By the time Tracy Panton took the stage at Battlefield Park, the UDP’s message had moved from protest chants to political warning. Speaking for roughly thirty minutes, Panton zeroed in on the Ministry of Defense supplies scandal and the leaked invoices that have fueled public outrage. She promised to keep pressing the Briceño administration for answers and told News Five that, in her view, today’s rally is only the beginning of a much bigger political reckoning for the government.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Leader, United Democratic Party
“My heart is entirely full. My hope in this country has been renewed, because you came from the north and the south. You came from the east and the west. You came from the cayes to stand up for Belize. It is important that as a responsible citizenry we must too hold ourselves to account. When we see corruption, we must stand up. When the connected few are stealing from the public purse, we must speak out and when we sound the call to action, we must march, because we are marching for Belize. We are not marching for the UDP.”
Paul Lopez
“What is the next step, the next phase from here?”
Tracy Panton
“As you know we have written to the Prime Miniter. WE have asked for an audience. We have some proposals to present to him as it relates to corruption, but also crimes in particular. We feel the issue of crime should not be politicized. We have written the prime minister about five letters. He has not responded. But we will continue to insist.”
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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