Referendum Push Gets Underway with Visit to Cayo

Wilfred Elrington

Guatemala completed a successful referendum on taking the Guatemalan claim to Belize to the International Court of Justice two weeks ago. A super-majority of voters said yes, but soon it will be Belize’s turn. The push toward a formal vote locally has begun. Diplomat Alexis Rosado and Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington were in San Ignacio on Thursday, speaking to students at Sacred Heart College. They discussed the history of the Belize-Guatemala dispute, the various incidents along the Belize border and the statutes, foundations and principles and how strong Belize’s case is versus Guatemala’s. They also clarified previous commentary such as the familiar ‘artificial borders’ statement. It is all part of the sustained push by Government to educate Belizeans about the dispute and the I.C.J. before the referendum is called. Elrington says the effort now has a budget.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Cabinet has approved a final budget for us, and Alexis is already working on it; so that’s in train. You will be seeing increased activity by the Referendum Unit in getting the message out.”

The estimated cost of the campaign is eight million dollars.