Territorial Claim Remains a Matter of Priority

Dean Barrow

The territorial claim to Belize is a matter of priority on the national agenda of successive governments. Last year a number of incidents occurred at the Sarstoon River in the south in which the Guatemalan military was seen to be behaving aggressive against the Belize Territorial Volunteers as well as the Belize Defense Force well within Belizean territory. The perception was that Belize was acquiescing to Guatemala. According to the Prime Minister, government is always on the guard to secure the national interest of Belizeans.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“We who are charged with maintaining Belize’s territory intact keeping always in the forefront of our mind the national interest of the country are completely conscious of our charge and the need to discharge that charge in a way that ultimately will safeguard the national well being. If in doing that and attempting to achieve that ultimate objective there are times when we tact and we move to one side or another as part of the strategy for the larger scheme of things and people don’t immediately understand where we are coming from in the long gate then its our duty to try to say to them we hear where you’re coming from but believe us we know what we are doing and not ever going to give away the store. I have said to you that we are quite conscious that we ought not, cannot and will not do anything wrong but that absolute  – the fervent way especially the radicals at homes to some extent serves a useful purpose. It keeps the government honest – in my view we’re always going to be honest – but in a sense that is an extra layer of motivation for us. An extra layer of – while it may sound contradictory – of support while they are opposing certain things that we’re doing.”