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Well, the news tonight the PUP's National Party Council has finalized their plans and on Saturday, they are heading to the Sarstoon. Party Leader John Briceño spoke with the media today about his party's plans:

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"We have been in consultations with the leadership of the party, by that I mean members of the national executive and parliamentarians and the best time that we could have from the majority of the group to go down south is going to be this Saturday."

Mike Rudon, Ch 5
"You have maintain a cordial relationship with the Prime Minister. Have you informed him of that decision?"

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"The Prime Minister is aware that we are going to travel to the Sarstoon. I have said it publicly, we've said it in our releases and just last week Friday when we went to support the teachers in their march to stand up for Belize - I also made it clear once again that we are going to go and visit the Sarstoon. So I am sure that he is aware that we will go to the Sarstoon River to visit. The Prime Minister was very clear, I think it was last week when he announced that he was lifting the total restriction to visit the area and that once you go and report to the forward operating base of the BDF that they will allow you to go. We are going in peace. We are not taking any liquor, we are not taking any kind of weapons or anything and we will stop at the Forward Operating base. We will report and then we go on to the Sarstoon. So I do not expect any problems on the part of the government or the police or the Prime Minister or the Cabinet or anybody."

Reporter
"One of the things you mentioned when you had the press conference was that you would be inviting civil society unions, the public in general to join you all on this expedition. Is that still the case?"

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"What we said is that we want to invite them in the work that we are doing, but it has been difficult to get boats. As you know that many of the boat owners have been threatened. They are concerned that they may lose their licenses and they throw all sorts of obstacles on their hands, so it's difficult to be able to get boats that can go down south. We have secured just enough to be able to take the national executive and some of the other leaders in the party. So what we want to do is that once this is finish and if we can plan another trip, then definitely we want to be able to bring more people so that they could see firsthand what is happening."

But, the PUP's Sarstoon sojourn coincides with the date that a Belizean diplomatic delegation is scheduled to meet with their Guatemalan counterparts for bilaterial Talks in Istanbul, Turkey. That Belize Delegation will include Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington, Ambassador Alexis Rosado, and the PUP Leader's Representative, Eamon Courtenay. And, the main topic of discussion will be the continuation of negotiations for a peacekeeping protocol for the Sarstoon.

But then, isn't it counter-productive for the PUP to stage a provocative trip on the same day as the talks? After all, who knows what can happen on the Sarstoon - and what plays out in the south, could have a direct effect effect on those talks. Here's how Briceño answered that question:

Daniel Ortriz
"Are you sending a representative?"

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"Yes, we've always said that when it comes to the sovereignty of this country, that we in the PUP, we do not play politics. When we go abroad we speak with one voice - we speak as Belize and the meeting in Istanbul is a very important meeting. It is the first meeting that we are going to have official meeting between Belize and Guatemala after the talks broke down when they presented their version of the protocol. Something that we totally 100% object to - we in the PUP. So, now that they have decided that they have the opportunity for them to meet again on this in the next few days, we will send our representative and our representative as I mentioned before is Senator Eamon Courtenay and I think that he will be traveling tomorrow to join the team."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, wouldn't your plan trip this weekend get in the way of those negotiations, those talks since the purpose of it was to prevent a trip like yours for a political point?"

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"Absolutely not. Our trip is an educational trip. It is very important for us in the leadership to be able to go down on the spot in the river, first to have a better and a appreciation about what is taking place there. So we are going on this educational trip where we can be educated first hand, to visit the area to see what is going on and then once in the Toledo District to talk to different individuals to see how they see all of this playing out. Because we can be here in Belize City or in Orange Walk, but it is the people in the Toledo that are on the frontline of where all of this is happening."

Daniel Ortiz
"While your position or the party's position that this is an educational trip, the Guatemalans could interpret that differently and negatively and that could bring a negative outcome to the Istanbul talks. Do you accept that?"

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"No. I think that's their problem what they want to think. We don't think for what they want to do on their part in their country. They can do as they wish. This is our country and we are having problems at the border. We are seeing right now that the Guatemalans have been strong-arming the entire Sarstoon River. It is important for us to go down there and to get a firsthand view as to what is happening and just like how we are going down south, later on we will also plan a trip to go at the western border, so that we can see firsthand what is happening. So as far as we are concern it is an educational trip, it is not a political one and as Belizeans we have rights to be able to go any part on this country."

Of course, 7News will be there in PG - to see how it all plays out.