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Government Retains Control of Telemedia, Belize Bank Balks
posted (June 28, 2011)
Until then, government remains in possession and control of Telemedia - even as a parallel Telemedia has been set up and continues to operate under the guidance of Ashcroft Alliance Chairman Dean Boyce.

Boyce continues to send press releases and cautionary letters to commercial banks who do business with Telemedia. The message from Boyce is that the government appointed Board Of Directors led by Net Vasquez does not have authority to speak or contract for BTL.

We know that the campaign has worked at only one bank, not surprisingly the Belize Bank, which is another part of the Ashcroft Alliance. The bank has indicated to BTL that it has put a hold on monies which are to be forwarded to Telemedia. Now Telemedia doesn't bank at the Belize Bank, but, as we understand it, the money being held is from customers who are paying their bills into Telemedia, through the Belize Bank. Telemedia will be contacting those customers to sort out the discrepancy.

Boyce's attorneys have also been acting on behalf of Telemedia - filing changes of attorneys in the law registry and withdrawing suits Telemedia had instituted.

And as we reported last night, the parallel BTL has also appointed its own CEO in exile, Martha Molina, a former senior manager at Telemedia who was terminated after the nationalisation in August of 2009. Today's release from Boyce's BTL warns that a legal indemnity that the Prime Minister promised to employees and third parties is, quote, "completely worthless." The Boyce release argues that the PM can't indemnify anyone without a law passed by the National Assembly.

And the PM has argued that Boyce and company can't rightfully take back BTL without a possession order. Boyce's lead attorney Godfrey Smith argued otherwise but we learned this evening that he has applied to the registry for a hearing to get what he calls "a consequential order." This, we take to mean an enforcement order which the Government has maintained was required all along. The enforcement order though would have to be gotten form the Supreme Court, a consequential order would come form the Court of Appeal - which isn't sitting again until later in the year.

We'll have more about the Telemedia situation a little later as we review today's press releases….

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