Cab Sec Says Belizeans Should Go Anywhere in the Country

Stuart Leslie

The Belize Territorial Volunteers visited Sarstoon Island on Sunday where they planted several Belizean flags on the island.  The grassroots organization has been doing so for the past fourteen years and this year was no different, they were met with hostility by the Guatemalan Armed Forces.  News Five asked Ambassador Stuart Leslie for his reaction on the latest encounter.

Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary

“Every Belizean should be allowed the right to go to any part of this country, so let’s start by that.  This is something that I think the territorial volunteers haven been doing for some years now and each time they go there we have some kind of encounter or some kind of run-in with the Guatemalan authorities.  I was pleased to read on Channel Five News that the Guatemalans allowed them to go on the island to do what they did, to do their thing, to sing the national anthem and later they collected the flags and returned it back to us.  Whether a protest note was delivered to the Guatemalans by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I’m not aware.  I can try to find out and get back to you, but I felt that they were given the opportunity to exercise their right to go out there and demonstrate their patriotism in their way without having any serious encounters with the Guatemalans.  But this is why we need to put an end to this problem, with our neighbor.”