7 News Belize

The De-Brief Test
posted (March 2, 2015)
As you heard in our story, a part of the welcome back in Punta Gorda Town involved the a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of the Foreign Affairs and National Security Ministry, along with Belizean Ambassador to Guatemala Alexis Rosado, and other Foreign Affairs staffers. In that meeting, 5 key persons from the group were asked to debrief the Government officials, so that their version of events could be compared to the version which Guatemala relayed through diplomatic and military channels.

National Security CEO George Lovell told the media that from what the Belizeans have reported, a diplomatic note will more than likely be sent:

Ret. Col. George Lovell - CEO, Ministry of National Security
"The reason why we had these interviews, was basically for us to establish precisely what the facts are from the people who were out there and who had firsthand experience of what transpired on the ground. As you may have heard, we have been talking to our OAS officials, our BDF and foreign affairs officials and they themselves were relaying to the Ministry of National Security secondhand information. This was an opportunity for us to hear from our people who were at sea, who had experience the ordeal that they went through since 4 o' clock yesterday and it was just necessary that we speak to them, so that we could have gathered our facts and be able to deal with this in a very responsible manner. There are a number of things that were said, that I am very concerned about and we ill definitely as a government, have to take up those concerns with our Guatemalan counterparts. i don't want to go into the details, simply because there is a confident building measures, which speaks to protocol, in which we must follow when we address these things and so I need to first of all, brief the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Security and the Minister of Foreign Affairs on what we have gathered here today and once we have gone through that, those concerns that I have just listening to the various statements made by those who experience this ordeal out there, I will discuss those details and then there are certain actions we will have to take going forward."

H.E. Alexis Rosado - Belizean Ambassador to Guatemala
"I am very disappointed by what happened. We are still trying to clear up all the story - the full picture. But what it tells me is that we need to implement those agreements and do more to keep that level of contact communication cooperation. I think the fact that we manage to get our Belizeans back home so quickly, in fact, they could have come home last night, but because of the choppy waters and so, they decided to overnight. But the fact that we manage to get them back as quickly as possible, I think is a good indication of the communication and the links that exists between the militaries and also between the foreign ministries. That of course, without prejudice to establishing all the facts surrounding the whole situation. From my point of view, I think the most important thing is that our Belizeans are back home, they are safe and they can be with their families and friends and be at home safely and secure. I think that's the most important part. The rest we will have to deal with in due course."

This evening, the Government of Belize sent a press release, which says quote,

"The Belizean Government's deep concern about the ongoing incident was raised with senior authorities of the Guatemalan Government and of the OAS..."

"Initial reports suggest that by an error of navigation the Belizean vessel may have unintentionally entered into Guatemalan waters. These reports also suggest that the Guatemalan authorities may have erred in their judgment and placed the passengers of the vessel at risk by diverting the vessel to Livingston, Guatemala. Also the reports suggest that the Guatemalan military officials may have entered illegally into Belizean waters at the Sarstoon. The Government of Belize will be taking necessary measures to address these concerns…including the request of a joint verification exercise along with the OAS." End Quote.

The Government also warns the Territorial Volunteers saying quote, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to caution that while there are no areas in Belize where Belizeans are not permitted to visit, those areas within the proximity of the border continue to remain the subject of an active controversy between Belize and the Republic of Guatemala. Official reports furnished to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the OAS reveal that the same group which organized this weekend's excursion had exactly one year ago planted palms on the wrong side of the border."

It continues,

"The Ministry maintains its view that it is…potentially dangerous for the organizers of excursions of this type to expose innocent Belizeans, especially minors and elderly, to the risk of inadvertently entering into Guatemalan territory." End quote.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize