So, here's a little more from Elrington's public trial by from the teachers. As you saw, Shoman publicly shared his skepticism of Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Raul Morales. Elrington on the other hand, has been criticized for what seems to be a cozy relationship with Morales.
One of the teachers asked Elrington publicly about that, and here's how he responded:
Teacher
"If Honorable Assad Shoman in 42 years could not get the Guatemalans to be our friends, why is it today that Hon. Sedi Elrington is selling that idea to us?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"The question of why I am trying to sell the friendship to Belize - I think it is all common sense that if you have a big powerful neighbor behind you, it is in your interest to be friendly with them. You can't be vigilant - you can't be awake for 24 hours a day and protect yourself. And I will tell you what is happening between Venezuela and Guyana. The relationship between Venezuela and Guyana is so bad now, that the Venezuelans recently passed a decree which is taking away all of Guyana seas - all the seas, just by the stroke of a pen. A final analysis elected people like me that only do what the Belizean people want and if you all don't want to go to the ICJ, we will have to abide by the law. And if it means that some of us will be chaos, we will have to abide by the law."
"I understand all the feelings, I understand all the passion. I have been studying this issue for the last 52 years. Assad has been negotiating for 41 years. So we read everything, we hear everything - we get all kinds of opinions and that is what formed our view. If you haven't had that acquaintances with the knowledge and information - if may have a different view. And we respect that. We are not upset about it. We are not upset at all. We are lined for all the views. But in the final analysis, just like every 5 years we go to election and people to vote, you will have that chance."
If you would like to find out more about the Belize Guatemala territorial dispute, you can visit www.belizereferendum.gov.bz/
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