Ending his one week tour of Belize and Guatemala and the adjacency zone of both countries Dr. Luigi Einaudi the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS this morning held a press conference to update the Belizean people on the status of the Belize-Guatemala negotiations. At this point, you may be asking: "what negotiations?" well, you might be surprised to know that they're dusting off those Ramphal/Reichler proposals and more than that Einaudi says that the negotiation process will continue with renewed effort.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
In a room filled with foreign affairs personnel, diplomats and the likes of Ambassador Assad Shoman, Attorney General Hon. Eamon Courtenay and others, point man in the Belize Guatemala negotiations Dr. Luigi Einaudi the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS indicated what the new direction to the negotiation process will take after the failed Richler/Ramphal proposals.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi, OAS Assistant Secretary General
"We are in effect picking it to pieces in the wake of the proposal that was rejected by Guatemala as not meeting its national interest but in which we had all invested a great deal of effort. I think it is possible to restart but the central issue I think is redefining a mechanism for dealing with the issue of substance here which is the question of the agreement on the territorial delimitation. We are going to try direct negotiations this time in between the two parties with the OAS serving in effect as the convener. I am going to propose as the result of these meetings that the two parties agree to such a specific system in Washington in August and that this be accompanied by a renewal of the confidence building measures."
And Einaudi says those measures are where the next round of negotiations will commence when negotiators from both Guatemala and Belize meet in Washington in August. He states that they'll start here because of the success they've had in the past.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi,
"I would say that the confidence building measures continue because I think they made a great deal of difference in available communications and information on both sides. Now it is also true that not all of the confidence building measures had been implemented to the letter and that certainly is very distressing."
And while the OAS sees it as distressing, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Godfrey Smith who flanked Einaudi at today's presentations says that he too agrees that the confidence building measures should continue and that the Belizean and Guatemalan governments need to find clear objectives for the continuance of the measures.
Hon. Godfrey Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"We can't agree as Luigi said earlier on confidence building measures without knowing what each other thinks about the substance of the dispute so I think we are trying to make sure that we look at the dispute first and then confidence building measures."
And once those are established the process says Einaudi will proceed apace focusing on three major areas.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi,
"The first is to try to reach agreement on the shape of the settlement and the second is to ensure its legal approval in both countries and the third is to ensure effective implementation. I do not want to participate in what might be called an orphan agreement that is immediately forgotten by all before it ends or before it is implemented."
But in seeking that conclusion Einaudi says that they'll have to be looking at the forsaken Richler Ramphal proposals to see where points of contention have arisen and where further negotiations can help those.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi,
"There are several proposals which affect pretty much the whole range of issues so obviously they will be revisited, looked at, and analyzed in so far as do they represent a basis for progress. Now in the sense that they have been rejected by one of the parties involved at least in part and one of the issues we have before us is to try and identify the basis of that rejection and see if it can be resolved more effectively."
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"We see the facilitators’ proposals that were handed down in 2002 as the best possible set of proposals that could have been designed and so really and truly in terms of the substance we are really more interested to see, since they are the ones rejecting it, what they will come to us and say. We spent tremendous time, energy, and resources in getting those proposals and we believe that is the best way forward so in a sense we are waiting. Sometimes they say they rejected all and other times they say well there are some good things in it and it is just to change a few things. So really we are waiting for them to state clearly what their position is in relation to that."
But while those are what the next round of negotiations will center on Einaudi says that there are also other issues that need to be addressed. These include inter-government relations as well as the human aspect of the relationship that is the Xateros.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi,
"There are issues like the drug trafficking and we have incurred all kinds of problems. One of the marvelous things of the last couple of years has been, and that’s thanks in part to the confidence building measures, the Belize Defense Force and the Guatemalan Army have been able to have regular meetings and now joint patrols in a number of areas and in fact there is significant improved cooperation. But even that has its failings. I think that there is right now a dispute, probably an unnecessary dispute, between Belize and Guatemala over a Guatemalan helicopter that is resting in the Sarstoon River where if it could be gotten out it would be helpful in terms of legal proceedings in Guatemala against some of the narco-traffickers. All kinds of difficulties being caused on the other hand by Guatemalan peasants moving into Belize and affecting protected area, affecting Belize's ecology and the Guatemalans feel that when they ran afoul of the law they get the short hand and that their human rights are violated.”
Alfonso Noble,
What is the status of the helicopter?
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
“That still has not been resolved. We have to make sure that all the elements that are involved: the foreign ministry, the ministry of defense, and the ministry of home affairs are each satisfied as to the way forward. We have not reached that point yet but we expect to reach that very soon.”
Alfonso Noble,
Is there an increase of these incursions into Belize because we are seeing a lot more reports coming in from police that these people are being caught and sent to jail and fined and that kind of thing.
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
“Yes I'd have to say there has been an increase whether that’s merely because the patrol have stepped up or what I can’t be absolutely sure. But certainly over the past few months here has been a higher percent of report in relation to Xateros coming over the border."
Notwithstanding those problems both Einaudi and Smith are optimistic that the differendum will come to a resolution soon especially because of the present stability of both the Belizean and Guatemalan governments.
Dr. Luigi Einaudi,
"What's interesting about the current situation is that we have two legitimate and effective governments in power at the same time. In both countries quite often we get situations where one country has a good government and effective government and other government is unstable or for some political or historical reason it has its hands tied on any political issue. I think right now we had a couple of years in which both sides had predictably stable governance with essentially the same team in office and that does provide a very serious window of opportunity which should not be missed."
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"You have to be optimistic about the project because to contemplate the alternative is just too much. To sit back and do nothing is not an alternative so we have to keep engaged we have to stay in the process and we were not privy to the discussions he had with the Guatemalans. We have to take his word that he has been able to find or discern that there are people within the government who really want to bring this thing to an end."
There will be further negotiations between Belize and Guatemala on the 3rd and 4th of August in Washington under the auspices of the OAS to discuss the confidence building measures.