Yesterday, we showed you the leaked diplomatic note from the Guatemalan Government which rejects Belize's interpretation that Belizeans can freely traffic the Sarstoon River.
The document makes it clear that as soon as the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Carlos Raul Morales, learned of the a Belize Government press release talking about “untrammelled traffic for (Belizeans)†in the Sarstoon, he sent off a diplomatic note objecting to that language.Â
The Guatemalan diplomatic note makes it clear that they are sticking by the joint statement as the true record of all agreements made at the meeting, and that said nothing about “untrammelled traffic.â€
So what got lost in translation so badly, that even the Prime Minister repeated it confidently? You will remember that when we asked him about it 1 day after the Istanbul Talks, and he said that it was this understanding of this informal agreement – which Guatemala now denies – which led him and his Government to revoke the 30-day Sarstoon ban early. Here's what he said then:
FILE (May 25, 2016)
Rt. Hon Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"I wasn't there so all I can tell you is that basically the press release captures the essence of it. There is an agreement now that we will negotiate a formal protocol for the Sarstoon and in the meantime clearly Belizeans can feel free to go to the Sarstoon; that is why we have revoked the statutory instrument that was in place."
Well, today when we caught up with Wil Maheia, who has become the chief advocate for the Sarstoon, he called for the Foreign Minister's head. Here's what he had to say about the completely different messages from the two Governments:
Wil Mehia - President, BTV
"I believe that the government of Belize owes the people an explanation and you know if they don't come out and now and begin to say it's the Guatemalans that are lying then it means that they are lying and if Sedi Elrington lied to this country then the Prime Minister has an obligation to remove him because you cannot be dealing with the Belize Guatemala situation and lie to us. If once you lie to us how can we believe you? We can never believe anything that comes out of your mouth so if they lied to us, if the Prime Minister based on his advice from Sedi is not true then he needs to remove Sedi. And I wouldn't wait for anything else and I am appealing to all organizations in this country; this is our country. We cannot have a Foreign Minister that lies to us. If this allegation is true then he needs to be removed so as a member of the BTV as a member of the Belize Progressive Party we are calling for his immediate removal."
Just Yesterday, both Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales addressed the representatives of the other OAS nations who participated in the 46 General Assembly in the Dominican Republic. Elrington told the delegation that he and the representatives of Guatemala are, quote, “having an excellent relationshipâ€, End Quote. He added that they are “resolved to work together†maintain peace between Belize and Guatemala, and to see the territorial dispute resolved successfully at the ICJ at the quickest time.
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