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Hon. Elrington Says He Wasn't Slighted By Guat Countrpart
posted (March 20, 2013)
Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington returned from Washington DC today after meetings with the OAS and a contingent from the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As has been widely reported, that meeting did not include Guatemalan Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera, who did not attend.

That meant Elrington could not participate in the meetings with the Guatemalans, because it was below his ministerial rank. We asked Elrington if he felt slighted and we also asked him to outline the proposal from the Guatemalans, which he said is actually from the OAS:

Jules Vasquez
"What have you returned home with?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"We've returned basically with proposals which the Secretary General of the OAS has put to us, as raised by the Guatemalans in relation to the referendum."

Jules Vasquez
"Do those proposals include proposal for the postponement of the referendum?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I don't want to disclose that until we have had a chance to get instructions on it from the cabinet."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you - much has been made of the fact that your counterpart did not show up when he was expected to show and it turns up that he was in Rome and - for the new Pope. Is this an affront, are you offended by it?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"Absolutely not, I think that people misunderstood what happened. I was not invited to Washington by the Guatemalans; I was invited to go to Washington to see the Secretary General of the Organization of the American States, Mr. Insulza, and that meeting was arranged because the Guatemalans wanted to put certain proposals to us, We indicated to them when they came here to look for me, that the right way to put it is to put it through Insulza."

Jules Vasquez
"In the spirit of collegiality; should not the Foreign Minister Mr. Carrera have communicated directly with you to say that, Sorry, I won't make it?'"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"No, we did get indications that he might not have turned up. We did get indications that, that might not have been possible. So that it was not that we were totally unaware that that may have happened."

Jules Vasquez
"However in these extraordinary circumstances, wouldn't it have been best if the Guatemalan Minister of foreign affairs attended rather than sending his CEO?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I would imagine that it would have been good if he could have made it, but we were told that he had problems with some family problem, and then of course you knew the - that most people were trying to get to Rome, most were leaders, so he was representing Guatemala."

Jules Vasquez
"Yes indeed, but aren't we seeing consistent disrespect of the process, in so far as to having a press conference to announce the interest in changing the date, and then not having the highest official attend? This meeting, it's clear that these people are thumbing their nose at the process."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I don't want to comment on things like that, Jules. I am not so much concerned about their deportment and their behavior, as I am concern about our behavior. We must try at all times to be circumspect in our behavior. Certainly those of us at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs want to maintain that posture, and to the extent that there's a view that the Guatemalans are not as circumspect, I don't really want to comment on that."

Jules Vasquez
"So will we have a referendum on October 6, 2013?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"That will depend on what transpire in the days to come, that I can't tell you that, I'm not a fortune teller. I would want to see one."

Elrington says Cabinet will consider the proposals at its meeting next week.

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