by Wellington C. Ramos

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

As a Belizean citizen I am not satisfied with the actions that have been taken by my government in response to the Guatemalan gunboat encroaching in our territorial waters, because these incidents have been occurring ever since we obtained our independence from Great Britain on the 21 of September, 1981.

Guatemala has continued to demonstrate that they have no respect for our independence, sovereignty, borders and territorial integrity, so stronger action is needed by our government to make them respect us. I hereby recommend that a strong protest be made to the Guatemalan government, the organization of American states (OAS), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Organization of African Unity (OAU), European Union, other international regional organizations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to let the world know what the Guatemalan government has been doing to us since we obtained our independence.

Whether the Guatemalan gunboat was aground on our Barrier Reef or not has no significance, because Guatemalan gunboats continue to trespass in Belize territorial waters in the Sarstoon, and continue to harass our citizens in order to impede them from moving back and forth in our waters, and using and enjoying the benefits of our territory.

It is being reported that the Guatemalan gunboat has equipment for bathymetry the mapping of waters for research purposes. This equipment can be used for intelligence gathering in our territorial waters. The person who gave the Coast Guard Admiral Bennett the permission (or instructions) to release the Guatemalan gunboat, violated routine diplomatic protocols. The Guatemalan gunboat should have been impounded until the Belize and Guatemalan governments conclude their diplomatic transactions. The reason for this action is because the captain of the Guatemalan gunboat was still insisting that his vessel was in Guatemalan territorial waters, even though he was told by the Belize Coast Guard that he was not.

I am not convinced that the Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs will strongly protest the illegal incursion by the Guatemalan gunboat into Belizean waters and will call on the Guatemalan authorities to stop their armed forces from continuing to enter into Belizean waters without authorization from Belizean authorities.  Even though they do, those calls will go on deaf ears, like all the previous calls they have made. The Belizean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade should discontinue engaging with the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade until they receive an apology and a written commitment from the Guatemalan government, to insist that its armed forces respect the maritime and territorial integrity of Belize and its internationally recognized borders. To engage in diplomatic relations and trade, gives the appearance that the incident has no consequence and it is business as usual.

The sapodilla Cayes are part of a Trilateral dispute among Belize, Guatemala and Honduras that is to be resolved at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Belize should report this, and all similar incidents that have occurred since we obtained our independence, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as evidence of Guatemala’s disrespect for our independence, sovereignty, borders and territorial integrity.

Belize and Guatemala had agreed to some Confidence Building Measures, proposed by the Organization of American States (OAS), to avoid an escalation of the border dispute and conflict between the two countries over Guatemalan claim to Belize.

Since the agreement was signed, the Guatemalan Armed Forces have continued to encroach in Belizean territorial waters at will. Also, in the western part of Belize, Guatemalan citizens continues to cross the border to build houses, squat, engage in farming, loot Belizean Mayan artifacts, and conduct other illegal activities, with no response from the Guatemalan military fir their citizens to stop.

I do not believe that the Guatemalan military will cease and desist from engaging in these activities until the Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs brings their case to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a hearing and a possible resolution to this ongoing crisis. This is the next appropriate common-sense step to take, since our regional organization, the Organization of American States (OAS), has failed, and continues to fail us miserably.