Freetown Area Representative and former P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca took to social media on Wednesday to weigh in on G.O.B.’s move to join five former Foreign Affairs Ministers to sign a declaration in support of a ‘yes’ vote. In his post, Fonseca joins a long line of critics who have said that the government has […]
A national telephone poll on the I.C.J. Referendum conducted by www.pollBelize.org is showing a higher number of persons who would vote ‘no’ on April tenth. The poll was conducted in November 2018, utilizing the same sample design and questionnaire as the previous poll conducted in August. The results of the poll show that more people […]
Five former foreign ministers on Wednesday, however, gave the thumbs up to take the claim before the I.C.J. Former Prime Minister Said Musa, during his second term in office, met with O.A.S. Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza in 2007 to discuss a possible solution to the longstanding territorial claim. At the time, the advice given […]
The integrity of Belize’s territorial sea, internal waters and its exclusive economic zone is also a matter of serious concern for the conservation community. In the context of the pending referendum, questions are being asked about the potential impact of the existing Maritime Areas Act on the country’s legal position, should there be a ‘yes’ […]
There’s more from Wednesday’s press conference at the Biltmore. Guatemala’s legal argument, if one were to take the prime minister at his word, is shaky at best. In fact, he went on record on Wednesday to say that the prevailing thought among the powers that be in that country is that there is no case […]
With all the talk of an age-old territorial dispute and a possible resolution at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the unfounded claim brought by Guatemala isn’t as clear-cut as one would think. According to Assad Shoman, the nature of Guatemala’s demand is conflicted, since it has argued in the past that the territory which […]
On the heels of a historic show of support by five former foreign ministers on Wednesday, all in support of voting in favor of going to the I.C.J., the Belize Peace Movement has issued a release. The organization, which describes itself as a patriotic and non-political initiative, criticizes the signing of the seven-point declaration as, […]
It was a rare appearance by four People’s United Party former foreign ministers and Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who has also served as foreign minister. This morning they stood united on stage at the Biltmore Plaza where there was only standing room, shaking off the political mudslinging that has characterized the relationship between the P.U.P. […]
Over the past few months the Belize Peace Movement, a team of politicians from the People’s United Party and the Belize Progressive Party has been running its own counter campaign against going to the I.C.J. The group has pored over the details of the 1859 Treaty and has since come up with specific inadequacies with […]
It was truly a historic moment that played out at the Biltmore today; former P.U.P. Prime Minister Said Musa joined current U.D.P. Prime Minister Dean Barrow sharing the same stage and views on the I.C.J. Absent from the stage was the sitting foreign minister, Wilfred Elrington; but he was in the room as his predecessors […]
Attorney Lisa Shoman was Foreign Affairs Minister between June 2007 and the 2008 general elections. While today she signed the declaration, back in April 2018, Shoman, who made her thoughts known through her Facebook profile, posted a status in which she expressed her disagreement on holding any referendum on going to the I.C.J. until certain […]
A recent poll commissioned by the government revealed that the number of persons who are against taking Guatemala’s claim to the I.C.J. for final resolution has increased by twelve percent when compared to an earlier poll in August 2018. The poll also found that the ‘NO’ vote was prominent in the south and that the […]
Many have criticized the Government’s I.C.J. Referendum Education Campaign, saying that information is not being distributed impartially to the wider population. Prime Minister Dean Barrow today assured that by April tenth, the Referendum Unit would have increased efforts in the campaign to enable voters to make an informed decision. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “Everybody […]
The Embassy of China (Taiwan) is pleased to announce that the 2019 Taiwan ICDF Scholarship Programme has officially opened. The embassy is now accepting applications from Belizean students who are seeking to further their education in their respective fields in Taiwan. It is one of the most popular scholarship programmes with more than three hundred […]
The start of 2019 was a bloody one, with a shocking five homicides. Uncle Sam has taken note and on Friday, the U.S. Department of State issued a level two travel advisory for Americans who are considering visiting Belize. The travel advisory is due to the increase in crime and it recommends its citizens to […]
Guatemala is pulling out of the U.N. International Commission Against Impunity, known as CICIG. The announcement was made today by Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel Polanco after meeting with UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Jovel accused the group and its members of politicizing its work, violating Guatemala’s sovereignty, failing to respect the presumption of innocence and […]
On Tuesday, Guatemala announced that they have withdrawn diplomatic immunity from eleven officials who have investigated alleged corruption, including cases involving the son and brother of President Jimmy Morales. Morales ordered his Foreign Affairs Ministry not to renew the visas and diplomatic clearances of the eleven investigators assigned to the International Commission Against Impunity in […]
President Morales is accusing the CICIG of violating the presumption of innocence of those it has investigated. By refusing to renew its mandate earlier this year, the president effectively gave CICIG until the end of its current term in September 2019 to wind down operations and leave the country. His government later declared Commission Chief […]
In the months before Guatemala’s referendum in April this year, a number of non-governmental agencies took the lead in a “YES” vote campaign. One private sector group, however, had to seek legal opinion for them to be allowed to campaign for a “YES” vote. This is because of the laws in Guatemala. Earlier this week, […]
In April of this year, we covered extensively the referendum in Guatemala. And one year later Belize will be making its own historic decision on whether Guatemala’s territorial claim will be heard at the I.C.J. in The Hague. While in Guatemala this week, the local media met with a number of stakeholders, who participated in […]
There are currently one hundred and fifty Guatemalan families living within the adjacency zone in the west. Many may not know, but Guatemala has a consular office in Benque Viejo del Carmen. Edgar Felipe Aguilar Chan is the Consul General. His role is primarily to assist Guatemalan nationals and to foster relations among communities along […]
Thousands of Guatemalans are known to reside in Belize; and most of them have acquired citizenship. Today, we also took the opportunity to ask the Consul General about the population of Guatemalans living in Belize. While he admits that any numbers they have on record would be less than the actual population, he did provide […]
The education campaign in Belize has attempted to cover the extensive history of the Belize/Guatemala dispute. The over two hundred-year-old dispute hinges on a few pivotal moments in the history of both countries. One of those moments is the signing of the 1859 Treaty. If Belizeans vote ‘YES’ to the I.C.J., the 1859 Treaty is […]
For Belizeans, a decision to vote “YES” or “NO” to the I.C.J. depends on understanding what exactly is Guatemala claiming. During the education campaign in Guatemala earlier this year, some paraphernalia showed a claim of half of Belize, but there have been times when it has been the entire country. While in Guatemala over the […]
What about those disconcerting maps of Guatemala that include Belize? We asked Morales to explain why – if Guatemala is seeking a resolution – that it is still being used in a number of publications and government offices. Carlos Raul Morales, Former Foreign Minister, Guatemala “According to our law, we still have the map […]
