Email

Print

The media asked one politician, Minister Kareem Musa, what he thought about this report.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I think we have enjoyed an immense level of freedom of the press in Belize. I would, of course, want to see us even higher on that list. But at the end of the day, our accessibility as ministers, your ability to spin stories in whichever way you wish without being censored, without being censored at all, speaks volumes about our country's respect for the press."

"And like I said, hopefully we can only go higher on that list."

Reporter
"In saying that, certain media houses practice self censorship to appease certain politicians."

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Well then You should ask certain members of the media, not me. I don't know whether your media practices that. You'd have to ask the various media houses and their directors if they do."

Reporter
"Is it something that you maybe had noticed when you were in...?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Absolutely not. I find that every single media house in this country is critical of whichever government is in office."

"And so I think there is no party affiliation. I think maybe in the 90s you could have said certain media houses like Channel 7 were aligned with the UDP. But at the end of the day, I found them to be very critical of the Barrow Administration towards the end."

"But at the end of the day, I find everybody to give a very balanced. I might not agree with certain spins, Courtney, but that is that is the lay of the land."

Reporter
"Sir, you think that your government, though, makes themselves accessible to the media and does not try to undermine our jobs?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I believe so. I would say so. I think I'm fairly accessible as a minister. I think I see myself too much on your newscast. And if you could decrease that, I'd appreciate that."

News Director Says GOB Holds Press In Contempt

But while Minister Musa says that PUP politicians are accessible, our News Director here at Channel 7 disagrees. Jules Vasquez explained that while here in Belize, journalists do enjoy freedom of the press, government officials have consistently avoided, undermined, and blocked them.

Shyne Says Mainland China Should Help Boost Belize's Military

And - just like his predecessors when they were in opposition - Shyne Barrow knows all about press conferences. He has very regular press briefings to sound off on a whole bunch of national issues as you have seen tonight.

Today he added one from far left field. While speaking about the Sarstoon situation with Guatemala - he floated the idea of Mainland chine boosting Belize's military:

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"When it comes to the Sarstoon, we don't expect that our generals and military would commit suicide. And by no means, I won't be irresponsible, like the People's United Party was in opposition. When the United Democratic Party was being responsible and protesting through diplomatic channels and trying to handle this situation the most appropriate way, which would be through diplomacy. Because obviously, until we make a shift in policy, which is something I think we need to consider, instead of Taiwan giving the People's United Party money to buy elections and to do different things to interfere in our democracy, maybe we should ask the Taiwanese or possibly the Chinese, the People's Republic of China, if they were to be a switch."

"Maybe we should ask for military investments. Maybe we need to strengthen our military, because while I do agree that we are a peaceful nation, we are a nation that wants to live in harmony with our neighbors, life is real."

"We need to protect ourselves. We need to defend our territorial integrity, whether from the elements such as the narcos or the Guatemalans and their unfounded claims and their bullish behavior."