Future uncertain as negotiators head to Washington
As the climax of the Belize Guatemala facilitation process draws near, speculation abounds over confidential documents that have made their way into the public domain. According to Belize’s lead negotiator, Foreign Minister Assad Shoman, this deep throat scenario is not only surprising, but threatens to hinder the resolution of the Guatemalan claim. This morning Shoman and other members of the negotiating team departed for Washington but before getting on the plane, the Minister spoke to News 5 about the process…and the publications.
Assad Shoman, Min. of Foreign Affairs
“I know that there are other media houses in Belize that had this paper–because somebody was going around and distributing this paper–who chose to act responsibly and not publish it because they knew it was against the national interest to do so. So that was surprising, and in a sense damaging, because of course the UDP is an integral part of this process. However, after that article came out in the party organ, as you know, there was a press release from the United Democratic Party as such which in effect distanced itself from the editorial position that was taken by the editor in The Guardian, and made it very clear that the United Democratic Party continues to support the facilitation process, continues to support the role of Ambassador Martinez which has been very positive in the facilitation process. So it’s difficult to judge what the damage is at this stage, but I hope we can kind of reduce the damage.”
“Quite apart from whether documents come out or not, the ideas that we have put forward, but it hasn’t yet been agreed by the facilitators, you understand that they really control this process. But the ideas we have put forward are that when we receive the proposals in Washington we go back to our respective countries, accompanied by an official of the OAS and the facilitator for each country, and that could be the day after, for example. And then after going through the necessary formality of taking it through the leadership of both sides, both parties, the Cabinet or the central party council of the UDP, whatever, it will be made public immediately.”
“We’re at the stage where the facilitators have still not told us they have a package, that they have agreed on any proposals at all. So they summoned us for the twenty-eighth of August because the deadline until now is the thirty-first of August, so we don’t yet if they will be ready to present proposals or not.”
Janelle Chanona
“Has there been an agreement as to how the proposals package will be presented in both Belize and Guatemala?”
Assad Shoman
“When the facilitators met with President Portillo and Prime Minister Musa, the agreement more or less, the understanding that came out of that meeting was that whenever the proposals were ready and were given to both parties, that sixty days after that there would be a referendum in both countries on the same day and with the same question. Basically, do you agree that the proposals form a good basis for resolving the dispute. Nothing has changed officially.”
Janelle Chanona
“We’ve been made to understand that one of the items to be on the agenda next week will the situation in Melchor de Mencos where the Mayor there is actually issuing parcels of land in Belize to people from Melchor?”
Assad Shoman
“Belize will insist on discussing this issue first, if it hasn’t been resolved then… We cannot go on to discuss issues about the substance of this claim and so on if there is something going on which violates our sovereignty at the same time. And so we have written to the facilitators and asked for this issue to be put on the agenda if it is still continuing by the time we get to the meeting on Wednesday. We are hoping it will not. Because as I mentioned when I came back from Washington the last time, we spoke to the Foreign Minister about this and he undertook to take certain actions. The Guatemalan Government is saying that the municipalities have a certain amount of autonomy and they just can’t interfere as they wish directly with a municipality’s actions, but that you know, they would find ways of dealing with this situation.”
According to Shoman, whether or not a package of proposals is presented, Belize will be seeking a renewal of the good faith agreement which has helped maintain peace and stability in the border area over the past two years.
