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Well, right on cue, Silva showed up, while 10 of the other 12 dissidents stayed home. We asked him pointedly if the rebellion has been put down. Here's what he told us:

Daniel Ortiz
"You're seen here, we know that you were a part of the original 10-12 individuals from the party politicians who voiced that issue that they want that national convention held and we want to see if the support is still for Francis Fonseca as leader. What should we make of attendance here today? Are you separated from that 10 now or what do we make of it?"

Dan Silva - PUP Standard Bearer, Cayo Central
"Separate? Never, never. This is an event that we planned long before anything. We were a part of it and our supporters are here in big numbers."

Daniel Ortiz
"So if you hadn't organized this, would you have been here given that this issue is still unresolved?"

Dan Silva - PUP Standard Bearer, Cayo Central
"I will abstain from answering that one."

Daniel Ortiz
"It appears that they haven't given you the spirit of what you are asking for. They give you a convention yes, but Mr. Francis Fonseca's seat is uncontested, so you can't challenge him no matter what you have raised this issue. What do you make of that?"

Dan Silva - PUP Standard Bearer, Cayo Central
"Like I said, they have written us a letter which we have not seen and we will analyze it this week and decide what we will do."

Mike Rudon. Ch 5
"You all are asking for change. The Deputy Leader Mr. Espat had said 'you know what if you are asking for something, then you need to come out and consult with them - have discussions.' We notice that this core group has boycotted two meetings and I noticed that the main core of them are not here today. Could I get a response?"

Dan Silva - PUP Standard Bearer, Cayo Central
"Like I said I was involved in the organizing of this one, so I have no problem being out here today."

Daniel Ortiz
"What is the next step in terms of dealing with the issues that the 12 politicians originally started with? Will they keep the issue alive or is it dead? Has it been quelled by the intervention of the leader?"

Dan Silva - PUP Standard Bearer, Cayo Central
"We have gotten a letter from the chairman, we are analyzing that letter and then we decide what we do. But now we will be sticking to the points that we have asked for; we want a convention. We want to discuss the issues that the people are talking about. Our party need to discuss issues and we need to restructure our party. This will give our party a wonderful time to make the changes that he should be making."

Of the rebel 12, only Silva and Elito Arceo from San Pedro showed up - the 10 other candidates boycotted the event.

And what did the PUP's de facto party whip Julius Espat have to say about that? We asked him if the majority who support the Fonseca leadership are seriously considering the issues raised by the dissenting dozen. Here's what he had to say:

Mike Rudon, Ch 5
"We notice that Dan Silva is here. This is his turf, so he is expected to be here, but the others members of the G10, 11, 12 are not here today."

Hon. Julius Espat - Deputy Leader PUP
"I am not concerned with problems within our party. A party is a family - you have problems at home, you have problems at home and that's normal part of life. It is our responsibility at the end of the day to come together and to work as a team - that we might have differences in opinion. That's a fact. Everybody has it."

Daniel Ortiz
"But it appears that you are dismissing or downgrading how the size of this problem is. It seems to be a important issue."

Hon. Julius Espat - Deputy Leader PUP
"Our constitution is quite clear. Our national executive, our party council and the national convention. There are 3 separate things. It's like you are having your board of directors in a company. You empower them to make decisions of behalf of a company. We empower the national executive to make decisions ratified at the party council and then we go to a national convention based on those recommendations - that's exactly what we have been doing. So I am not bringing down. At the end of the day no single politician can rule over anybody else. It is the people they represent. We are here as a political party to form government because we believe that by forming government we can do good and so we have to do whatever it takes to form government and when I mean by that, is that we have to fight against the Petrocaribe funds and they are infiltrating us - they are doing it from all over. So, we have to be smart about it and we have to do what is in the best interest of Belize and our party and our people and that is precisely what we are doing."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, but then if you are going to be able to form the next government, you have to show the unity and a third of the standard and representatives being missing - that's a..."

Hon. Julius Espat - Deputy Leader PUP
"I don't believe in false unity. I don't believe on going on a stage and say I have your back and then I stab you when you walk down. I believe in real unity and the people of Belize are aware every single person in Belize that forms a family understand that it is not a mascara situation. They have problems. Every single family member - every person and so they will relate to us because they understand. But at the end of the day when the bell is rung, everybody will be in their different divisions and we will form government."

Though we didn't get a chance to ask Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca about the continued absence of one third of the party's candidates, the question did not go un-asked. One participant took the mic during the question and answer session of the public consultation and asked him if the party is working on fixing the issues raised. Here's his answer to that question:

Hon. Francis Fonseca - Leader of the Opposition
"You're right, it's an important issue for our party and I think I can say - speak for all members of our party, because I hear it from people all over the country - the members and supporters of the People's United Party are tired of games. They want us to stand together, to fight together, to work together for the good of this country. So I want to assure everyone here today and our supporters across the country that we are going to resolved all of these problems and challenges. We have reached out to everyone, we want everyone to be involved in the work of the party. We invited everyone to be here today. This week we are going to have another meeting with all 31 standard bearers and coming out of that meeting, we will see a strong united People's United Party. That is the only way for us to move forward. So, I know your concerns, but I don't want you worry, or I don't want anybody worry about who are not here - you worry about who are here. That is important."

The format of the rally was identical to the PUP's People's Assembly and Freedom Train that swept them into office in 1998. Yesterday's kick off event had what can best be called a modest crowd - we counted about 700 persons - which is all right - except when you take into account that it was a district wide event, and Cayo Central alone has more than eight thousand registered voters - while the entire district has over 40 thousand voters.