On Sunday, 25% of Guatemala's voting population gave an emphatic yes to the ICJ.  The government of Belize congratulated them, while the Cabinet has yet to come up with a position.  So what about the opposition?  The PUP - as the party which put Belize on the path to the ICJ when it was in government in 2007 - is in a ticklish position.  At the time, the party leader Said Musa was confident, he said Belize had an "iron-clad" case - but now, with public sentiment in Belize seemingly against the ICJ - what does its present leader John Briceno have to say.  

The press asked him today:

Hon. John Briceño - Leader of the Opposition
"We need to start off by congratulating the people and government of Guatemala for a successful referendum that they had on Sunday. Whilst in our mines 26 percent is low but as I've been told one of the highest turnout for a referendum they had in a very long time in Guatemala. So we need to congratulate them and it only adds to us now in Belize that we also have to get ready for our referendum - when it's going to happen its up for the government for them to decide."

Daniel Ortiz
"Okay now sir, do you accept that your party was instrumental in getting us to this referendum track? And so one would take the view that your party is obliged to try to encourage the Belizeans to go for a yes vote?"

Hon. John Briceño
"We all recognize that most of the successful work that has been done in the negotiating - in trying to find a solution to the unfounded claim by Guatemala on Belizean territory has been led by the PUP. I also believe though that Guatemala lately has not been a good neighbor. They are trying to use strong arm tactics to see if they can try to strengthen their claim which I think is not going to work. There is a problem that is very difficult to separate myself as a citizen and as the leader of the party and that is why I try not to make definitive pronouncements because I do have a personal view and my personal view is that sooner or later we will have to get to the ICJ. Maybe not now or next year or 5 years but sooner or later we will because there is no other alternative. I explain it in basic simple terms, if you have your piece of land and your neighbor is trying to build a wall or a fence on your land, what do you do? You go to him and you say you're trespassing. He does not want to move, you show him your land paper and he still doesn't want to move, you either shoot him or you could go to court, so you will go to court. With Belize, the Guatemalans are trying to go into our land, we're telling them they are in our land, we have shown them our documents, our land papers which is the treaty of 1859. We can't shoot them, we can't invade Guatemala they are much bigger than us; so there's not many options left for the Belizean people."