Commission of Inquiry investigates border deaths

Another commission, this time closer to home, has been appointed by Prime Minister Said Musa. Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord, Ombudsman Paul Rodriguez and Human Rights Co-ordinator Maria Gamero, will look into the case of three Guatemalans who died in November at the hands of Belizean Security Forces. The three Guatemalans, all members of the Ramirez family, were shot on the Belize side of the border after allegedly attacking a Belizean patrol with machetes. The commission will determine whether excessive or unjustifiable force was used by the Belizeans. This is precisely the conclusion reached by an independent O.A.S. investigator, prompting Belize to offer ex-gratia payments to family members of the deceased. The Belizean inquiry was among a number of steps requested by O.A.S. facilitators Sir Shridath Ramphal and Paul Reichler, designed to reduce tension on the border and facilitate an eventual solution of the Guatemalan claim to Belize.