The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

BAHA Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian said yesterday he felt personally attacked by Perry Christie and the government of the Bahamas, adding that if the Prime Minister applied the same pressure on the China Import Export Bank and China Construction America as they did the resort, “there would already be a deal”.

Mr Izmirlian said that while he thought the Prime Minister was genuine in his effort to act in the best interests of the country, he believes Mr Christie is “getting bad advice” to the detriment of the Bahamian people.

He spoke candidly about his current relationship with Mr Christie in a recorded interview with Jeffery Lloyd on Guardian Radio.

“It’s like a marriage I guess,” he said. “Some days you have good days, some days you have bad days. Right now I’m sleeping on the couch.”

The resort developer said despite what has happened between him and Mr Christie he still has the “utmost respect” for the Prime Minister and is willing to work with him to ensure Baha Mar opens. He explained that Mr Christie was the one that first believed in the project, understood its vision and allowed it to move forward. 

However, when asked to comment on the impact of the debacle on future investors, Mr Izmirlian said: “The future will dictate how they feel about the actions of the government and I think the voters of the Bahamas will decide how they feel about the actions of the government of the Bahamas and that’s up to them to decide.”

After three days of negotiations, the Bahamian delegation left Bejiing on Tuesday without the parties reaching an agreement.

The government blamed Baha Mar’s refusal to provide a guarantee for additional lending as the only element that stood in the way of securing a deal for the completion of the resort.

This paves the way for the government to move forward with its winding up order before Justice Ian Winder tomorrow.

Mr Izmirlian admitted yesterday that the parties were “not close” to reaching an agreement; however he said they “are making progress”.

“I’ve been disappointed by what I feel have been attacks which have been personal in nature,” he said. “I’ve been disappointed in what I believe are government actions which were squarely aimed at Baha Mar, and if the government had applied equal pressure on all three parties then probably we would have had a deal by now.

“And when you have the government’s handpicked liquidator that goes out in the press and makes statements like, and I quote, ‘the intent of the government is to take it out of the hands of the party with the emotion’, that doesn’t sound like a legal argument for defending the people of the Bahamas. That sounds like revenge to me.”

The resort developer admitted that he did not inform the government of the resort’s intention to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; however, he said the secret move was done to “protect the information from getting out” and not to blindside Mr Christie. He also defended the decision to file in a United States court.

“The Bahamas doesn’t have a Chapter 11 process,” he said. “If they did, we would have filed in the Bahamas – of course we would have filed in the Bahamas. But what we have in the Bahamas, we have a liquidation process. And under the liquidation process you cannot do the things you can do under Chapter 11. The fastest way to open Baha Mar is and was Chapter 11. That is why we chose it.”

Mr Izmirlian said he intends to “see Baha Mar through” and has no intention of quitting. He said he believes the resort can be open in three months if the parties come to an agreement very soon. However, he said “that window is closing very rapidly and legal manoeuvres that the government have undertaken can only delay that.”

In a statement last night, CCA said it is regrettable that the parties have been unable to reach a mutually beneficial agreement but they are ready to move forward and get the project back on track quickly.