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Belize-Guatemala border “artificial”; Belize and Guatemala “same” — Belize Foreign Minister, Wilfred Elrington

GeneralBelize-Guatemala border “artificial”; Belize and Guatemala “same” -- Belize Foreign Minister, Wilfred Elrington
Still holding ministerial talks over their territorial dispute, Belize and Guatemala met in Washington, DC, USA, on Wednesday, and reports coming out of the Organization of American States (OAS), which hosted the meeting, indicate that a “high level” working group will be set up by ambassadors of both countries to address cross-border concerns.
  
More than dealing with tensions inside the adjacency zone spanning a kilometer on either side of the Belize-Guatemala border, the team is being asked to “expand communication” on border activities and make proposals in the wider area of dispute, possibly extending their focus to all of Belize’s territory.
  
(Guatemala itself has noted in prior meetings with Belize that its claims range from half to all of Belize.)
  
None of the press releases we sourced from the OAS, the Government of Belize or the Government of Guatemala were explicit on the terms of engagement of the two parties. Neither did they detail who exactly will sit on the high-level working group.
  
However, the Guatemalan report refers to stepping up military presence in the areas under surveillance.
  
The parties described the meeting as cordial, and referred to expressions of “goodwill.” On the other hand, though, they indirectly reiterated that the territorial dispute remains alive and well, and therefore, Belize and Guatemala, in line with the compromis or special agreement signed just over a year ago at the same venue, are expected to settle their differences in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
  
Beyond expanding the scope of the joint OAS-driven oversight from the adjacency zone to other parts of Belize’s territory, what has raised the eyebrows of some observers were statements the OAS attributed to Belize Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, calling Belize’s border with Guatemala “artificial” and declaring that Belizeans and Guatemalans are one, with the “same aspirations and desires.”
  
To quote exactly from the OAS press release: “We have to interact to emphasize the view that we are not different from each other; the fact of this artificial border does not make us different. We are still the same people, with the same aspirations and desires,” Elrington is quoted as saying.
  
Nationalist Emma Boiton, who was the partner of Belize’s most revered patriot, the late Philip Goldson, said that the anger that Elrington’s comments caused her will force her to “go take some aspirin.”
  
“We have to vigorously reject it,” said Boiton, popularly known as Miss Emma. “Their [Guatemala’s] goal is to take what does not belong to them; their goal is to take over Belize.”
  
“Fool di talk but da no fool di listen,” Boiton reacted. “We have a border and we are not the same people,” she went on, adding that Belize and Guatemala do not even share the same language, neither do they share the same culture and beliefs. 
  
“So the border between the US and Canada is artificial?” she questioned. “Better yet, the border between Mexico and the US? If the border is artificial, then they should not be building walls to stop the Mexicans.”
  
Even among Latin American countries and within states, they do not share the “same aspirations and desires,” she said, pointing to conflicts between El Salvador and Honduras and civil strife within Nicaragua.
  
“I would never support that,” said activist and politician Patrick Rogers, a panelist of the Kremandala Show. Rogers said that over in Guatemala, there is a huge divide between the rich and the poor, so much so that some of the affluent can afford 2 or 3 maids—that’s how cheap the labor of the poor is.
  
Guatemala City has many US franchises, but outside there, where the masses reside, a very different (and much lower) standard of living persists. Unlike the Maya and Garinagu in Belize, the indigenous peoples in Guatemala lack representation in government.
  
Belizeans and Guatemalans are two different people, the former coming out of the British colonial past, the latter from Spanish conquest, which has impacted current systems of government, Rogers commented.
  
He said that what Minister Elrington should have done when he assumed the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, was to insist that Belize’s border be recognized, rather than continuing the references to an adjacency zone, which is set out in the same confidence-building measures the parties continue to use as their bible for cross-border relations and negotiations.
  
“There is no way he [Minister Elrington] should have been legitimizing an adjacency zone,” Rogers insisted.
  
As to the compromis, Rogers said that it has been swept under the rug so Belizeans forget what was signed last year, even though there have been moves “behind the scenes,” and when it comes back to Belizeans for vetting, the time will be too short for most people to act appropriately.
  
Boiton said that she had told the OAS when officials visited Belize around the time the Ramphal/Reichler proposals were proposed several years ago: “I do not trust you all.”
  
“The US still owes Guatemala,” said Boiton, “for the Bay of Pigs invasion. [Ex US president] Kennedy promised Guatemala if they could train soldiers there and have their support to invade Cuba, he would ensure that Guatemala gets Belize.”
  
Boiton adds: “Anything from that side is suspect.”
  
Haroldo Rodas, Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, was also present at the meeting held Wednesday, December 16, sponsored by Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza.
  
A press release published in Spanish on the website of Guatemala’s foreign relations ministry said that the meeting considered two themes: the strengthening of joint patrol of Belize and Guatemalan armed forces along the border and mechanisms for enhancing confidence-building measures.
  
The OAS claims that it will bring the governments of Belize and Guatemala even closer through cooperation projects. It claims the high-level group is “to study issues that provoke difficulties and advance pending bilateral issues.”
  
The official reports also say that the Belize and Guatemala officials agreed to press ahead with the process to hold a referendum in both countries on whether the dispute should be sent to the International Court of Justice for a final and binding decision on Guatemala’s unfounded claim over Belizean territory.
  
When we asked Ambassador Mendez for an update on where Guatemala is with the compromis, he told us that he had to check his notes, which he claimed he did not have on hand when we called him in Washington.
  
There were also no details in any of the official releases on what will be done to address flagrant abuses by Guatemalans on Belizean soil—a key one being the unabated invasion of Guatemalan xatéros and farmers who illegally exploit and decimate vast acreages of Belize’s no longer pristine forests, notwithstanding these being in the protected areas.
  
Elrington and the Belize-based members of his delegation returned Thursday afternoon. Apart from Elrington, Belize was represented in Washington by Ambassador to Guatemala and Chief Negotiator – Alfredo Martinez; Belize’s Ambassador to the United States – Nestor Mendez; Senator Eamon Courtenay (former Minister of Foreign Affairs and representative of the Leader of the Opposition); Ambassador David Gibson, Ambassador Diane Haylock (President of the National Institute of Culture and History), and Counselor Cherie Nisbet of the Embassy of Belize in Washington, D.C.
  
Amandala tried to reach Minister Elrington for clarification of the latest developments, but calls to his home number were to no avail, even into Thursday night.

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