At the top of the news you heard about the Prime Minister's meeting with the Guatemalan President who has agreed to de-escalate. Time will tell what that means on the ground, but in some sense, the damage is already done. Observers say President Jimmy Morales has already shown his hand as a reactionary. One who completed his one hundredth day in the Presidency today and is not getting rave reviews in his home country. In fact, a huge protest was held today in Guatemala City by tens of thousands of indigenous people. So he could be using the old Belizean threat as a distraction. And the PUP didn't mince words in accusing him of that today. The PUP held an emergency executive meeting today - and when it was done the new representative in the Belize Guatemala negotiations Eamon Courtenay addressed the media.
Eamon Courtenay, PUP Rep., BZ, Guatemala Relations
"The People's United Party condemns in the strongest possible terms, the aggression by Guatemala by amassing troops at the border. We also condemn and reject its assertion of sovereignty over the Sarstoon. The deployment of its Naval and Military forces in the Sarstoon contributes a threat to peace and security in the region and between our two countries and that is a breach of international law. The government of Guatemala is not acting in good faith and that we cannot continue to take them at their word. We continue to express concern about the way in which we appear to be focused solely on going to the ICJ. Whilst at the same time, the facts on the ground are changing to our detriment. The death of a young person, regardless of who is at fault, does not justify the action that Guatemala has taken in the Sarstoon. It does not justify massing 3,000 troops and ammunition and equipment along our western boarder. He grabbed on to this death as the basis and justification for advancing his new full frontal military approach towards Belize. The response of the Government of Guatemala is not only disproportionate, but it is designed by military men. It is designed by a president who is held hostage by generals and that they have adopted a non-peaceful approach to their relations with Belize. The international community needs to understand that, the PUP calls on the government to be aggressive, to deal with these matters in the most effective way. And we believe that the most effective way is to launch a diplomatic offensive where we can convince those persons and those countries who have an interest in maintaining peace and security in the region will call upon the government of Guatemala to desist from what they're doing, to take effective measures to stop their people coming across the border into Belize and plundering our resources and acting illegally. That responsibility falls squarely on the Government, we are saying that the government must do its job and we are saying that we are prepared to continue to work with the Government to attain the just objectives for the Belizean people. We think as a first step we should recall our ambassador to Guatemala to Belize for consultation. The situation is this, we have not heard from the Prime Minister personally, we have not seen the Prime Minister and in this day and age that can easily be arranged. It is his duty and his responsibility to address the Belizean people and to give them confidence that this matter is being attended to and that we will remain safe and secure. We have not even heard from the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of national security appeared to be, in my view, somewhat contradictory in the positions and statements that he was making. What the Belizean people want now is an assurance, not that we will go to war, but that war will be avoided. That every effort is being taken to ensure that there shall be no breach of the peace. We call on the Government to do so, to give the people that assurance. We want to see, we want to hear, from the leader of our country."
Jules Vasquez
"Is it as serious as it seems? Or is it, in your opinion, just table rattling?"
Eamon Courtenay, PUP Rep., BZ, Guatemala Relations
"I think we are at the worst that we have ever been in at least 40 years. What the President of Guatemala said yesterday has to be taken seriously. It is unprecedented, as far as I am aware, for the Guatemalan forces to exercise the sovereignty that their currently exercising in the Sarstoon. My understanding from speaking to people high up in the military of Belize, they are very concerned about the amassing of troops along the western border, because it creates a real risk for something to happen, for somebody to get jumpy on either side and for hostilities to occur."
Of course, since that press conference, which was at midday, we have heard from the Prime Minister in a recorded statement by phone, which was delivered to media houses around 6:00 this evening.
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