Thursday, August 27th 2015. BMG: Despite no apparent objections from the Organization of American States (OAS) or Prime Minister Dean Barrow subject to the diplomats’ consideration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belize seeks approval from their counterparts in Guatemala to release the report.
But according to News 5, Senator Lisa Shoman, the Opposition representative on the bi-national commission on the unfounded claim, is not waiting. She has written both Minister Wilfred Elrington and Ambassador Alexis Rosado asking for copies of the report and the protest note sent to Guatemala. She stated that if her participation in the commission is to be meaningful she must be included in any material sent. She is also asking for an opportunity to share her personal perspective of the incident. CEO Lawrence Sylvester has formally received the letter and takes responsibility for getting it to the Minister.
In related news, Sen. Shoman says she has not been told of the alleged continuous Guatemalan aggression reported against the Belize Defence Force (BDF) in the Sarstoon, which has been happening for several years now.
According to Shoman, Belize must make sure Guatemala understands that we will not tolerate that sort of behavior and repeats that Belize claims the mouth of the Sarstoon – too narrow for territorial sea boundaries to be established, and its half of the river including Sarstoon Island.