More discussions ahead for Belize and Guatemala
The just concluded Miami meeting, which brought about a signed plan of action and confidence building measures between Belize and Guatemala, was the focus of a press briefing held this morning at the Princess Hotel. The media fielded question to Belize’s Deputy Chief Negotiator, David Gibson and Boundary Advisor Lindsay Belisle. Gibson says the confidence building measures are prerequisites for more substantial discussions between Belize and Guatemala.
David Gibson, Deputy Chief Negotiator
“We think that what has been established creates the basis, is signed onto by them and it is more definitive as to what ought to be done and how. That this creates a basis for implementation of removals. Following on the prior activities of establishing of the line and the use of the line to calculate location to clearly, clearly indicate where these people are. As I said, these confidence-building measures are a prerequisite to getting into substantive discussions, which are supposed to start on the fifth of February. Procedures for that are supposed to be established in a meeting be held in Washington on the fifth of February. We will see whether in fact the Guatemalan lands adhere and comply. It’s their claim and if they want to look at it in the way that we have established that it should be looked at, stability must be created.”
“They will look at precisely what we were talking about, how to look at the legal arguments and the legal responses and what procedures should be engaged. This will be dependent on the facilitators themselves in discussions with the ministers, determining how to do it. As I say, it’s in a non-judicial setting, the initial parameter for their work, as to examines these arguments and to see whether in their view there is anything that needs to go to any kind of judicial setting, bearing in mind that whatever happens, in terms of their ourselves, if that were to occur we would have to do a national consultation. There would have to be an airing of the issues and whether the we thought that for purposes of bringing things to a conclusion, we should go to the I.C.J., which probably would be the better place to go to have the matter dealt with there.”
“The fact that since November there has been little movement, is reflective of a virtual impasse on the Guatemalan side, in terms of how to move this… Something has happened there which has stymied any movement forward, any attempt on our part to go to the point of clearing, even the reaction to the movement of illegal settlers. In fact, they had presented to us in writing a letter from the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, something which was saying that Belize could not take any action on illegal settlers not only in the adjacency zone, but outside, because Guatemala has a claim to that territory. We had to refute that title and neutralize it, and we did.”
Belisle says the markers and co-ordinates of the areas in question are very clear.
Lindsay Belisle, Boundary Advisor
“There are markers which are the determinal points. At Gracias a Dios, it’s a concrete marker, which is about five feet in height and a similar marker at Garbutt’s Falls. In between these markers are what we call secondary markers. These markers are basically a tile, cemented into the ground on which a large pile of stones…are placed over, and there are about thirty-nine of these markers along that line. There is also a map that was prepared during the survey that indicates where these markers are along the line.”
David Gibson
“There’s the Machaquila River, actually it’s a fertile area, it’s because of the fact that it’s a river and fertilizes the soil, if that’s the attraction to the settlers, but that Machaquila River crosses over, it flows into Guatemala. Very recently we heard that there were soldiers at Machaquila, fifty of the Guatemalan Armed Forces. Why were they there? Their defence minister was present there, we had to vigorously protest this, pointing out reaches of the very military agreement they and signed to and so on. So Guatemala in our in our assessment has not discarded the use of threat of force although it has not been positive for them. But there are some elements there that think that it works…”
Gibson says he’s optimistic that in the end all will go well to quell the two hundred year old Guatemala claim to Belize.
