On March 25, 2008, as reported in the official UK Parliament Website, www.parliament.uk, the following exchange has been recorded in the UK Parliament:
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the statement on the border dispute between Belize and Guatemala; and if he will make a statement. [196060]
Meg Munn: UK policy is to reduce the likelihood of conflict on the Belize-Guatemala border and to encourage settlement of the dispute through arbitration or negotiation. We do this through our contacts with both governments and by supporting confidence building measures, designed to reduce the potential for conflict. These aim to improve links between the two countries and by providing impartial investigation and mediation of border incursions and other incidents. End of quote.
Meg Munn is the Labour Party’s Member of Parliament for Sheffield, Heeley. She is theParliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (since 28 Jun 2007). She entered Parliament on 7 June 2001after their General election.
Chris Ruane is the Labour Party’s Member of Parliament for Vale of Clwyd.
In recent news out of the Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amandala spoke with HE Alexis Rosado, the Chief Executive Officer, about the Santa Rosa developments two weeks ago:
HE Alexis Rosado gave us an update on the last phase of the relocation. The relocation is principally an OAS operation that is expected to be completed now by the middle of April, 2008, since the new homes are targeted for completion by the end of March, 2008. The OAS hopes to relocate the last 6 families, or about 65 persons, within the first two weeks of April.
Amandala had been trying to get an update on the situation since we were last told by former Minister Lisa Shoman that the situation would have been totally handled by December 31 last year. Since her statement on the KREM WUB morning show, the only public statement has been an OAS release in January, 2008, which stated that ten families had been relocated. We now have a new political administration, which needs to give their timeframe for the reallocation of the last six families.
Amandala also spoke with BDF personnel, who confirmed that the BDF has been maintaining a presence in the Santa Rosa area for monitoring purposes. However, the source was unable to confirm the Wil Mehia observation at a UEF Seminar that there are other “Santa Rosas” along the “Adjacency Zone.”