Minister Elrington maintained throughout the briefing that Belizean and Guatemalan diplomat politicians have been mature and responsible. The hard line has also been that military to military there’s absolutely no problem – peace all around. The only problem in the entire equation – the end all and be all – seems to be the Belize […]
Elrington would go further to accuse the Belize Territorial Volunteers of putting the lives of Belize’s armed forces at needless risk. According to the minister, every action has a reaction, and any increased tension in the Sarstoon has invariably been caused by the appearance of the Belize Territorial Volunteers in the Sarstoon. Wilfred Elrington, […]
Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs appears unsure about what happened in the Sarstoon on Saturday, and maintains that Guatemala is being mature, and its behavior impeccable. But interestingly, CARICOM does not share that opinion. In a very strong release issued today from the Secretariat in Guyana, CARICOM expresses grave concern over the incident, and states, […]
The original primary agenda item for the meeting in Washington, and one which is still very pertinent, is the matter of funding for the O.A.S. Office inside the adjacency zone to the west. The hemispheric body has revealed that it has no further funds to keep the office open. Both the government and the Opposition […]
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou departed Belize around eleven o’clock this morning, following an overnight visit during which he met with various government officials, including heads of state from St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. His journey to the Jewel, only the second since assuming office in 2008, was the final stop on a farewell […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington is back in the country, following high-level meetings at the O.A.S. headquarters in Washington D.C. He was accompanied by Ambassadors Assad Shoman, Alexis Rosado and Pat Andrews. Based on very evident concern expressed by G.O.B. about an incident on Saturday in the Sarstoon, it was expected that that issue […]
The conference held by Foreign Minister Elrington was delayed because the Belizean delegation spent much of the afternoon briefing Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Opposition Leader John Briceño. But we can tell you that the Belize Territorial Volunteers was in the spotlight for much of it. Every area of government has maintained that the cause […]
A government release issued on Sunday, after a military to military incident in the Sarstoon on Saturday made reference to tensions being at an all time high, and spoke of hostilities and threatening actions by Guatemala military. That stance and the one taken by Minister Elrington today seem markedly different. The situation seemed so critical […]
Ambassador Assad Shoman is a member of the current negotiating team, and negotiating teams of the past. In fact, he is perhaps the most experienced member on that team. He gave us his input on what has changed in the negotiating atmosphere, and also his view on blaming the BTV for increased aggression in the […]
Outgoing Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou touched down in Belize shortly before eleven o’clock this morning, following the arrivals of the prime ministers of St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. The occasion of his visit is to bid farewell to the Jewel, one of Taiwan’s strongest allies in the international community. The Phillip Goldson International […]
Tonight, an impasse between Belize and Guatemala remains in place following an incident involving members of the Belize Defense Force and the Guatemalan Navy near the mouth of the Sarstoon River, at the site of a forward operating base on the Belizean side of the estuary. After the GAF confronted the B.D.F., Belize sent a […]
Now in Washington today, a meeting between Belizean and Guatemalan foreign ministers Wilfred Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales was held at the seat of the Organization of American States. That meeting had been planned ahead of the armed confrontation between B.D.F. personnel and the Guatemalan Navy. There are not too many details available on the […]
In the aftermath of the standoff in the Sarstoon between the B.D.F. and the Guatemalan Armed Forces, much has been said about the tense relationship between both militaries. The National Security Council met on Monday to discuss details of the incident, as well as the way forward. But what about the progress of the construction […]
It is not the first time that hostility has been displayed towards the Belizean military by the Guatemala navy. In fact, alarm bells were sounded since last year that the Guatemalan Armed Force was behaving confrontational. A report from the Belize Defense Force back in 2015, records instances where the navy became aggressive toward the […]
Details were released this afternoon of the two-day visit of President Ma Ying-Jeou of the Republic of China which begins this Wednesday. The visit comes at the end of Ma’s presidency and is seen as a farewell tour. He arrives here from Guatemala. Now, due to a hectic schedule, the president is unable to visit […]
There is currently unease in the halls of government following an incident in the Sarstoon on Saturday. While reports started circulating that night, the first official verification came via G.O.B. release twenty-four hours after, on Sunday evening. That release acknowledged that tension in the Sarstoon was at an all time high, and used language like […]
In that release issued Sunday, the Government also stated that it would send a strongly worded protest note to Guatemala to condemn the very aggressive action by its military in the Sarstoon, as well as the encroachment into Belizean waters near the Forward Operating Base on the banks of the Sarstoon. That has actually been […]
While Belize has operated on the premise that at least half of the Sarstoon is sovereign territory, the Guatemalans claim that the Sarstoon, and much more than the Sarstoon is theirs. Neither side is willing to abandon its position. But recent events show that Guatemala is quite prepared to step forward aggressively, and PM Barrow […]
We first heard about the BTV in the role of troublemakers in 2015, after Guatemalan gunboats attempted to stop boats carrying BTV expedition members who were intent on circling Sarstoon Island. Back then, both the Prime Minister and Brigadier General David Jones claimed that the actions of the BTV ratcheted up the tension. That’s been […]
But with all that said, PM Barrow is adamant that there must be a resort to democracy to resolve this issue, since war is unthinkable and cannot be contemplated. And that’s where a planned ministerial mission headed to Washington comes in. The group, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington was set to meet […]
And that brings us to the matter of internationalizing the issue. The government argues that it has been doing just that. But critics say that it is not enough to just keep friends regionally and far abroad in the loop, but rather much more important to push how critical the situation has become and that […]
In an extended and exclusive interview this morning with Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, we touched on a long list of pressing issues in respect of the Sarstoon waters in southern Belize where the Guatemalan military has been illegally entering Belize’s territorial waters. Last Saturday, it was patently clear that the military blocked the Belize Territorial […]
This morning, we also asked about the diplomatic note that was to be dispatched to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala, in light of the incursion in the Sarstoon by Guatemalan gunboats on Saturday. Elrington confirmed that the note has been sent but insisted that such diplomatic practices are not the solution to the […]
There are reports of new Guatemalan settlements popping up in areas of southern Belize. Those are in addition to others in the Chiquibul where xateros and gold-panners operate within the reserve. On Saturday, at the start of the BTV expedition, activist and B.P.P. Vice President, Wil Maheia pointed to some new settlements where Guatemalans were […]
The issue of illegal settlements was raised with the Foreign Minister. His response was that Belize is likely to continue to rely on the O.A.S. to assist in the removal of the settlements. Elrington says burning down their structures is not the answer. Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs “They’ve always been coming […]
