On Friday's newscast, we had extensive coverage of the launch of the Teachers Union Stand Up for Belize Education campaign.
But, the event went until the evening, and our team had to race back from Benque to get it in for the news - meaning that there's some stuff which we didn't manage to fit into Friday's news.
We showed you a portion of the presentation that Assad Shoman gave to the hundreds of teachers on the latest information relating to the Belize Guatemala Territorial Dispute. He also focused a quite a bit of his nearly 1 hour presentation on why he thinks that the ICJ is Belize's best option to settle the territorial dispute with Guatemala. Here's how he made the point based on over 40 years of research:
Ambassador Assad Shoman - Opposition representative
"We shall fight and we shall win. If you are smart and we unite, we shall not fight with guns, but with ideas. Ideas that we must take to the world community and win such strong support that Guatemala will have to listen. The United States of America voted for that 1980 resolution and the United States is a member of Security Council. One of the permeant that has a right to VITO as you know. But the international court of justice, the ICJ is also an organ of the United Nations. It a part of the charter of the United Nations and the charter of the United Nations says that article 33, 'the parties to any disputes, the continuance of which is like to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.' That sounds like the one between we and Guatemala, the parties shall, first of all seek a solution by negotiation inquiring mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or other peaceful means of their own choice. Article 36 says, security council may recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment and then it says, in making these recommendations, the security council shall also take into consideration that legal disputes should as general rule, be referred by the parties the international court of justice. You can't hear it any clearer than that. It's in the chart of the United Nations."
"You know I am in favor of pressuring Guatemala to submit its claim to the ICJ. And it's not just because we are sure to win, it's because there is no other way and because if we don't end the claim, our country will be engulfed by Guatemalans. They are doing it already, so we have to grit our teeth, accept the difficult situation and deal with it in a determine way. So far, what you might think is an indignity of going to court are, but think of the glorious feeling when that court give its judgement and says the jewel is yours to keep in all its glory."
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