Countries seek border resolution
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years resisted entreaties from all
sides to have the case settled by the
World Court but it finally agreed to
do as the decades drag on a dispute
that dates back to a treaty Britain
and Guatemala signed way back
in 1859 that was supposed to have
defined boundary markers.
Guatemala over the decades
also accused Britain of not keeping
colonial era promises to build
a road link through Belize to give
it access to the Caribbean coast
and walked away leaving nations
after independence with simmering
quarrels over border lines. That
promise was part of a compromise
to settle the dispute but it never
fructified and left today’s governments
to deal with the situation as
best as they could.
After the vote, Belize Prime
Minister, Dean Barrow said that
authorities will now move with
haste to prepare the case and file it
with the court as this might well be
a once in a lifetime chance to seal it
once and for all.
He also said that “Belizeans
moved in a united manner and
this is the attitude they should
keep towards this issue of national
interest. I want no slip ups” in the
preparation of the case for the ICJ,
he told reporters after the vote.
The referendum was initially
scheduled for April 10 but had to
be postponed because of court challenges
related to the process.
Officials say the process could
take up to five years.
Western nations, Britain among
them, welcomed the approval of the
referendum suggesting that Belize
could have a brighter future if the
weight of Guatemala’s claim and
the constant bickering over border
lines and access to the Atlantic is
sorted out.
The American Embassy, for
example, noted in a statement that
“by referring the matter to the
International Court of Justice, the
country has chosen to move forward
in the peaceful, final resolution
of this dispute. That resolution
will be good for the people of Belize,
the people of Guatemala, the people
of Central America, and ultimately
the people of our entire hemisphere.
It will open the way to increased
trade, travel, and better cooperation
on everything from fighting drugtrafficking
to social development to
preserving the environment.” Britain
said it “believes that legal certainty
between both countries will
boost peace, investment and social
development for today’s and future
generations to come.”
Belizean Prime Minister, Dean Barrow in London.
British Foreign and Commonwealth Offi ce, File
Guyana celebrates
its independence
By Tangerine Clarke
The Young Guyanese Professionals
Alliance, founded by Melissa Noel
and RKHTY, will host a networking
event titled, “Untapped: Defining our
Legacy” on Saturday, May 18, at the
Slope Lounge, 837 Union St., Brooklyn
to begin Guyana’s 53rd Independence
Anniversary celebrations.
The four-hour event will start
at 1 pm. To attend, RSVP (www.
untappedgt.eventbrite.com). Space is
limited.
Rudolph Ten-Pow, ambassador and
permanent representative of the Cooperative
Republic of Guyana to the
United Nations and Barbara Atherly,
Guyana’s consul general to New York,
will continue the commemoration
with an Inter-Faith Service, in the
Atrium of the Academic Core Bldg.
94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica
New York (across from the Performing
Arts Center of York College), the
following day, Sunday, May 19, at 3
pm.A
n Honor Guard of ranks of the
Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana
Police Force and former members of
the Disciplined Services in Guyana,
will lead a Flag Raising Ceremony,
on Friday, May 24, at 5 pm on the
grounds of Brooklyn Borough Hall,
209 Joralemon St., to bring the celebrations
to a close.
/www.untappedgt.eventbrite.com
/www.untappedgt.eventbrite.com
/untappedgt.eventbrite.com