Next week, Belizean and Guatemalan diplomats will hold high-level meetings in Washington, DC under the auspices of the OAS.
Originally talks were to focus on the confidence building measures and getting the Guatemalans to sign on to an extension of those measures.
But as things now stand, the hope for that seems faint. That's because the new Berger administration has reacted angrily to an encounter between Guatemalan 'campesinos' and Belizean soldiers that left one man maimed and another imprisoned in Belize. Never mind that it happened on this side of the border the Guatemalans have characterized it as an act of violence.
Under that troubled backdrop, Belize's Minister of Foreign Affairs Godfrey Smith today held a press conference to set the stage for a round of talks for which he held out little hope of progress. As Alfonso Noble reports, the discussion no longer centers on diplomacy, it's all about that be-deviling plant called "Xate."
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
This morning's press conference was all about forgetting past problems with Guatemala, the Santa Rosa settlement, the Nuevo Judah area are now on the back burner. The more pressing issue and the one that has re-ignited the tensions between Belize and Guatemala is Xate the $23 million a year industry for the ornamental palm that has Guatemalan peasants making incursions into Belizean territory.
The most recent incident of April 7 in the Chiquibul forest 17 kilometers east of the borderline caused Xatero Victor Espino to be shot in the arm and buttock while his partner Manuel Cabrera has been imprisoned pending trial on a number of offences.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Godfrey Smith says that the Guatemalan Foreign Minister's public treatment of the event was in clear contravention of the confidence building measures and took on a needlessly inflammatory tone.
Hon. Godfrey Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"In our view the statement at the conference contained false allegations and we consider that it inflamed the public mood in Guatemala in relation to this dispute."
And that stance has been taken because of a long and troubling history of Xate incursions. Smith presented a list of 13 encounters complete with 62 names and locations of encounters between April 8 of 2002 to the April 7 2004 incident.
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"The 7th April incident was not the first incident of security officers being fired upon and so that provides a background where there is a clear breach of sovereignty on a repeated and consistent basis by Guatemalan nationals who come over illegally, in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition."
"Our security forces began a systematic logging of incidents and detentions around or about 2002. Encounters between Belizeans security forces and Guatemalan nationals is a recurrent thing."
"The incidents that we have logged are of course not all the incidences of illegal entry and illegal harvesting. Those are mainly the ones where they have been an encounter between members of our security forces and Guatemalan nationals. What is of concern is really a breach of national sovereignty on the consistent basis involving Guatemalan nationals entering the country illegally to begin with and then in possession of illegal firearm, illegal ammunition etc."
"Not only is it a matter of national sovereignty and a consistent breach of sovereignty but secondly there is a huge environmental aspect to this present situation where it is not simply a matter of a farmer harvesting a Xate product. It is a matter of widespread unsustainable harvesting and deforestation which could have serious environmental ramifications."
And those ramifications have forced Belizean law enforcement personnel to vigilantly guard the Chiquibul area where most of the Xate incursions occur. But this zealous guarding of Belize's forests is putting the lawmen at risk. Smith today disclosed a note that was found on the 14th of April issuing a death threat to the men guarding Belize's territory.
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"On the 14th April the note was found and it claims that the Xateros will ambush and kill members of the Belize security force's patrol. This next line actually shows a photograph of the actual note that was found and the text on the side is a translation of the note. Because of the graphic nature of the text, I will not of course repeat it."
While he would not read it out, the note basically states that Guatemalans are ready with grenades to attack and kill a Belizean patrol. Even so however Smith says that calm must be maintained.
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"We're merely doing what we have always done in the past which is to keep the Belizean public fully informed as to thin the situation rests in relation to the negotiations."
Negotiations that will resume on May 4th, a time at which Smith says there will be clear indication as to how far behind the talks have fallen.
Hon. Godfrey Smith,
"The purpose of the meeting in Washington is the find out very officially and clearly since the process still subsists where we are in relation to that so the meeting will give us the opportunity to find out in a formal and official manner where we are. So we can't really pre-judge what is going to happen at the OAS meeting in Washington."
"The years that it took to come up with that set of proposals, the fact that it was hailed by the international community as a model set of proposals - it's the best that we can offer at this time."
And while Belize sticks to the Reichler/Ramphal proposals, there is no telling where Guatemala stands especially with the latest shooting and detention of Guatemalan Xateros, issues which have moved discussions from pure diplomacy to discussions about this much sought after ornamental plant.
A copy of the minister's entire presentation, with a literal translation can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
As for the Guatemalan statement issued on April 12th, it says that they condemn. The use of firearms against Guatemalan citizens.