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As you heard just now, Belize has asked the O.A.S. for a verification exercise for Wednesday’s shooting near Cebada. This morning, just before he left the country, O.A.S. Secretary-General Luis Almagro made reference to the urgent need for just such an exercise in the interest of keeping the peace between both countries. Luis Almagro, […]
The Secretary General’s brief interview at the Phillip Goldson International Airport was essentially a continuation of an ad hoc question and answer session at the western border on Wednesday which ended abruptly. While Almagro’s itinerary did not necessarily include formal discussions on protocols governing the Sarstoon area, he did meet with Prime Minister Dean Barrow […]
Before that shooting near Cebada, the biggest thing in the news would have been the actions by Guatemala on Wednesday, as the Ministry of National Security inaugurated its Forward Operating Base at the Sarstoon. Vessels from the Guatemalan base stationed themselves well within Belizean territory, and at one point were less than one hundred feet […]
And where the Opposition’s participation in the Belize/Guatemala talks is concerned, there is very significant news. Ambassador Assad Shoman is out, and Ambassador Eamon Courtenay is in. We could not confirm whether the very sudden removal of Shoman as P.U.P. Representative is based on the fact that last week he stated that he is not […]
This morning, Briceño also briefed News Five on the meeting with Secretary-General Almagro which included the participation of former P.U.P. Foreign Ministers Said Musa, Lisa Shoman, Godfrey Smith and Eamon Courtenay. He told us that the Opposition took great pains to reject Guatemala’s claim and recent actions and also to let him know that the […]
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 […]
While the Belize/Guatemala dispute remains an ongoing geopolitical issue, the option of going to the International Court of Justice for resolution is one that is as openly supported as it is frankly balked at. Political and grassroots organizations, including the Belize Progressive Party and COLA, respectively, have emphatically rejected the idea of going to the […]
While Almagro has met with proponents of the ICJ alternative, is he open to hearing what COLA or BTV has to say? In short, his answer is yes, but they would have to meet with him in Washington. Reporter “Sir, you’re meeting with public officials who support going to the ICJ here in Belize. […]
Tonight, there is a lot of news from the Sarstoon in southern Belize, where the Ministry of National Security inaugurated its long awaited Forward Operating Base. There were uninvited guests from Guatemala, up close and personal in Belizean waters and we’ll have all that for you. But we start our coverage with official ministerial confirmation […]
While Guatemala was considering the proposals, or claimed to be giving them due consideration, Belize’s Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington claimed that there was an agreement between generals to keep the peace, without interference from either side. But that was last week, before Guatemala rejected the Sarstoon proposals. So what does it mean for the movement […]
While all that was playing out in the Sarstoon, a culture of peace was being promoted in the west. Secretary General Luis Almagro, of the Organization of American States, is on an official visit to Belize and has been engaged in a series of high-level meetings with government officials and O.A.S. representatives. During his brief […]
As we’ve said, Guatemala has rejected all eleven proposal put forward by Belize at a recent round of discussions held between Foreign Ministers Wilfred Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales on April eighth. The sudden turn of events is not lost on Secretary General Almagro. In responding to a question asked about the unexpected breakdown in […]
The rejection of the Sarstoon proposals is not sitting well in many quarters. Today, the Belize Progressive Party likened this development to failed diplomacy. Party Chairman Paco Smith says the B.P.P. does not endorse taking the unfounded claim to the ICJ. Paco Smith, Chairman, Belize Progressive Party “For us that’s a foregone conclusion. It’s […]
One of the highlights of the visit of the O.A.S. Secretary General was a visit to the Adjacency Zone. There he witnessed a program dedicated to the culture of Belize. Belizean children were joined by students from neighboring Melchor de Mencos, the Guatemalan side of Arenal and Santa Cruz for renditions promoting peace. Secretary General […]
Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro arrived in Belize today as part of a scheduled two-day visit to promote the culture of peace at the Adjacency Zone. Details of his itinerary have not been confirmed, but we do know that today he met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Minister of Foreign Affairs […]
There is significant, though certainly not surprising information in respect of eleven proposals presented to Guatemala by Belize. News Five has received information indicating that Guatemala has responded to the eleven protocols on the Sarstoon presented to them just over a week ago. The news is that Guatemala has allegedly rejected those protocols outright, and […]
While the objective of the countrywide campaign is twofold, emphasis is being placed on interpreting the information presented for future use in the classroom. According to B.N.T.U. National President Luke Palacio, the turnout of teachers was satisfactory and their engagement in the forum bodes well for the implementation of pertinent facts on the Belize/Guatemala issue. […]
The role of the Referendum Unit which has now evolved into the International Boundaries Unit is critical to the overall awareness by Belizeans of the Belize/Guatemala issue. The wealth of information that has been gathered and compiled is invaluable as a teaching aid for academic lessons from primary to tertiary levels. Ambassador Stuart Leslie has […]
In January 2015, the Government of Taiwan publicly announced that it will be gifting the Government two helicopters that are required to expand Belize’s military training program. That announcement was followed with the arrival in July of a team of seven mechanics from Taiwan to ensure that the B.D.F. air wing had the equipment and […]
According to Ambassador Ho, the helicopters will be used for emergency evacuations and to crack down on illegal drug trafficking or illegal human trafficking. Benjamin Ho, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize “As you know the relation between our two countries is always so cordial and so close; it grows each year. We cover not only […]
On Tuesday night, we brought you extensive coverage of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference in Belmopan. The issue on the table, of course, was the recent meeting with top diplomatic and military officials at O.A.S. headquarters to discuss rules of engagement in the Sarstoon. At that session, the Belize delegation presented eleven draft […]
As we showed you in Tuesday night’s newscast, both Minister Elrington and Opposition representative Ambassador Assad Shoman believe that the protocols were well received. They are also hopeful that a positive response will be forthcoming within a week even though Guatemala has so aggressively asserted its sovereignty on the entire Sarstoon. Still, Elrington says that […]
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 […]
While the discussion on the new Sarstoon protocols was no doubt the primary item on the agenda of last Friday’s meeting at the O.A.S., it wasn’t the only one. Both parties, Belize and Guatemala, are also in earnest talks to source funding which will allow the O.A.S. to maintain a presence in the adjacency zone […]
High-level government and military officials from Belize and Guatemala met at O.A.S. headquarters in the adjacency zone to discuss rules of engagement in the Sarstoon last Friday. The draft rules were formulated and presented by the Belizean team to their Guatemalan counterparts in the hope that they will form some basis for future handling of […]
Written on April 12, 2016 | Posted in
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