The illegal Guatemalan structure in Belizean territory near Jalacte Village
will not be moved before Christmas, in fact, the sense we get this evening is
that we’d be lucky if it was moved before the New Year! A senior official
at Belize’s Ministry Of Foreign Affairs today confirmed that everything
is on standstill right now because of an unexpected change in the command of
the Guatemalan military. This week, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom fired
his defense minister and Guatemala's entire military high command.
And what does this have to do with the illegal structure in Belizean territory?
Plenty. And that’s because officials in Belize and at the OAS believe
that it cannot be safely removed without the involvement of the Guatemalan Army,
at least as a good faith partner, and possibly as a peacekeeper. That’s
because the owner of the property Leonel Orellanos has indicated that he is
prepared to use force to defend what he maintains is his lawful property.
So now, with the sudden shift in the command of the Guatemalan military, no
new date for removal has been set. And now, unless there is some unexpected
breakthrough, the offending structure and clearing which have been in the works
since the first week in November will continue to stand – illegally –
as we enter 2009.
It is one more embarrassment and affront to the Government of Belize which
failed to act decisively even after the works were publicized in mid-November.
The diplomats tell us that the slow progress to removal has been forced by the
terms of the confidence building measures.
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