Wilfred Elrington: “I.C.J. Now is Just the Icing on the Cake”

Wilfred Elrington

Guatemala’s claim over Belize has lingered over the country and its people for more than two centuries. The territorial dispute has divided the country especially when it comes to deciding whether we should submit the claim to the International Court of Justice for final resolution. Belizeans will make that decision on April tenth and according to Foreign Affairs Minister, Wilfred Elrington, the dispute has been divisive, but the people will fight for what they believe should be the right choice.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“The history of this dispute in Belize has shown that it has always been divided. In 1798 there was a deadlock and it took the fourteen Flowers Bank free slaves to come down and break the tie and voted to stand and fight rather than to run from the Spanish invasion. In 1968 when in fact the Webster Proposal was being imposed on the country by the then administration, colonial as well as Belize, it was the ordinary people led by Philip Goldson who took to the streets and brought an end to that initiative. That is when I was arrested and convicted for rioting against the 1968 Webster Proposal. In March of 1981 when the Heads of Agreement was introduced again it wasn’t the politicians but it was the ordinary people who went out in the streets who voted against it with their protest. So the Chamber of Commerce joined in, the Public Service Union joined in. They were very enlightened and informed and very patriotic and they were not confused at all. The schools joined in. Teachers joined in. The record shows that had we agreed either to the Webster Proposal or to the Heads of Agreement we would today have been a satellite of Guatemala. Because of the ordinary people rose to the occasion and opposed these initiatives, today we have all our territory intact and we are an independent and sovereign nation. This last move at the I.C.J. now is just the icing on the cake. The I.C.J. will affirm our borders, established our maritime border and bring an end to the Guatemalan claim.”