Facilitators hope to end dispute within a year
The facilitators in the OAS sponsored negotiations between Belize and Guatemala have spoken…and what they’ve said, essentially, is that the process is a sound one, we’ve made some progress and if you give us a little more time and some honest cooperation, we believe this problem can be solved. That opinion was expressed in a short two-page text released Wednesday night in Washington. In that document facilitators Sir Shridath Ramphal and Paul Reichler committed themselves to “prepare and present proposals to the parties for a comprehensive, definitive, honorable and permanent resolution of the territorial differendum between Belize and Guatemala, including maritime delimitations and development finance plan that would benefit the neighboring local communities in Guatemala and Belize”. The deadline the facilitators have given themselves to come up with the plan is December 15th of this year, with the entire process to be completed by the end of August, 2002. When asked why the facilitators need more time, Chief Negotiator Ambassador Assad Shoman, speaking at an airport press conference this morning, said that for much of the last eleven months they have been sidetracked by issues on the ground.
Ambassador Assad Shoman, Chief Negotiator, Belize
“Most of that time was spent in outing fires. Most of that time was spent in looking at incidents that were taking place along the border?at problems that were arising between the two countries as a result of those incidents, at putting in place confidence building measures, at hearing the complaints of parties that the other side was breaking those measures and interpreting those measures for the benefit of the parties, etc. And it isn’t until May that we actually set our positions and went to the fundamental issue of the differendum. So it hasn’t been that much time that has been spent on that issue and of course they need to be able to discuss, consult, not only with us but with other parties and try to come up with some kind of proposals that are acceptable to both sides.”
The question of what kind of settlement would be acceptable to both sides has always been at the crux of the dispute. By referring specifically in the document to proposals for maritime delimitations and a finance plan, were the two parties foreshadowing the eventual shape of a settlement?
Ambassador Assad Shoman
“Both sides may not have the same expectations and I don’t think it would be wise for us to try to predict what the facilitators themselves will come up with, they will come up with something after consulting both of us and others. But I think the wording of the recommendations is sufficiently acceptable to both sides to allow them, the facilitators, to go ahead and try to come up with a solution.”
Stewart Krohn
“By signing off on that particular wording, does it mean that Guatemala has, for all practical purposes, realised that they are not going to get a piece of land out of this deal?”
Ambassador Assad Shoman
“I could not say that myself. You would have to ask them. I don’t know if that is how they see it, I don’t know if that is their expectation and I would never venture to say such a thing.”
