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Senate Debates, Defeats Maritime Areas Amendment Bill
posted (December 13, 2017)

The Senate met today in Belmopan - and the biggest business on the agenda was the Private Motion brought by Opposition member Eamon Courtenay. It’s called the “MARITIME AREAS AMENDMENT BILL 2017â€￾, and he wants to re-instate Belize’s full Maritime Areas - which were relaxed in 1992 - to open the way for a possible compromise with Guatemala in Belize’s southern waters. But, the hopes for a negotiated settlement were officially abandoned when Belize and Guatemala committed to take the dispute to the ICJ in 2008. Now, Courtenay brought the motion to say that those full maritime areas must be completely re-instated to enhance Belize’s standing and bargaining position.

It’s an unusual motion - to be brought by the PUP from the Senate - but it got the usual response along party lines. In fact there was not debate on motion itself - the debate ended right at whether the members would grant leave to debate. Courtesy of TNC Channel 10, here’s the back and forth:..

Eamon Courtney - Senator for the Opposition

“In 2008 the special agreement was signed which in effect both Belize and Guatemala were saying that they would no longer negotiate for a settlement of the unfounded claim of Guatemala to Belize. It is therefore of view that since 2008 this amendment should have been made repealing those provisions. Secondly, Mr. President, Belize has, from the 1990’s, received international legal advice that if Belize is to go to ICJ to have the dispute resolved by a judication, the Maritime Areas Act should be amended to remove those provisions that speak about a settlement. It appears that Guatemala is moving forward with their referendum, it is projected to be held, according to them, in April 2018 and apparently Belize is supposedly doing the same. If that is so Mr. President, that both countries are moving forward, we need to put in place all that should be in place prior to any possible submission to the ICJ. Fourthly, Belize needs to claim what is rightly oursâ€￾

Michael Peyrefitte - Senator for the Government

“The process should not begin, madam president, with 13 people who are not elected by the people. I know we are the upper house and everything, and some of us, as they say on the street, ‘think we-selves,’ but nobody from any constituency put any of us here. A matter as big as this should begin with those elected by the people. This is so big, this is so important, why wasn’t this, if it was so important for the People’s United Party, why wasn’t it introduced by the leader of the opposition in the House? Why not? Are you, Senator Courtney, the leader of the People’s United Party? Because that is the person, that is the place from which such an introduction should be attempted not from the Senate. Grandstanding, that’s all it is but nobody is going to fooled here today. Senator Courtney well knows that this has to go back to the House even if it passes today. The Government has already said that they will pass any amendment necessary depending on what happens. So what is the urgency for this? Why do we feel like we have to do this now?â€￾

“But since it has taken so long, on both sides of that chamber to raise the discussion, we are doing it. What is so wrong? What is so wrong with that? We cannot let pride and party politics get the better of us on every single thing. Certainly not on matters of our sovereignty. Mr. President, it was stated that the process should not begin with 13 people. Sometimes if things are not started by these 13 people, such as the renewal of a contractor general, perhaps then things might not get done.â€￾

“There is no fight that there is a need to amend this legislation, repeal this legislation, there is no fight about that in the long run. I think it is about timing and getting the timing actually right.â€￾

“I believe that an introduction of the amendment will spur much discussion much needed discussion on this matter. And I don’t think that we ought to be waiting until we are near the point where we are going to a referendum to start having discussions on this matter.â€￾

“We have to realize that we are no longer in negotiation mode. We are in referendum mode. So, that makes that section 3 of the Maritime Areas Act redundant and I think we have an opportunity here to forge the debate in the lower chamber. It’s needed, it’s necessary, it’s long overdue.â€￾

“This is not the place with the proper mechanism to deal with the ventilation of a law of this nature. Particularly because the Guatemalan issue, as most of us know, is a very touchy issue. People have separated and divided because of this issue.â€￾

Mark Lizarraga- Senator for the Business Sector

“It baffles me that there is even a question or a doubt in some people’s minds whether in this honorable House we have the right, the ability, or the obligation to either raise motions or present bills- WE CAN. I’m very disappointed at what I have heard from my other colleagues. In their attempt to grandstand it, no matter who brings it to this honorable House, if we all agree that it needs to be handled, it doesn’t have to be birthed in the House of Representatives. It could be birthed in the Senate.â€￾

Eamon Courtney

“We are to go to the ICJ if our people approve it. And if our people do not approve it we say amend the Maritime Areas Act to ensure that if there are any negotiations after that there will be no compromise on the Maritimes Areas of Belize. It is therefore, Mr. President and members of the Senate, completely counterintuitive for members of the Senate on the Government's side to not vote in favor of a bill that will make it very clear to Guatemala and to all the world that that possibility of a negotiated settlement on the Maritimes side is over and cannot happen again, that we have closed the door and that that will never be a part of any possible discussion. We as a country have been advised that this amendment should be made. Mr. President now is the time to do what is right.â€￾

As you saw, there was great division on the motion and in the end, it came down to a close “6 yes’sâ€￾ and 7 “no’sâ€￾ - meaning the government side, plus the churche senator won by a narrow margin. With that the motion was not granted lave to be debated.

Our thanks to TNC Channel 10 for that video.

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