Last night, we gave you a few excerpts of that late evening press conference held by Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, Ambassador Assad Shoman, and Belize Ambassador to Guatemala, Alexis Rosado. They were there to make a joint statement on the 3 meetings held in Washington DC on Tuesday to address the confrontation between the Guatemalan Military and the BDF on the Sarstoon.
But what they didn't talk much about is Belize's referendum law: it requires a 60% threshold to be valid. In other words, 60% of the voter population has to come out and participate. It's a factor because back in March of 2013, Guatemala pressed the panic button and aborted the joint ICJ Referendum, which was supposed to have been held in both countries on October 6, 2013. They were concerned that threshold in Belize would cause them to go through a tedious and expensive procedure in their country, while Belize's referendum may turn out to be invalid.
That led to Belize signing the Amended Compromis in May of last year which allows for both countries to hold the Refendum on a date of their choosing, and without the requirement of it being done simultaneously in both countries.
So, it's been a sore point for the resolution of the territorial claim, and it came up on Tuesday before the Group of Friendly Nations - which is losing patience with the confidence building process.
A press release from the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that Belize may be willing to change the law.
The translation of that says that Elrington quote, "...reported that efforts are being made to ensure that Belize's Parliament considers that the outcome of the referendum can be approved by a simple majority."
And while that's what the Guatemalans say, when we asked Elrington about in yesterday's press conference, he didn't say much:
Daniel Ortiz
"Did the topic of the 60% threshold for our referendum requirements in our constitution, did that come up at all in these meetings?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"I made mention of it. I think it is something that we have to think about, and I think I said it to the Group of Friend because, it really is an anomalous situation. And so, it's something that we had looked at - We'll be looking at generally, yes. I raised it."
Daniel Ortiz
"Can you share the details of that specific conversation on the threshold?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"Well, we didn't have a conversation on it really. I intimated that it is a matter that we are looking at in terms of seeing how we could convince our partners and donor partners that we are not sleeping, and we're trying to take some necessary steps to assure them that we are moving in the right direction with a view to getting the matter resolved."
On the topic of funding for the OAS Adjacency Zone, the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry's press statement, says, quote, "...The representative of Mexico reiterated the commitment of his country to continue supporting the process, and indicated that Mexico will increase contributions. The representative of Spain emphasized the strong bilateral relations with Guatemala and support his country gives the process..." End Quote.
Email
Print