What’s Sedi’s Explanation for SATIIM/GAF Encounter?

Wilfred Elrington

There’s more tonight on the eleven protocols that were presented to Guatemalan officials. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington asserted that there is an unofficial understanding at the Sarstoon, a sort of agreement to keep the peace. In fact, Elrington claims that the understanding has been in place since March fifteenth when both parties met at O.A.S. headquarters in Washington. That was news to us, especially in light of the fact that just last Tuesday a Guatemalan vessel very aggressively intercepted a boat filled with SATIIM rangers on the Belize side of the Sarstoon. Elrington had an explanation for that, sort of.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“We have instances where even at the Cabinet level we have signaled to the Commissioner certain positions which we would want to think are consistent with our law and which we would want to ensure that all members in the police force abide by, but it does not necessarily follow that everybody will follow the instructions from the top. You will always have aberrations, people at the bottom who for one reason or the other want to do their own thing. It doesn’t mean that it’s an official government position. But you will find rogue military people or rogue cops who may act outside of their authority in excess. That is part of life, and I don’t think anybody can completely safeguard against that. But to the extent that the generals have the ability, they will try to ensure that their people understand what the new dispensation was and will abide by it. I think that was the sense that we got, and we can only convey that to the Belizean people.”