From 7Newsbelize.com

Turning now to today’s House Sitting – it was the first for 2017, and the first for new Speaker Laura Longsworth. We’ll show you her election to the Speaker’s seat later on but we start with the biggest news out of today’s meeting. And that is the Prime Minister’s defiant position that his government flatly will not pay the fifty million US dollars in arbitration awards that are owed to the Ashcroft Alliance. As we told you earlier this week – the US Supreme Court has refused to hear a case coming from a US District Court. That judgment said the Government of Belize must pay two Ashcroft Alliance Companies a total of 50 million US dollars.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister’s Office sent out a release saying Government won’t pay, Today in the House the Prime Minister added more depth to it. He said it’s not simply an act of defiance to the US Courts, it’s a matter of sovereign importance, since the CCJ had already ruled against these judgments. Here’s how he put it:…

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow – Prime Minister
“The BSDL award is in consequence of this government’s refusal to honor the accommodation agreement. An accommodation agreement that without a doubt, Madam Speaker, was utterly and outrageously illegal. BCB holdings, same thing, they had some fight with Ashcroft and he had some case against and in order to settle that, they agreed with him a settlement deed that provided as well for all sorts of exemptions from the tax and other legislation of this country. That one, they had the nerve after they got the award, the Ashcroft concern, to bring to Belize for enforcement and that was the one that ended up at the Caribbean court of justice. That was the one that caused the Caribbean court of justice to talk about malignant tumors and that was the one that caused the Caribbean court of justice to say it doesn’t matter what the reasoning of the arbitral tribunal was to enforce that award would be repugnant to the public policy, not only of this country and the region, but internationally.”

“Now I have to say that we resisted because in every case the litigation arose out of the perfidy of the then People’s United Party Administration Government. In the case of BSBL and BCB holdings in my view that perfidy went both ways; both the giver and the taker of these absolutely horrendous deals were at the very least morally guilty of the worst kind of behavior”

“But I want to repeat that in terms of BSDL and BCB holdings, especially the BCB holdings, we, this government has no intention, I repeat, of paying a penny. They have put the Caribbean court of justice in an impossible position where in fact US Courts will relying on the fact that they contracted with respect to these issues with eyes wide open. The US courts are saying we don’t care what the Caribbean court of justice has ruled. We will in effect disrespect the Caribbean court of justice. That is what these people have caused.”

“You all have caused a situation in which the entire legitimacy of the CCJ has been impugned. in those circumstances apart from the money consideration. How on earth would anyone expect that I will honor an award like this? Our highest court has said that it can’t be it is so outrageous, it is so repugnant. No court can order its enforcement. Well if the American courts, not if, since they have done so, I am sorry Madam Speaker I must be clear that it will take wild horses. Let me not get into the rhetoric. I am not prepared to pay those 2 awards.”

“BCB holdings sought judicial relief in the United States only after losing in the courts of Belize, appealing to the CCJ and then losing in the CCJ as well. This sort of forum shopping should not be allowed to result in flatly inconsistent results which is the present situation. All the more so when the CCJ’s ruling rest on foundational democratic principles aim at combating government corruptions. That is the brief that the corporative republic of Guyana filed.”

“Madam Speaker I say again in those circumstances I ain’t going to pay. They, Ashcroft concerns, have no recourse here in Belize. They gone abroad and as far as I know we have no assets in the US that they can attached. They will certainly try. I am here to make just this last point: Madam speaker will all, notwithstanding the scandalous record of illegal, improper, corrupt, collaboration between the Ashcroft concerns and the previous government. This government has not attempted to stop any of those concerns in Belize from doing business. His 2 banks are operating without let or hindrance. His telephone company in which he is a partner with the family members of the leader of the opposition, your family members SMART Speednet and I have hold out again the breakdown of the shareholding. Initially he had 55 percent, Ashcroft corner ball and heiver holdings and whatever and Jaime and Renan and Jorge had the rest. They sold and I have the documents here. Jaime sold and Renan sold so much so that now the Ashcroft interest have 70 percent so your family is very much a junior partner, but a partner never the less, with Ashcroft and Speednet.”

“Have we attempted in any way to interfere with the doing of business? If they make any effort to go after them in the states, go after our assets which we don’t have, but just the fact of any attempt putting us to further litigation expense. I want to say to the nation I will consider that an act of economic war. All options thereafter will be on the table.”

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