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SJCJC Students Question Minister About ICJ
posted (January 24, 2013)
The International Court of Justice education campaign has already kicked off. Last night the committee met with the students of Wesley Junior College and today they did the same at Saint John's Junior College. Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and his team listened to the students concerns and answered questions regarding Belize going to the ICJ. Here's an excerpt:..

Student
"Question is: since we are going to settle the dispute at the ICJ. In your point of view what is Guatemala standing on for justification for the claim?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"The basis upon which they started off was really the claim which had failed to honor the past 7 of the contract of the convention and they started out by suggesting that that is in fact the basic reason why they are going to go. But then they have gone back now and toiled on more recent times and rely on some old conventions. But none of the legal opinions that we have read suggest that any of what they say makes any real good legal sense."

Student
"Is it safe to say that if we take this dispute to the ICJ Guatemala and Belize - it could be that it could go either way? Is it safe to say that all the treaties written in black and white from as early as 1492 and as early as 1670 and the 1859 Anglo-Guatemalan treaty and the treaty of 1853 as well - both parties view the treaties in their own light. I am thinking maybe Guatemala will take the way how they viewed it and Belize takes the way how they view it - wouldn't it go either way?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"When you go to court you always have two sides and I have been practicing law since 1977 and I was also a practicing judge of the Supreme Court. I am now the Attorney General, so I have copious experience in legal matters. The opinion that we have come from former judges of the international court of justice, they have gone through the Guatemalan case point by point. They have gone through the Belize case point by point and they have come down squarely on Belize side. But one thing you need to understand to bear in mind; this dispute is not going to impact upon our Independence, we are a sovereign Independent nation which the Guatemalans admit. Recently as 1991 they admit that you are a sovereign independent nation. They have issues with territory; Mexicans had none on the Northern side, they entered into a treaty with us. It's only the Guatemalans, but the decision of the ICJ is not going to affect our sovereignty and Independence. It might have some impact on our territorial integrity. But because they are going to a court of law, whatever the court determines will be what the international law recognizes as Belize's right and entitlement."

Student
"Based on previous researches the British and even USA have failed in terms of negotiating with Guatemala whatsoever. We tried with their facilitators and that have failed. OAS sponsored negotiations have likewise failed to produce a peaceful just and lasting resolution to the unfounded Guatemalan claim. This then left us with the option of either being diplomatic or political. For the past 10 years diplomacy have produce results but no resolution leaving the political and diplomatically option exhausted. If the new remaining option of submitting the matter to the ICJ is proven unsuccessful, what is our next step and also can you please shed some light on the citizenship that was in a previous question?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"Alright, I don't know exactly what you mean if it is unsuccessful. I will assume that you mean if the Belizean people vote no and we don't go to the ICJ I simply think and I could be wrong on this but I simply think that all that you are going to see is over time we having more problem with the Guatemalans coming in and having less cooperation from the Guatemalans - they have time on their side. What I see happening is that the people on the west coast of Guatemala are very poor, the place is aired, its very desert, they have little food and they are very difficult to contain with and they are now migrating in the Peten area and they are not stopping at the Peten area. The truth is that if you go all over Belize City you will see Guatemalans operating in Belize City; whether it is the market in San Pedro, the market in PG or the market in Stann Creek, they are coming. You get any assistance from Guatemala to stop them - not even the United States can stop people from going in there. The Great Wall of China was built to try to keep out people who are going in, but hungry people are going to come in. In order for us to better support the process and regulate our borders - it is beat that we have a friend to deal with than to have an enemy."

Student
"The problem of the Guatemalan farmer who was killed while attacking our soldiers. Why did the government go ahead with that even after the OAS Secretary General said that it did not condone any act of compensation? My second question: Our law states that any citizen from a country that does not recognize our territorial integrity and sovereignty cannot become a nationalize Belizean, so why are still offering citizenship to Guatemalan citizens? Also while there are proponents of going to the ICJ there is also strong opposition from entities such as COLA and other concern Belizeans. I must ask you Minister Elrington what does Belize stands to lose and what can we gain if the ICJ rules against our favor. Who has more at stake, Belize or Guatemala? Thank you."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I recently ask my staff here to issue a very recent opinion given by a graduate student of Emory University and he was asking the question how can you get debt by negotiating from ours...something to that effect and his conclusion was that Belize has nothing to lose by going to the ICJ. Guatemala has everything to lose by going to the ICJ. Those of you who like to use your computers; you check what Prensa Libre is saying today, they are mad like hell that we are going to the ICJ. You would think that they have relationship with COLA because they don't want us to go at all - they don't want Guatemala to go. They believe that Guatemala is going to lose. That is the consensus that Guatemala is going to lose because on 4 very solid tested and tried grounds Belize is going to win in an international court - 4 ground; 1: the treaty, the law of treaty states that once you agree on a boundary treaty even if the treaty falls apart, the boundaries remain. That will put an end to the question of Guatemala. we have the boundary on the west and we have the boundary on the south, but we still have to negotiate the boundary with them in the maritime areas; Honduras as well has an interest. The boundaries of Belize are not complete in terms of negotiated - we still have to work on that. We have a problem in that in order for us to keep the western border safe from criminals and other very bad people we have to have a good working relationship with the Guatemalans."

The Awareness Campaign will be held in 3 month stages. In the first 3 months, the committee will be meeting with different schools and institutions across the country. In the second 3-month stage, the committee will be holding meetings at different towns and villages across the country, and in the last segment they will go on a full court press.

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