Opposition Leader Criticizes State of Emergency Following Recent Murder

The Leader of the Opposition Moses “Shyne” Barrow says the current State of Emergency (SOE) is a failure and will not meaningfully address the root causes of crime. Michael Usher’s murder, the thirty-six for this year, occurred only a couple of days after the SOE was expanded to include the St. Martins Area. Barrow says the incident is proof that the measure is not deterring crime and only brings the bloodshed to a temporary halt. Today, the LOO shared his sentiments on the murder and used the Prime Minister’s words to describe the country’s crime situation. 

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition: “I don’t recall over the last fifteen years at least that there has ever been a situation where the government has declared a state of emergency and we have had this amount of murder take place. I’d like to quote the learned or some would say unlearned Prime Minister John Briceno “It is apparent that our government has no real solution to solving crime. Nowhere was this more evident than in.”- this was during the UDP era “when the Government declared a state of emergency on the people of southside of Belize City which did not result in any lasting peace.” The sad tragic irony of this is under the state of emergency I believe the first day or day after the state of emergency was declared we had a murder. The Minister of Police is failing. We have been saying that for the last three years. The Prime Minister as the chair of the National Security Commission is failing, we have been saying that for the last three years.”

Recent data shows that so far this year, the country’s murder rate is up by forty percent when compared to the same period last year.