7 News Belize

Sailing Down the Sarstoon, VIP PUP Style
posted (June 3, 2016)
The last time the PUP made a plan to head to the Sarstoon - there was all kinds of media hype, and when it fell through, all that buildup turned into backlash. And that's probably why there was absolutely no announcement made about today's trip to the Sarstoon. It was kept on the political down low - and we didn't find out about it until yesterday evening. But that didn't stop Daniel Ortiz and Codie Norales from getting up before dawn and racing south to see what would happen. They squeezed into a spot on the bow of the big blue boat and what they saw on the Sarstoon surprised them. Daniel Ortiz has this report from the south:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting

This morning, 18 senior members of the PUP converged on the docking area by Joe Taylor Bridge, just outside of Punta Gorda.

Those intending to make the trip to Sarstoon included Opposition Leader John Briceno; his representative in the Bilateral Talks, Senator Eamon Courtenay; fellow Parliamentarians Oscar Requena, Rodwell Ferguson, Kareem Musa, and Cordel Hyde; Senator Paul Thompson; standard Bearer Major Lloyd Jones; PUP Chairman Henry Charles Usher; National Communications Manager, Anthony Mahler, and a few other important party personalities.

About an hour or so later, they all boarded the chartered vessel and set off on the now very familiar journey to mouth of the Sarstoon River.

s The majority of the trip was uneventful, but as we got closer to river, members of the party started seeing for themselves the illegal fishing by Guatemalans that had become the norm. They began documenting the activities for themselves.

About half an hour or so later, the chartered vessel pulled up to the Belize Sarstoon Forward Operating Base. This time, unlike our news team's last trip here, the current lead officer, BDF Staff Sergeant Cal, welcomed the Opposition Party Members cordially, and invited them to tour the base's grounds.

The PUP members with military experience greeted their one-time brothers in arms with a sense of familiarity. The Opposition Leader and the PUP lead negotiator chatted to the soldiers about the current relations with their Guatemalan counterparts based right across the river.

The reality is, though, that this trip's participants had become part of a small handful of Belizean civilians to ever plant foot on this base's compound.

Senator Eamon Courtenay - PUP Representative, Belize-Guatemala Bilateral Talks
"There are two parts to the visit. The first is to continue like most Belizeans have been trying to do to assert our sovereignty and to demonstrate to the world that as far as Belize is concern, we have a right to come here unimpeded and without being interfered with by the Guatemalans. The second part is to educate ourselves as to the geography of the area and to the tensions, the mood and the general layout of this entrance to this river. We have just arrived and we have stop at the Forward Operating Base and we have gotten a very brief explanation from the members of the Belize Defence Force as to what's happening here. From here we will proceed into the river and going to Sarstoon Island. I am expecting that the Guatemalans will respect our right and understand that we are on the Belizean side of the river and that there will be no incident."

Hon. John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"Being here taking a firsthand look at what's taking place - it allows you that whenever you are thinking about policy, that you can visualize what really is taking on the ground. It is important for us as a party and to bring some of the leaders so that we could all take a good look and have a better understanding and appreciation about the challenges that we are facing here on the southern tip of our country."

And the calm of the Belize military on the Sarstoon Base was reflected, on this day, by the Guatemalan Armed Forces on the other side of the river.

Viewers know very well that the norm, even up until last week Friday, was to immediately set up a blockade in the Belize portion of the River, at the slightest sign of any Belizean civilian boat.

Today, however, the Guatemalan soldiers did not do that. Their riverine vessels remained parked near their dock, and there was no watchful presence for the entire time that the PUP's chartered vessel remained in the location.

Hon. John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"I did inform the Prime Minister that we were coming. We are parliamentarians, we are elected members in this country and I felt that it was the right thing to advise the Prime Minister that we were coming and I am told that he did indicate that he sent message to Guatemala that we were going to be visiting the area. But apart from that, as I was speaking to different members of the BDF, they are saying that tensions have eased down quite a lot. I hope that it's a good sign."

Senator Eamon Courtenay - PUP Representative, Belize-Guatemala Bilateral Talks
"I think it is a good sign. I am not particularly confident that that will remain the situation. I think as you are aware there was some information given to the Guatemalans to expect this visit and therefore they are perhaps under good behavior. What we need is a permanent longstanding arrangement that the Guatemalans respect our right. I mean, we understand that they have a dispute, but you don't settle a dispute by enforcing what you believe to be your right is. So, even though toady so far we have not experience any stopping by the Guatemalans. It is indeed a good sign that they understand that we have a right to come here. But as I say, this was told to them that we will be visiting and the situation is what happens when there is no advanced notice. How will they behave?"

Then, it was unto the calmest tour yet of Sarstoon Island. Usually, visitors to the Sarstoon River are well aware of the heat they could bring on themselves for their intention to circle the island. Again, today, with no Guatemalan military vessels blockading or shadowing the Belizeans, they made a clock-wise trip around the island, very unusual because that meant first traveling southern side of the island - something which the Guatemalan military prevents usually.

It gave us the opportunity to really observe the Island up-close, and to also capture the activity happening in the Guatemalan Village of Sarstun. Of course, our captain made sure to avoid getting to close too much south, closer to the deepest navigable Channel of the river. That was to prevent an incursion into Guatemalan territory.

We also observed these two Guatemalan women rowing their canoe right up to the edge of the island, clearly a regular practice, but quite unusual for Belizeans who aren't really allowed to come here.

After that, with a pass in front of the northern side of Sarstoon Island, the PUP started making the journey back, after completing what, to their mind, was a successful mission.

Senator Eamon Courtenay - PUP Representative, Belize-Guatemala Bilateral Talks
"This is not intended to be provocative. It is to assert our right and to educate ourselves and not to create a problem."

Major (Ret) Lloyd Jones - PUP Standard Bearer, Belize Rural North
"I am happy to see that we are asserting our sovereignty. We are attempting to assert our sovereignty. We've got to find a way now to roll the Guatemalans back from this position that they have taken that all of the Sarstoon belongs to them."

The familiarization tour went from 11:00 in the morning to 2:30 this afternoon.

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