7 News Belize

Diplomatic Note, Will It Be Direct?
posted (March 1, 2016)
So, as you heard, the Foreign Minister repeated once again that Belize will be sending a strong note of diplomatic protest to Guatemala. Now, that was the promise made the public last year August when the first showdown happened between the Territorial Volunteers the Guatemalan Navy. A month later, PUP Senator Lisa Shoman revealed that protest note which she described as "weak kneed", and stressed that Guatemala's response was much more forceful.

So, today, we asked Elrington just exactly what will be in this new protest note:

Daniel Ortiz
"What is forceful in diplomacy in specifically writing these diplomatic notes?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"The language of diplomacy is normally referred to as the gentleman's language you know and the language is very different from that type of language that you hear being used in the streets and in the bars and when people have quarrel. You can say in a very forceful way using very nice language what you have in mind. And the diplomats have a particular way of crafting these messages which conveys quite forcefully although people who are not necessarily acquainted with the legalese as it were of diplomatic language or the formality of diplomatic language or think that they may not be forceful enough. These documents are crafted by the officials in the ministry of foreign affairs who have copious years dealing with this kind of thing. They are the experts on it and I don't seek to second guess them."

Daniel Ortiz
"Last year Senator Lisa Shoman who was then appointed as a PUP senator, disclosed both diplomatic notes and the suggestion she made, she supposedly read from it, and the suggestion was that the Guatemalan diplomatic note in response to the Belize diplomatic note was a lot more forceful."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"I don't think that one does any good really by taking this kind of attitude towards this dispute. I think that the important this is that somebody has trespassed or has come into your territory unlawfully and that you notify them of it and you request that it is not repeated and that kind of thing."

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