The Government of Belize has been showing desperation in its quest to secure a “yes” vote so that the Guatemalan claim to Belize can be submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for adjudication, in next April’s national referendum. With a little over six months remaining before referendum day, the education campaign that was promised by the government has failed to resonate across the country, and Belizeans, through social media, continue to express their sentiments against going to the ICJ. Several polls that were conducted, continue to suggest an overwhelming opposition to the ICJ vote among the population.

There is even talk about replacing Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington as the face of the ICJ education campaign, and bringing in former diplomat and Belizean historian, Dr. Assad Shoman, who lives in Cuba, to head the education campaign.

It is against that backdrop that the Ministry of National Security recently entered the picture, when it trotted out its commanders from the Belize Defence Force, the Belize Police Department and the Belize Coast Guard to campaign in support of going to the ICJ.

The commanders justified their support for a “yes” to the ICJ vote, saying that the referendum is a matter that will affect national security.

The Ministry of National Security did not stop there: In an advertisement this week via social media, it announced that it is planning trips to Sarstoon Island and to the southern border marker point at Gracias a Dios.

Retired BDF Colonel, George Lovell, the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Security, when he was asked about the purpose of the Sarstoon River trips in a telephone interview on Tuesday, said: “The trips are an excursion like any other excursion. You pay for your trip and you will be taken down the Sarstoon River and you will visit the monument at Gracias a Dios, you will visit the Cadenas landing and then you will be taken back up the river to Punta Gorda.”

Lovell said that the purpose of the trips is to give Belizeans a firsthand experience of what is happening out there.

“If we have the interest of our people, we are hoping to have monthly trips. We are hoping to have at least three trips by now and next year March,” Lovell said.

With the Ministry of National Security now entered in the tour business, Belizeans will be taken up the Sarstoon River and will be charged $50 per person for the trip from Punta Gorda and then up the Sarstoon River. The government is aiming for 30 passengers per trip.

“That is a subsidized cost,” Lovell said, “it would cost more to go down there.”

Lovell was asked how Belizeans can be assured that the Guatemalans will cooperate with the Ministry of National Security on these trips.

“The proof is in the eating of the pudding,” Lovell replied.

Lovell said there has been constant dialogue between the Belize and Guatemalan militaries.

“We have a Minister of National Security who is very prepared to hear the cries of our people,” Lovell offered.

When the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV), led by Wil Maheia, wanted to circle Sarstoon Island to celebrate the anniversary of the 1859 Anglo-Guatemalan Treaty in April 2016, the Ministry of National Security was not a facilitator. What the Government of Prime Minister Dean Barrow did then was to hastily pass a Statutory Instrument, making it a criminal offence for Belizeans to go to the Sarstoon River. The Belize Defence Force and the Belize Coast Guard were placed at the Barranco pier to block those persons wishing to go.

Lovell was asked if it will be the military that will be conducting the trips.

“Yes, it is the Ministry of National Security,” Lovell replied.

Between 2016 and now, the Guatemalan Armed Forces (GAF) have been trespassing on Belize’s side of the Sarstoon, acting as if it is Guatemalan territory. As a consequence, there have been several incidents with the GAF involving Belizeans on the Sarstoon River.

The most recent of these incidents took place when the GAF aggressed participants in Wil Maheia’s BTV Eco Challenge Race in September, blocking their path with their boats and frustrating several of them into not finishing the race.

Belize’s response to GAF’s intrusion and aggression has been to send off diplomatic notes to the Guatemalan government, and the issuance of an advisory to Belizeans visiting the area, which instructed them to check in at the Belize Forward Operating base on the north bank of the Sarstoon before they proceed up the river.

It was pointed out to Lovell that nothing has changed diplomatically, in terms of the Guatemalans and their posture on the Sarstoon River.

“A lot has changed,” Lovell insisted.

He has not, however, offered any example of the “lot” that has changed between Belize and Guatemala, especially when it comes to the Sarstoon River.

Anyone who is brave enough can test the truth of the Guatemalan control over the Sarstoon River by just going there, without going on the Ministry of National Security excursions.