All of last week, the headlines were dominated by the news that the Guatemalan Armed Forces had confronted the BDF at the Sarstoon Forward Operating Base on Saturday, March 12.
As we showed you, however, the BDF have cataloged 10 years of hostile and aggressive engagements from the Guatemalan Military in the Sarstoon River. It's all contained in their Threat Assessment Report, which you heard Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington say last week that he hasn't seen. He's a member of the National Security Council, and so is Prime Minister Barrow, who is the Chairman. So yesterday, we asked him if he's read that report.
He says that he hasn't either, but does know the contents in a general sense. So, we asked him about that worrying assessment from the BDF that the other country's military has tried to goad them into an armed conflict. Here's what he told us:
Daniel Ortiz
"The BDF are calculating based on sober observations of 10 years of interactions, some 10 incidents thereabout. Their suggestion is that the military tactic seem to be provocative with the intent to lure Belizean forces into an armed conflict."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I'm sure that the BDF has been nothing but professional. and while I haven't read that report, the verbal reports that I have gotten from time to time about little incidents all suggest to me that the Guatemalans while acting in an undesirable manner, might not have has as their objective provoking a shooting war. Now the description that I first received of the Saturday incident worried me because that appeared to have taken things up a notch or two."
Daniel Ortiz
"Is it a concern of yours that Belize may be playing fair? playing the diplomatic game the right way, making all the sober decisions to keep us between peace of both countries and the other side, while on the public profile is not doing that but it seems as though they are taking a few cheap shots?"
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Well, what has happened in the past few years has happened. As I've said, I don't want to misjudge the nature and severity of what has happened, but I don't want to exaggerate the seriousness, although it is, of what has happened either. Going forward though, especially with what has happened on Saturday, it is clear that we need to work things out, so that we might avoid even what happened before or what was happening before Saturday. And I repeat that I am cautiously optimistic that we can do it."
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