The fallout from the Immigration scandal is affecting both major mass parties. On the UDP side, we are reliably informed that two time councilor Eric Chang has been told by party higher-up he will not be allowed to run because of his association, whether real or perceived with the Citizen Kim debacle. In 2008, Chang became the first Taiwanese Belizean to gain elected office - and he has consistently performed at the top of the polls.
And, while his rejection was more or less to have been expected, what no one foresaw was the same fate befalling a PUP municipal candidate. But that's just what happened to Martin Cal - a candidate on the PUP Belmopan City Council slate.
In the Auditor General's preliminary report, Cal's name comes up on page 14 and 17, as the recommender for Vietnamese Simon Troung's nationality, and then also as recommender for Turkish National Yakup Sut's nationality. In Troung's case, he says he knew him for a year. In Sut's case, he attested to the same thing. Both recommendations were signed in August 2013.
The Auditor General says that Cal - and the other recommenders may be guilty of a prosecutable offence - for making a false representation about knowing the applicant. In Sut's case, Cal and Penner co-recommended.
Now, for political veterans, it's nothing new to see the PUP and UDP - huddled up together in the same dark corner - but for the general public, it's quite an eye opener to know that the Immigration enterprise had bi partisan collusion.
The PUP has had to remove Cal as a candidate, and Deputy Party Leader Julius Espat told the media why today:..
Hon. Julius Espat, Area Representative - Cayo South
"We were inform through the auditor general's report that there were some accusations made with Mr. Martin and the Party Leader and the party made a decision on Saturday for him to not participate as a candidate in the Belmopan municipal election. We have made a decision based on the facts that we have seen that it is not in our best interest and in the best interest of the party to have the gentleman represent us on a slate."
Reporter
"And has Mr. Martin Cal explain why his name...?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"I have not been in contact with him, so I don't know if he has explain or not, but that will go through the legal process. When you have an auditor general mentioning names more than once - it affects politics, if affects you as a candidate. It it could be me it will be a problem, so we have to be real about it."
Reporter
"People out there will make the accusation now that what's happening at the immigration department even while one party is in power has now cross or has been crossing both party lines. You said that Mr. Martin remains a PUP. How do you respond to that?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"It's a reality in Belize. Everything good and bad passes party lines. Our movement led by the Honorable Francis Fonseca is not -- ourselves from the problem. We are 47.5% of the voting population of this country. We were in government also. Problems occurred while we were in government also. But the honorable Francis and the new PUP, the new players in the PUP believe that we have to do things differently and to do things differently we have to analyze the errors that we made in the past."
Reporter
"How do you feel that one of your own was allegedly part of this entire scandal?" It's embarrassing for the people."
Hon. Julius Espat
"It is a reality of life."
And while that reality may have cost Cal his candidacy, it may also affect his brother Moises Cal. Cal is the Chairman of the Cayo Western Caucus - despite himself having a checkered political history. In 2007, news reports from Panama said that Cal - who was at the time a PUP standard Bearer for Belmopan - and using a Belize diplomatic passport - flew into Panama's Tocumen Airport with over one million U.S. dollars in a suitcase. There were published allegations of hefty bribes being paid to Panamanaina customs officel and Panama';s Director of Cusotms speculated that, quote, they "that they were dealing with drug-trafficking proceeds."
But Cal was never charged for anything, never sought for arrest - and the matter went away, after he stepped down as PUP standard bearer and hande din that diplomatic passport.
Seems all was forgiven as he re-joined the PUP as an influential figure in the party's Belmopan politics. Deputy Espat discussed how that happened and Cal's future as Chairman:..
Reporter
"Mr. Moises Cal was someone who was in somewhere his name came up with the whole money laundering in Panama situation. If this is the case and the position that you say the party is taking then how come is it that back then members of your party still choose to elect someone whose name has been question?"
Hon. Julius Espat, Area Representative - Cayo South
"What you are saying is what we have been hearing on the media but there is nothing that indicts Mr. Cal as a fugitive or as a criminal. It was there in the media. I wasn't aware of it, I wasn't even around when that was happening, but at the end of the day the people of the west at the caucus level thought that his experience as a diplomat, his experience as an ambassador would help and in their wisdom they thought that Mr. Cal would be the best choice. It is a democratic process, it was an elected one. But if it is a problem that will affect the party I think the first person to stand up would be Mr. Cal and that's why I think he has called a meeting to reiterate to go over the issues and to see where we move forward here. But it's difficult to be able to condemn somebody when.... it's not there for us to condemn, we don't know if he is guilty ir if he is innocent. That is for a court of law to prove."
Reporter
"So, but if that is the case then, if we are taking that approach, why now it seems to me that there is a real possibility he may exit from his position as chairman? Why exactly, if you say that nothing has indicted him officially and legally?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"It is he that has called the meeting and I assume that what is happening with the auditor general's report I am assuming it is because he is the brother of Martin. I am assuming it is because of the name is coming up now you are hearing about it - I am assuming all of that."
An unusual number of assumptions for the deputy in charge of the west who we thought was very well informed when it comes to matters in his caucus. We'll let you know what comes out of that meeting when it happens.
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