Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington arrived back in country over the weekend. That's after spending just over 2 weeks abroad on a diplomatic mission to increase awareness about the recent difficulties between Belize and Guatemala.
Today, he hosted a press conference, which we will get to shortly, but first, to the final event that Elrington attended. That's the 7th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Association of Caribbean States. IT was held over the weekend in Havana, Cuba and both Belize and Guatemala had representation among the 25 member countries.
Gaspar Vega represented Belize in his final act as Deputy Prime Minister. And - in his swan song - he certainly turned heads on the international stage with his last official speech as Deputy Prime Minister. When it was his turn to speak, he used a portion of his over 8 minute speech to address the Belize Guatemala territorial dispute, focusing on Guatemala's recently enforced possession of the Sarstoon River. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, who heard it for himself, immediately rebutted. The exchange resembled the kind of back and forth that the Belizean public has come to expect from the politicians across the floor at House Meetings.
We start first with what Outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega had to say on the topic:
Hon. Gaspar Vega - Former Deputy Prime Minister
"It is in this spirit, Mr. Chairman, that Belize now finds it necessary to call on our brothers and sisters in the region to be aware that it is being seriously exercised at this time by the recent and very troubling shift in the foreign policy of our neighbour and closest trading partner - Guatemala; this is in relation to the centuries old territorial dispute which we inherited from Colonial days. The shift in foreign policy manifests itself in the potentially dangerous practices by armed Guatemalan military personnel to prevent Belizean citizens - military and civilian - from their traditional free and unimpeded ingress and egress of the Sarstoon River - the mid-channel of which constitutes the southern boundary of my country."
"This boundary was agreed upon in the Boundary Convention of 1859 between Great Britain and the Republic of Guatemala. This right of ingress and egress has been exercised without let or hindrance from the mid-19th Century."
"This new posture on the part of our neighbour Guatemala poses a grave threat to the preservation of our peaceful co-existence and it is a threat to stability in our hemisphere. It constitutes a clear and existential threat to our sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Shortly after concluding, Guatemala was allowed to respond, and President Jimmy Morales was quick to rebutt the statements made by Belize at the Summit. Here's his comments with English subtitles:
Jimmy Morales - President of Guatemala
"Thank you very much, Mister President. I would like to briefly refer to the address made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Belize, where he refers to the territorial dispute with Guatemala. Firstly, Guatemala is a peace-seeking country. It has said so and has backed it up with its behavior and its actions. Secondly, it has been Belize that has not had respect for peace nor for the lives of Guatemalans. To clarify, it has been the Belize Defense Force that has killed ten Guatemalan civilians, the last one taking place in April of this year with the death of a thirteen year old child. He was shot at eight times, with four rifle bullets hitting him on his back. this is despite that two years ago, here in Cuba, in a CELAC meeting, it was declared that Latin America and the Caribbean be a peaceful region. Thirdly, I'm asking Belize to use the correct venues to discuss our dispute, since this needs to be resolved in a peaceful and civilized manner, at the International Court of Justice, as agreed by the two countries. I end by saying that Guatemala is a country that loves peace. It favors peaceful solutions to controversies, since it urged Belize to go as soon as possible to the International Court of Justice in order to solve our century old territorial, continental, insular and maritime dispute. Mister President, I lament having to use this forum to say this, but it was necessary to make the clarification. Thank you very much. May God bless you."
Email
Print