Last Tuesday, we showed you how the members of the Guatemalan military had a stand-off with Belize Territorial Volunteers.
Those Belizeans were on their way to the infamous Sarstoon Island to conduct a Pre-Independence Day ceremony of patriotism at one of the country's southernmost borders. Still, when they arrived, they were greeted by several Guatemalan vessels which tried to block them from traveling through the river to get to the island.
Eventually, they broke through, but the Guatemalans promptly confiscated the flags they had erected at Sarstoon Island because the GAF considers that to be Guatemalan territory.
The BTV called upon the Government to make a formal protest against the illegal incursion and the confrontation, but a little over a week has passed without any public announcement from GOB.
Yesterday, the Belize Progressive Party sent a press release expressing their frustration about a lack of public disclosure.
They said quote, "It has been an entire week since the GAF (1) illegally entered Belize's sovereign territory, (2) accosted and harassed Belizeans while in Belizean territory, and (3) committed what essentially amounts to robbery, as they stole the Belizean flag planted by the Belize Territorial Volunteers on Sarstoon Island. These infractions warrant an official complaint by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Organization of American States and the Government of Guatemala. However, whether this has been undertaken remains a mystery as the GOB has not honored its responsibility to keep the Belizean people informed." End quote.
So, since Maheia is both the leader of the Territorial Volunteers and the political leader of the BPP, our newsroom contacted him today to find out the latest about this incident. Daniel Ortiz has that story:
It's been nine days since Guatemalan naval units confronted the Belize Territorial Volunteers on the Sarstoon River while making an illegal incursion into Belizean territory and confiscating 2 Belizean flags that were placed on Sarstoon Island. The only government ministry to publicly address that incident is the Ministry of National Defense and Border Security.
It was the subject of a back and forth between Prime Minister John Briceno and Opposition Leader "Shyne" Barrow during the official Independence Day ceremony in Belmopan last Wednesday.
Moses "Shyne" Barrow - Leader of the Opposition
"I hope that the Prime Minister is ensuring that the Guatemalans will return our flags that they stole from the Sarstoon."
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Mr. Leader, if you had called the Foreign Minister, he would have informed you that the Belizean flag is at the Embassy of Belize, sir."
But, since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked to formally raise the matter to their Guatemalan counterparts, the BTV and its supporters want to know why Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay or his team have not provided any public disclosure on their intended course of action.
Wil Maheia - Leader, Belize Territorial Volunteers
"We are very concerned, and as I say, We continue to receive text messages, people asking, has the government reached out to you? Have they informed you exactly where exactly the flag is? Will you ever get back the flags? That sort of thing, and Belizeans are very concerned. So far, we have not heard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The Territorial Volunteers also view Prime Minister Briceno's address last week to the United Nations General Assembly as a missed opportunity to update the international community about these micro incidents of aggression and posturing over the shared Sarstoon River.
Wil Maheia - Leader, Belize Territorial Volunteers
"We are very disappointed in the fact that the Prime Minister had an opportunity to address the OAS and the United Nations, and they never really said outrightly that the Guatemalans invaded Belize. They disrespected us. They harassed us in front of children. All of this took place, and this is an international incident. They came into our territory and took down our flag. There's no dispute about where that island is. It is completely inside Belize's territory."
"I think this was a prime opportunity for the PM to remind the members of the UN that when we got our independence, we got it with all our territories intact. Sarstoon island is part of our territory."
But, the Prime Minister did return to the idea of a Sarstoon Protocol during his address to the UN General Assembly.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Belize and Guatemala have been pursuing the peaceful, just, and final resolution of Guatemala's claim to Belizean territory before the International Court of Justice. We continue to count on the support of the international community as the judicial process proceeds and when it concludes for the demarcation exercise to be carried out. In the meantime, we must redouble our efforts to manage the daily challenges which arise along the border areas in accordance with the 2005 Confidence Building Measures. Additionally. Now more than ever, we need to conclude a Sarstoon protocol, a cooperation mechanism to avoid unnecessary incidents in that area."
Wil Maheia - Leader, Belize Territorial Volunteers
"Yes, I'm glad that the PM brought it up that we need some protocols, but it was the same thing that the UDP was saying. Elrington was saying this over and over. So, have we made any advances on it since this government got in? It's the same rhetoric as when the UDP was in. Nothing has changed. This was a great opportunity for them to point out to the world."
"We can't just let go like that. We have to bring this up, and we have to make sure that Belizeans are alert about what's going on. We can't allow them to just sweep this under the rug. The fact of the matter is that all these kids were exposed to the danger of the Guatemalan military coming in on our soil with machine guns."
"It's over one week now that this incident happened, and we have not heard a word, or an official word from the Government if they're going to send a protest note. Unlike when they were in Opposition, they basically forced Sedi Elrington to send those protest notes."
