by Wellington C. Ramos, Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science

Continue from page 22, Friday, August 12, 2022, AMANDALA issue #3577

The Webster Proposals (cont.)

Belize had not yet achieved self- government, and so the delegates were members of the Executive Council, which comprised Hon. George Price, who later became Prime Minister of Belize; Mr. Albert Cattouse; and Hon. Louis Sylvester, along with Hon. Harrison Courtney, Sr., as the delegation’s legal adviser.

The main thrust of these negotiations was to seek a solution to the dispute through economic cooperation. The parties agreed to request the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) to undertake a study of the implications of closer economic cooperation between Belize and the Central American states with a view to Belize joining the Central American Common Market. It was also agreed to establish a tripartite committee, to be composed of representatives from Guatemala, Britain and Belize charged with the task of promoting mutual economic and social development between the peoples of Guatemala and Belize.

Although ECLA was commissioned to undertake the study contemplated, little else emerged from the agreements reached at San Juan. The tripartite committee was never appointed and diplomatic relations between the U.K. and Guatemala were broken in 1964, when Belize achieved internal self government. Guatemala protested that the U.K. had failed to consult her on this constitutional advance for Belize as she was obliged to do.

In June 1965, Britain, in consultation with Belize, agreed with Guatemala to submit the dispute to a Mediator appointed by the United States Government. The Mediator, Mr. Bethuel M. Webster, delivered his report in April 1968, in the form of a draft Treaty, the main provisions of which may be summarized as follows:

i. Article 1 of the draft treaty provided that British Honduras would be granted independence under the name of Belize not later than 31st December 1970.

ii. Article 2 obliged Belize and Guatemala to grant to each other’s goods free entry through their ports and free transit through predetermined routes of each country.

iii. Under Article 3, the port of Belize City would be declared a duty-free port for the benefit of Guatemala and placed under the control of a supra-national Authority. Guatemala was obliged, at the request of Belize, to provide similar facilities for Belizean goods.

iv. Article 4 guaranteed nationals of each country free movement in the territory of the other as well as the right to the same treatment as was accorded by each country to its own citizens. This included the right to freely acquire and dispose of personal real property.

v. Under Article 9, Guatemala and Belize agreed to establish a supra- national Authority to be charged with

the responsibility of carrying out certain powers and functions, including the supervision and control of free ports, as well as the designation of transit routes. Britain was required to pay to the Authority US $4 million to assist the Authority to perform its functions under the Treaty.

vi. Article 10 provided that Belize would join CACM before 31st December 1970 with financial assistance from Britain.

vii. Article 13 obliged Guatemala and Belize to consult and cooperate with each other on such matters of mutual concern in foreign affairs as may be raised by either government.

viii. According to Article 14, the defence of Belize would be handled within the framework of the Inter- American Treaty of 1947, to which Belize would accede. In that event it would not be necessary for Belize to conclude bilateral defence arrangements with any other country.

The plan placed the defence, foreign affairs and, to a certain extent, the economy of Belize under Guatemalan control after independence. The normal channel of communication to international bodies by the Belize government was to be through the Guatemalan government.

The two governments were to consult on matters of external defense, but this was tantamount to Belize being subjected to the dictates of Guatemala. Even the provision of internal security in Belize, a responsibility expected with independence, was to be the subject of consultation and co-operation. Belize was to accept a customs union with its neighbor, which was to be allowed free access to its Caribbean ports and territorial waters. It was to be rewarded with Guatemala’s support for its entry into the Central American community and into the Inter-American community and in particular into the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB).

In sum, it is believed that the proposals exclusively committed Belize to a hemispheric destiny as a satellite or department of Guatemala.

Nowhere in the document was it stated that the Guatemalan claim was revoked. Nor was Belize explicitly given the right to seek membership in the Commonwealth, the United Nations or international bodies outside of the Inter- American system. She was, in short, denied the prerogative of an independent state to choose, or reorder at least some of the priorities of her future.

With regard to the country’s internal politics, the proposals also made few concessions to the dominant, traditional social values. For example, degrees granted from outside Belize or Guatemala were excluded from the reciprocal recognition of educational qualifications. This undermined the dominant British orientation of the educational system in Belize and, in the absence of post-secondary facilities, virtually decreed Guatemala as the new center of higher learning for Belizeans.

Bearing in mind the great disparity between Guatemala and Belize in terms of population and resources, the end result of these proposals, taken together, would have been the effective domination of Belize by Guatemala. Belize accordingly declared that these proposals were totally unacceptable. Indeed so unacceptable were they, that unrest and disturbances erupted in Belize even before the government had an opportunity to signify its total rejection of the proposals as incompatible with the aspirations and rights of the people to achieve full sovereignty as a free and independent nation.

Requests were made to the government of the U.K. “to seek other means by which the Anglo-Guatemalan dispute may be satisfactorily and honorably settled so as to allow the country to pursue its unimpeded course to unfettered and sovereign independence.” On 20 May, 1968 the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Michael Stewart, announced that since the draft Treaty was not acceptable to Belize, it was not acceptable to the British Government. The British should not have included the Heads of Agreement as a pretext for Belize to be granted our independence.

By doing this they were placing an undue burden on the government and citizens of Belize that they could not accept. They also knew what happened when the Webster Proposals were handed down to the Belizean government and citizens in 1968. A Constitution is the most sacred document a nation and people have in a democracy.

Under the conditions in which Belize was granted its independence on September the 21st 1981, the British government and the Government of Belize were both not acting democratically. The British government wanted to get rid of the colony of Belize and its citizens because they saw the people and country as an economic burden to them. They forgot the slavery they imposed upon some of our citizens of Belize in order to secure free labor, centuries of exploiting Belize’s natural resources to the benefit of their citizens in Great Britain, and the atrocities they committed against the Maya and the Garifuna people in the southern part of Belize before it became a part of the country of Belize.

On the other hand, Premier George Price and his People’s United Party wanted independence from Great Britain, even if we were not granted a Defense Guarantee from Great Britain to protect us from a Guatemalan invasion. He saw Independence as the only way for Belize and its citizens to build their nation. This I considered to be a huge risk to take. Guatemala has been threatening to invade Belize on several occasions prior to and after our Independence, and Belizeans should never ignore their threats. The territorial Guatemalan claim to Belize remains unresolved to this day, and the matter has been submitted to the International Court of Justice for a final resolution. Whether the ruling of the court will satisfy these two nations is yet to be seen.

This process to now be carried out by the People’s Constitutional Commission should be the most significant constitutional deliberations our country has ever held since the birth of our nation, Belize, in 1981 and all stakeholders should be welcomed to participate in it. I would like to see the commission deal with all the serious problems our country has been facing since our Independence. Some of the issues that I am concerned about are the lack of independence of the three branches of government, namely the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative; too much power given to the Prime Minister and his Ministers; continued interference of the Prime Minister and Ministers in the daily duties and functions of the police and civil servants; the unequal distribution of our nation’s wealth and resources; corruption; the inequality in distribution of lots and lands; race discrimination problems; the abuse of power by the Prime Minister and the members of his government, unfair hiring practices, vindictiveness by government in power; the absence of civil rights agencies to enforce our laws to protect all of our citizens, despite their ethnicity; the buying of our citizens’ votes without any penalty; the use and abuse of ministerial discretion; the need to grant Indigenous citizens their rights based on the UNDRIP treaties, international law, conventions and our Constitution, especially as it relates to their rights and jurisdiction over their lands and all issues that are stifling Belize’s progression toward being a nation to reckon with in the future.

I am convinced that If we have a successful constitutional reform process, Belize will become the nation that we yearn for as one people and one nation. If not, we shall remain a nation that is fragmented without a true purpose to benefit all of us as citizens of this beautiful nation that we all dearly love, Belize.