Today we spoke to the Minister of National Security, who most certainly has seen this report if it is authentic. He commands the hundreds of men and women at the frontlines, which appear under pressure - if only unofficially - by Guatemala. And although that is nothing new, even the Prime Minister conceded yesterday that he has never in his life time seen tensions ratchet up quite like this before. So how is the Minister of National Security handling? We asked him that today.
Hon. John Saldivar, Minister of National Security
"As we've always said it is the role of the Ministry of National Security and its constitution such as the BDF and the Coast Guard to safeguard the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of our country. It is a job that we take very seriously and we wish that civilians would leave us to do our job, which we've been doing over the years. The heightened security concerns in the area really do worry us, but we are at this point exploring the diplomatic avenues to try to get it resolved. We are hopeful. There was a meeting earlier this morning in Washington which we believe we will get some good results out of that and we are hopeful that we can always solve our problems in a diplomatic way. A military solution is not good for any of us."
So while the Government continues its peace keeping diplomacy, the other matter is the construction of the Forward Operating Base at the mouth of the Sarstoon. So what's the latest on that? And and is the small wooden structure defensible should there be an escalated incident? Here's how John Saldivar answered those questions:
Hon. John Saldivar, Minister of National Security
"I am not too sure that I will buy in to the argument that concrete is always better than wood. But I left that to the experts. I left that to the BDF and the Coast Guard to determine what was the best option at this time given the monies that we had to allocate to it and I am satisfied that they have come up with a proper design. Most of our other facilities in the jungle are similarly designed and they have been working well. So I see no reason to worry about whether it was concrete or wood. I trust the experts at BDF and Coast Guard that this will serve our purpose."
Emanuel Pech
"Originally it was projected that it would be completed by April. Do you anticipate any setbacks given the heightened level of activity at that location?"
Hon. John Saldivar, Minister of National Security
"No I don't. I've been assured by my general that it will be ready by the middle of April."
If you can recall, proposal was to construct a base on the north of the Sarstoon island. But while on reconnaissance duty in the area our Belizean military were confronted for the first time by Guatemalan armed forces. Critics still believe that it is this incident that caused authorities to reconsider, and so the site for the military base was pushed back to the mouth of the river.
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