When we spoke with Wil Maheia of the Belize Territorial Volunteers on Wednesday, he told us that he had received no response from the Organization of American States or from the B.D.F. to a formal request made for observers this weekend as they work to clear the border. Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington has […]
The Government of Guatemala is including Belize as part of its territory in maps appearing in primary school text books. That decision was taken at the behest of the Ministry of Education but even prior to that the offensive map was protested at the Organization of American States when it was used to illustrate the […]
The government is writing to Jose Miguel Insulza, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, formally rejecting two proposals by Guatemala. Firstly, Guatemala proposed that Belize amend the Referendum Act and secondly, that Belize hold the referendum on October sixth and if there is a Yes vote, then they would follow suit. Neither […]
On Monday, the Opposition rejected two Guatemalan proposals and tonight there is official word from Belmopan that Cabinet has looked at the proposals and is also discarding them in their entirety. A release from the Belize Press Office this afternoon made that position clear, while reiterating the point that Belize has done everything to stick […]
And while Belize plays the waiting game and Foreign Minister Elrington is not predicting Guatemala’s next move, he is absolutely clear in his view of Leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca, and the People’s United Party. In a press conference Monday evening, Fonseca said Elrington was doing a disservice to Belize and should be removed. […]
With the rejection of the Guatemalan referendum proposals there is still one initiative that keeps popping up. Caught somewhere on the periphery of the continuing back and forth between Belize and Guatemala are the Belize Territorial Volunteers, led by activist Wil Maheia, who have stated that they will clear, as in chop to the ground, […]
Both the government and opposition have now firmly rejected the Guatemalan proposals in respect of the October sixth referendum which would have determined whether the population had any desire to ultimately have the ICJ determine Belize’s boundaries. While it seemed that is the general public sentiment, we narrowed it down to the two area representatives […]
The area representatives of the Toledo District did not hike to Santa Cruz to join the Clear the Border Project by Belize Territorial Volunteers. According to Oscar Requeña and Mike Espat, while Belizeans need to assert their nationalism there is also an issue of security involved along the Belize borders. Mike Espat, Toledo East […]
A Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting the government is expected to take a position in respect of Guatemala’s latest proposal on the referendum. But the People’s United Party has jumped out in front and issued its own take. The background is that Belize and Guatemala met at OAS headquarters in Washington on March seventeenth. At that meeting […]
The P.U.P. leader, Francis Fonseca also took the opportunity to criticize Guatemala for what he calls ‘scuttling’ the process, saying that Guatemala has been acting in bad faith. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition “Guatemala in our view is the entity responsible for trying, if you like, scuttle the process. It is clear to […]
And even as the People’s United Party claims that it has been acting in good faith, and Guatemala has been acting in bad faith, Fonseca also reserved some special time for an opinion on Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington. He claims that Elrington has been doing a disservice to the country and should be […]
Before the debate on the budget started, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, gave an update on the referendum revealing a preposterous proposal by the Guatemalans which clearly shatters the referendum. Elrington reported for the first time on the essence of the visit of the Guatemalan Foreign Minister three weeks ago. Elrington confirmed […]
Guatemala wants out of going to the referendum on October sixth, and out of possibly taking the Belize/Guatemala dispute to the International Court of Justice. That’s the word from Minister of Foreign Affairs this afternoon as he returned from Sunday’s meeting with Guatemala at OAS headquarters in Washington. The news confirms what Guatemala had been […]
In Tuesday’s newscast, President of the Bar Eamon Courtenay strongly defended the work and worth of that Association. And to cement his position that there is much that the Bar does in matters of national interest, Courtenay pointed out that the Association will be participating fully in the education and awareness campaign in respect of […]
A high-level Foreign Ministry delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred “Sedi’’ Elrington travelled to OAS headquarters in Washington DC on Saturday to meet Guatemalan counterparts and OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza. While officials balked at referring to the encounter as an emergency gathering, it was held on a Sunday coming at a […]
Because of the absence of Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera, Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington returned to his hotel room to wait for a de-briefing of the Vice-Ministerial meeting. Even though Elrington was disrespected, he said that notwithstanding the absence of his counterpart he considered the meeting to be a good one. And […]
Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca was a guest on OYE this morning, just in time to be apprised of the latest developments coming out of the meeting at the OAS in Washington. At a recent press conference Fonseca had committed to putting forward an official party position by early next month after carrying out […]
A special agreement signed between Belize and Guatemala specifies that the referendum on taking the territorial claim to Belize should be held on the same day, October sixth. But Guatemala is now seeking to change that and had been sending signals for some time. A bulletin straight from the office of President Otto Perez Molina, […]
Despite dire predictions and warnings by officials of government and the B.D.F., Toledo activist Wil Maheia, his Belize Territorial Volunteers and about one hundred and twenty-five Belizeans travelled near the Belize-Guatemala border without incident on March second. Emboldened by what it says was the successful symbolic gesture, the group is at it again. This time […]
Guatemala’s Vice-Minister of Education, Evelyn Amado de Segura, is taking the unfounded Guatemalan claim to the heart of that country, its children and youth. Segura has taken one of the offensive maps that usurps Belize into that country, and has written to directors in the education ministry to use the map as the official map […]
The Foreign Minister of Guatemala was in Belize today in an unannounced visit. Fernando Carrera arrived by private aircraft at the Philip Goldson International Airport this afternoon around one o’clock, met with Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington before departing at four p.m. Carrera’s call on the foreign minister had to do with the upcoming […]
The Belize Territorial Volunteers will take at least one hundred machetes to clear a border line as part of a project called “Clearing the Border.” The Guatemalans are apparently against the exercise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement regarding the danger of the exercise. But organizers say scouts, volunteers from several […]
Foreign Minister Elrington also discussed the Maritime Areas Act. On February eleventh, Minister Elrington said, “The only place I think there is room for some surprise would have to be in the sea area or perhaps in the insular area because those are not yet defined.” That comment triggered the wrath of former Foreign Minister […]
The Comision the Belice was Guatemala’s preeminent body that studied all facets of their claim to Belizean territory. The unit has now been dismantled because the Guatemalan Government was not informed in 2008 that the referendum Act was amended. According to the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Fernando Carrera, they did not know of the amendment prior […]
While News Five had the attention of the Minister and C.E.O., we had to ask them about the hundred machetes that the Belize Territorial Volunteers intend to take to Punta Gorda to clear from Gracias Adios, then along the Sarstoon River and eventually the Chiquibul and Caracol. The decision by the group, spearheaded by Punta […]
