The Tattaglia and Sollozzo faction of the ruling PUP decided to move the political debate from a rhetorical one to a military one last week with two cold blooded strikes against leading members of the Kremandala family.
In the first instance, while the Tattaglia/Sollozzo faction is an accredited and high ranking section of the ruling party, and while they are wealthy and powerful, they do not represent the majority of PUP members/supporters or the majority of the peace-loving nation of Belize.
What Tattaglia and Sollozzo have done is endanger innocent members and supporters of their party. This is reckless and adventuristic, but, more than anything else, desperate.
A very interesting part of this whole scenario is the muted response of the Hon. UDP Opposition Leader, Dean Barrow. The fact of the matter is that the UDP Opposition has benefited immensely in the past three plus years from the written and broadcast opinions of leading Kremandala personalities. Mr. Barrow did not rush to the defence of the Kremandala victims because he does not consider them to be UDP soldiers, so to speak. More than that, as in 2003, he is being very careful not to offend the 1000 pound gorilla at 60 Market Square. (This is not a personal attack. It is a political assessment.)
While Mr. Barrow’s relatively mild response to the Mose Hyde/Rufus X attacks should be enough evidence to convince the logical members/supporters of the PUP that Kremandala is independent of the BelChina Opposition, Tattaglia/Sollozzo represents a special segment of the PUP, and one which has a specific and personal agenda.
We are explaining this to you because, while the tendency in Belize is always to push Partridge Street into lock down support for one or the other of the two major political parties, we feel that our 38-year history is one of consistent and nationalistic independence. This consistent and naturalistic independence is from whence our credibility derives. Our relative credibility is the reason the people of Belize have supported our media businesses. Thusly, we pay bills and sign paychecks.
It is relevant to mention here that the ruling PUP have pushed several individuals with Kremandala backgrounds into high profile political and propaganda roles in their party/government. While this speaks well for the ability of the chosen individuals, one wonders whether some of their desirability where the PUP is concerned, is not a function of their Partridge Street backgrounds.
In the case of Tattaglia/Sollozzo, our preliminary research indicates that they chose one we would have previously considered one of our own, as a terrorist instrument. Well done, Tattaglia and Sollozzo. The first round and the first laugh belong to you.