O.A.S. Secretary-General Says Verification Exercise is Critical

Luis Almagro

As you heard just now, Belize has asked the O.A.S. for a verification exercise for Wednesday’s shooting near Cebada. This morning, just before he left the country, O.A.S. Secretary-General Luis Almagro made reference to the urgent need for just such an exercise in the interest of keeping the peace between both countries.

Luis Almagro, Secretary General, O.A.S.

“We have a problem there that we need the countries to ask us to make the verification of this problem.  We cannot go voluntarily and spontaneously and assume the problem.  This request, both countries have said that they will ask for our verification but we have not received any formal, any formal request about that yet.  In any case, we have said yesterday in our improvised press conference that we have deep concern about incidents or accidents like this.  I don’t think they help in any way.  I think that what we saw yesterday, how the project goes on taking care of kids from seven-years-old to sixty-eight, we have the feeling that we need more measures and more projects like the one we are implementing in the Adjacency Zone, in order to keep these kids away from these kinds of problems.  And our feeling is that we are more necessary, even [more so now] than before, and our feeling is also that it is very necessary that politicians of the state of Belize and also Guatemala that the case should move ahead to the International Court of Justice as soon as possible because this will clean all these problems and will clean all, will clean the way for solutions for these kinds of issues that are happening these days.  So this is what we can say so far.  I wish we can be called for this verification and that we can report quickly through Magdalena and through the mission here, what has gone on.”