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FCD Welcomes More GAF Presence Near Chiquibul
posted (June 20, 2016)
Belize and Guatemala are preparing for the diplomatic talks to continue his time in Washington, but the reality on the ground remains the rather unchanged. And that is that Guatemalan encroachers continue to rape the natural resources of the Chiquibul for Forest and other reserves along the border between our two countries. We all heard the news shortly after the fatal shooting in the Chiquibul in April that Guatemala was moving troops to the border.

That's what the Guatemalan President announced, and it caused Belizeans to become very concerned about the military build up on the border. So how was the Friends for Conservation handling that episode when it was first announcement was made? Well surprisingly, according to Rafael Manzanero, the amassing of troops at the border might be very well what they need at the Chiquibul border. Here is his rationale.

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director - FCD
"When the notice came about that there would have been a pronounced effort of the GAF to be along that area, for us on one hand, it could have been seen as good news, because what we need the southern Peten area is a program of governance. Communities have been able to do whatsoever they want, because there is not really any rule of law in those communities in southern Peten. We had assumed that by having authorities in there, it certainly can help really to deter the Guatemalans from coming in, if that is really the case. However, there is also a dilemma that it might not really be for that. In other words, if the military are only there to serve as observers and if they are not being able to uphold their citizens from not coming in, then certainly that can be another problem for us, because then Guatemalans may feel that everything is okay and that they are not being really stop from coming in. I think that we all agree that there are 3 main components to be use in those communities along the adjacency zone in Guatemala and that is basically public awareness, environmental security or the upholding of the law and the third one is sustain livelihoods. Those 3 have to go hand in hand."

We'll tell you how the talks in Washington DC go in tomorrow's newscast.

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