Tourism Minister Addresses Guatemala Disrespect at World Travel Market

Belize went to London to promote its beaches, culture and tourism industry. Instead, Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler found himself defending the country’s borders. A map displayed at Guatemala’s booth at the World Travel Market appeared to show Belize within Guatemala, marked only by dotted lines and a different pattern. Mahler challenged the display during a ministerial panel, describing it as another assertion of Guatemala’s territorial claim. But when the discussion ended, he decided that speaking out was not enough and confronted the display himself.

 

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism

“I’m a politician in Belize I have to say this. Visit Belize’s booth and talk to the private sector i- individuals who are there and do some business with us. But if you look right across from us, if you have the Guatemala booth as well there’s a map showing Belize as a part of Guatemala. They have an un- unfound claim on Belize. I don’t think that this platform should be used to express political views, and they should remove that map showing Belize as a part of Guatemala. We’ve been an independent nation for since 1981. We have all our borders intact. And so that is going through a process.” 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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