I want history to forever record my stance on the issue of whether Belize should vote on Referendum Day to submit its claim to the ICJ as we near the 10th April deadline and as we see all the propaganda being spewed and the money rolling out.
I have learnt that it is always good to follow the money and it’s always good to check who the people are either paying the money, running after the money or hiding the money. Money has lots of power, more power than a vote, because money can buy a vote, it can buy people’s conscience, people’s integrity and people’s grandma (as the saying goes).
The Educational Campaign
An educational campaign was supposed to be at the forefront of the program as we prepare Belizean voters to make a choice on whether or not to vote “yes” or “no”. This is a campaign that was supposed to commence since 2008 when the Special Agreement between Belize and Guatemala was signed. But if we want to be honest, no educational campaign commenced then. As a matter of fact, from my viewpoint, not even a proper campaign was done to educate Belizeans about what it is that the Special Agreement was committing us to do.
Per media accounts the ICJ Educational Campaign was launched early July 2018 to run for nine months leading up to the actual Referendum Day. At the time when it was launched by the Foreign Minister Elrington, efforts were still being made to identify money to pay for said campaign. Tragically, on one of the most important national issues ever, as a country we cannot find our own money and have had to rely on moneys from donor countries who are telling us how to vote.
Donations have come from both the United States of America and the British Government. Let’s look into the archives to remind ourselves who is the piper calling the tune! On 5th September, 2018 this was the news regarding the $1.3 million donated by the British government to the ICJ Educational Campaign.:
“Today, the British High Commissioner Peter Hughes donated a substantial amount of money towards the ICJ education campaign. Hughes explained why donating to the process is particularly important to the UK and to Belize. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington expressed sincere gratitude to the High Commissioner on behalf of the Government of Belize.
“Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs: ‘We are very grateful to the British Government for this generous donation. It is a large amount of money and it is going to conduce very greatly to us being able to educate the Belizean populace on this vital question of whether we should take the dispute for resolution to the ICJ or not. The High Commissioner has been very instrumental in helping us to get it. We are also certain that he has been a very helpful instrument in influencing the quantum. It is a tidy sum of money and we want to thank him very much for in fact lobbying for us to get this fund.’
“The UNDP will be executing the project on behalf of the Government of Belize and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by British High Commissioner, Peter Hughes; Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington, and Christian Salazar Volkmann, the Resident Coordinator for the UNDP in Belize.” (Source Love News —5th September, 2018)
I only have two questions here. Firstly, why has the money been used to run a yes campaign instead of an educational campaign? And secondly, why in the news report is it said that the UNDP would be executing the project… which project if it is to be a campaign and is it that they do not trust us to run the campaign?
The following day the report about the donation was as follows:
“The project was launched in August 2018 with support from the United States Embassy in Belize and will continue until the referendum takes place on April 10th 2019. The additional funding from the UK will assist in ensuring that the population of Belize has access to all the information it needs on the history of Guatemala’s claim to Belizean territory, the background of the Special Agreement, and how the ICJ functions. There will also be activities to enhance the registration of voters. The project is an inclusive, multi-level initiative, involving engagement from various civil society organizations, educational institutions, and the public, as well as support and training from international experts.
“While the UK has been a longstanding supporter of taking the border dispute to the ICJ, the British High Commissioner, H.E. Peter Hughes, said “this is not about persuading people about which way to vote. It is about ensuring that every eligible voter has complete access to all the information they need to make a decision for themselves about what is best for the future security, stability and prosperity of Belize.’ In that vein, the UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Christian Salazar Volkmann, reiterated that ‘UNDP is fully committed to support Belizeans’ access to information to allow for a conscious and informed decision, with complete neutrality as to the outcome of the referendum’.” (Source: San Pedro Sun, September 6, 2018)
No neutrality in the ICJ Campaign
It is amazing that they say that the campaign should be neutral, yet the bias of the Referendum Unit in how it presents the information and answers the questions is sufficient to show that the neutrality is not there. Many have listened to their ads and all point to telling us why we should vote yes and do not address any risk or other concerns voters may have. Even more interesting is the fact that in all the grand standing regarding this donation there is mention of “there will also be activities to enhance the registration of voters”, yet what we have seen is disenfranchisement of voters and sadly, with the problems at Vital Statistics, many were unable to get their birth certificates in time to re-register. Then there is the issue of those in the diaspora who have not been able to come home and stay for three months to qualify to re-register.
The news report for July 6, 2018 was as follows: “The government of Belize and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) yesterday launched a project to support Belize’s Public Awareness and Preparedness Campaign on the question of referring Guatemala’s territorial claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The grant worth US $250,000 is funded through the US government’s Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) Economic Support Fund.” (BBN NEWS- – July 6, 2018)
The campaign indeed has churned out some ads and billboards and there have been visits to some areas, at which only those proponents of the yes-vote have been taken by the Referendum Unit, as they refuse to run a neutral campaign. As a matter of fact, Assad Shoman has become synonymous with the Referendum Unit and has been the leader of the campaign followed by his niece, all of whom are likely being paid. Follow the money, as no one is doing this yes-campaign for free! When asked about the monies spent in October of last year, this is what Alexis Rosado, Head, Referendum Unit, MoFA, had to say:
“We did have a proposed budget, but as I had mentioned to you, it was only a proposal. We have gotten a commitment from government of two point five million for the entire public awareness campaign. …. So at the beginning we are setting the basis before we increasingly double up our presence both in the media and across the country. So, for example, the ads, you would have heard some ads in September but only from the media houses based in Belize City, not from the media houses based out district. Moving into November we will step up that and place our ads in out district radio stations and so forth. So the cost will necessarily increase in which case we would ask from central government to draw down some additional funds. The funds being received from the international community, currently we have one point one million US dollars committed from the US government, the UK government, from Mexico, from Turkey, from the European Union. But those monies come through either the O.A.S. or U.N.D.P. than through G.O.B.” (Source News5- – Oct. 29, 2018)
From 2.5 Million to 25 Million ICJ will cost
Per the Financial Secretary the monies allocated for the campaign is 2.5 million (Belize dollars I assume). In an interview in December 2018 he explained as follows:
“I think we are appropriated to begin with, the $2.5 million I think we might have drawn a shade under a million so far. I don’t have numbers in front of me but it’s going fairly well, there is no slow down, there is no hiccup, there is no speed bump when it comes to funding the campaign. The initial amount was 2.5, they may come for more but initially the 2.5 and of that 2.5 we have spent only a million dollars so far. Actually most of the expenditure will happen before the new budget sometime in February, March. We may have to do more and there will be some other costs like the funding the election process itself so most of the expenditure will happen in that lead up. The Referendum Day itself there will be some cost and depending on the outcome then there will be some other expenditure going. Imagine for a second it’s a yes vote then we have to get in into prepation (sic) mode, paying a lot of legal fees but that is stage two so to speak, so we are trying to reach out to small communities on simple things like: travel, subsistence and hotel and it adds up after: gasoline, rental of vehicles and that type of thing, it adds up after a while.”
But the truth was told at the Rotary Forum held at the Bliss Institute, where Referendum Unit representative Ambassador Dylan Vernon stated that the cost to go to court once we vote yes-ICJ will be in the area of $25 million (he did not say if the amount is in Belize or US dollars). My question is simple …. If we are not able to pay our own educational campaign of $2.5 million and had to get donations for that, where or who will give us the $25 million for us to pay our legal fees? And what are the strings attached? So far those that have given money for the yes-Campaign did it because they are promoting a yes-vote, and that is no secret what their position has been. Makes me wonder what will the $25 million in donation cost us?
Follow the money, because there is money in this deal. Look at the attorneys who will jump on the band-wagon and will not do it for free! Follow the money because the likes of personalities such as Assad Shoman is fronting for an NGO which is named Citizens for the Defense of Sovereignty, but he too is not doing it for free! He is yet to disclose his source of funding and the persons behind his outright yes-campaign. The Referendum Unit may be a bit subtle, but he has been frontal and aggressive that we must vote yes!
Follow the money. There is money in this deal! Let us now keep track of all the non-government personalities and attorneys getting paid! Every legal opinion is paid for, every attorney is paid for, every diplomat is paid for and every campaigner is paid for – let them disclose it if they want to maintain some credibility! I say it again, going to the ICJ, is business for some. There is money in it! Follow the money!