domain as to misconduct by any members of parliament. So this legislation is not being driven by the forces of society when all the Senators, churches, NGO, business, unions, are telling you that they don't agree."
"Then you get to the ad hominem issue. This amendment only addresses one thing and that is the Leader of the Opposition. I am the only member of parliament that when I was 19 years old was sentenced to a prison term "
"Furthermore, someone can get a one year sentence for their sexual orientation in other jurisdiction, someone can get a one year sentence for their religious belief in other jurisdiction, someone can get a one year sentence for their political beliefs, I.e., Philip Goldson, Leigh Richardson, and George Price. So there is a reason that the drafters of our constitution restricting the consideration to the commonwealth and it is not for this government or any government to unilaterally make that decision and that is why they created a People's Constitution Commission."
"It is an attack on the Leader of the Opposition, it is an endorsement of my leadership, because if the opposition was so weak and I was such a waste of time then the government would want me to stay there. This is a move to try to overthrow me, they can't beat me at the ballot, so they're weaponizing the constitution of our nation, and it's difficult to see it any other way."
And just to clarify, the Senate Inquiry is NOT "investigating the prime minister," but rather the origin, genesis and attempt to ratify the definitive agreement.
