PM Barrow Responds to Statement by Guatemalan President

As we reported earlier in the newscast, there is a build-up of Guatemalan troops on the Sarstoon and along the adjacency zone. It comes immediately after President Jimmy Morales issued a statement saying he would beef up his security forces and recalled his ambassador.  Now PM Dean Barrow is in New York for the signing of the Paris Agreements on climate change.  A few minutes ago, his office released a response to the statement made by President Jimmy Morales of Guatemala. It states that Belize rejects Morales’ statement regarding the Chiquibul National and that Belize is a peace loving country, with a strong democratic culture where the rule of law has always prevailed. As such, the Belizean Security Forces would never attack civilians, especially minors except in exercise of the right to self defense. And according to the PM statement, “in this case, the B.D.F. reports of the incident indicate that our patrol in Belizean national territory came under attack to which they responded in justifiable self-defense.  It is to be pointed out that the patrol included civilian personnel from the N.G.O. group, FCD, and those personnel confirm the fact that our patrol simply responded after they were fired upon and were in fear for their lives.” The statement goes on to say that this latest shooting attack on Belizean officials is part of a continued pattern of aggression by Guatemalan civilians engaged in illegal activities on Belize’s side of the Adjacency Zone.  It also refers to the earlier attacks which resulted in the murder of Special Constable Danny Conorquie and the shooting of Sergeant Richard Lambey. The PM ends his statement by saying that in this regard, “we find the statements made and position taken by President Morales to be unhelpful and inflammatory. The current amassing of Guatemalan troops in the border areas, including the Sarstoon River, only adds volatility to the tensions already created by illicit activities in these areas.”