So would the Prime Minister be opened to hearing what the PUP can achieve in terms of negotiation? We asked him that and about the moral dimension of parliament refusing to pay what the court has ordered:...
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Sir, you made a case today for Parliamentary supremacy making it clear by your argument that it is indeed the parliament who has to make the final decision. However, how morally able is parliament to resist a lawful judgement from the highest court in the land?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Well now you're getting into a completely different area, Moral. I was trying to set out the legal position and I was careful to enter the reservation that this is by lights and the opinions that I have received. I will not be restrained at all in terms of moral. If it is a moral thing, parliament would be obliged not to pay if you're talking about the moral aspect of things. So I believe if you want to be at all kind to the bank, let's stay away from the moral question."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"The PUP says now that it has time it will try and find solutions for the Belizean people or the leader of the opposition said that just now. So it seems perhaps maybe they would want to approach some way that they could be paid off. Would you be minded to some rational orderly outcome like that?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I'm not going to slam the door shut on anything, but this is a huge amount of money and I don't know what sorts of terms could really soften the blow, that's number one. Number two, if ingenuity could come up with such terms, the Michael Ashcroft I know won't accept them, but the opposition is welcomed to try and ought to be encouraged to try. After all it's their mess."
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