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“Boots” Will Not Bow To Guatemala’s Demands
posted (July 16, 2015)
But senior minister Anthony Boots Martinez is a lot less circumspect than the Foreign Minister. He told the media today that he could never agree to any neighbor or foreign court being able to dissuade a government from acting in its sovereign right:..

Hon. Anthony "Boots" Martinez, UDP Minister of Government
"But I don't know about any such information that could deter a forward operation base that should be built in our territory. For any country or any government to say cease and desist to building something in your country. Haven't heard about it, but I am certain that that is nothing in my view that I will ever agree on as a Belizean and as a minister of government."

But, the fact is that while the deepest channel south of the Sarstoon Island is recognized by the government of Belize to be this country's the southern boundary - the Guatemalans do not concede that. Here's what the Ambassador told us one month ago:..

Jules Vasquez
"Is it an objective fact or do you accept the fact that we believe to be a fact that Sarstoon Island represents the inclusive territory of Belize and that the border marker or the borderline is at the deepest channel in the Sarstoon River south of the Sarstoon Island. Is that something that you all accept?"

H.E. Manuel Roldan Barillas - Guatemalan Ambassador to Belize
"That is precisely part of what is going to be dealt with at the ICJ. I am not here to give an opinion to that respect and as I told you that is a completely different dynamic. What I am here to do is trying to foster the day to day relationship. Those technical issues are to be dealt with at the ICJ."

And while there is all this talk of the ICJ - neither country has set a definitive timeline for a referendum on whether the dispute should go to the ICJ.

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