PM Briceño Decries Guatemala Flag on Sarstoon Island

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs isn’t taking Wednesday’s Sarstoon incident lightly. They’ve fired off a strongly worded protest note to Guatemala and the OAS after Guatemalans planted their flag on Sarstoon Island, on the very day Belizeans were celebrating the Battle of St. George’s Caye. And they didn’t do it alone; the Guatemalan Armed Forces were right there with them. Today, Prime Minister Briceño confirmed that BDF soldiers were on the ground but outnumbered. He says Belize will take this protest to the next level at the United Nations later this month. According to the PM, this was the work of ‘old guards’ in Guatemala who still believe the Sarstoon belongs to them.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I think it is first important for us as Belizeans to recognize the bravery of our BDF soldiers. They were surrounded by Guatemalans, as much as seven boats and their gun boat was about a mile away. I want to commend them for the bravery they demonstrated and their cool under pressure, because this could have gotten quickly out of control. But they stood their ground to make the point that they are in Belizean territory and that flag had to come down. During that time our Minister Mira got in touch with the minister of defense in Guatemala and Minister Fonseca with the foreign minister in Guatemala and we immediately started to work our diplomatic channels. Because of that the Guatemalan brought down the flag and move from Belizean territory. WE have always said that the river is the medium line and going north is Belizean territory and going south belongs to Guatemala. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francis Fonseca has written a strong letter of protest to the OAS and also to Guatemala and have started informing all the friends of Belize, Canada, Mexico, the UK, to inform them of that incident. I expect to be at the UN. I leave the twenty-second. So during that time I am expecting to meet with president Arevalo to discuss that situation. President Arevalo has demonstrated great support for Belize and want to commit closer ties and relationship to both countries. There seems to be elements within the military that seems to be classified as old guards and wants to communicate their stance on the Belize issue. But that situation is dying and most of them are very old and dying. The younger generation is recognizing that Belize is a free and independent nation and recognize that.”