GUATEMALA DEFIES UNITED NATIONS CHARTER OVER BELIZE TERRITORY IN SELF DETERMINATION OF 1981
One of the interesting things to come out of the academic and intellectual debates in the port town, down on the Eastern coast of Belize, that was once the old capital of the old British Honduras Colony, is the idea that Belize owes COMPENSATION to Guatemala for an old cart road promised by Britain, either to Spain, or Guatemala and was not paid for. This claimed DEBT goes back over a hundred and fifty years, or a century and a half ago. I for one do not accept such old debts. They are supposed to be written off after such a long time, by modern accounting practices.
Any policeman will tell you this is not a CRIMINAL MATTER, it is a CIVIL MATTER. Why our two lawyers controlling our one party government are confusing the heck out of our Cabinet of elected rural bumpkins, with all these century and a half old British debt arguments is beyond me, archaic legal claims between the old European powers, who were always at war.
Factually, when we went INDEPENDENT under the UNITED NATIONS CHARTER for SELF DETERMINATION, we did not inherit any of these old debts from Great Britain , or CLAIMS of any kind. Our independence and territorial integrity was guaranteed for ALL TIME, by the United Nations Charter on peoples self determination. Guatemala is a member of the UN and must abide by the ruling. We are a NEW COUNTRY guaranteed by the United Nations Charter for SELF DETERMINATION of our people, based on occupying and governing our new country. We have squatters and development rights. We might have been a British Colony once, but no longer, since 1981. We did not inherit British alleged debts. The idea you sell your children into slavery, for debts of the foster parents is an old European custom, not ours in the Americas . I don’t think they even do that today in modern Europe ?
Presuming there is a legitimate claim for COMPENSATION for a promised cart road that Britain promised either Spain , or Guatemala over a century and a half ago, then this debt would be a CIVIL MATTER, as any policeman will tell you.
The correct procedure for Guatemala; is to take Great Britain to court, in Guatemala if necessary, for unclaimed old debts and let the court decide. As a civil matter, I would think the Guatemalan foreign office, could sue the British Government and serve the British Embassy in Guatemala City with a subpoena and court case? Presuming the Guatemalan court found for the Guatemalans, then obviously the next step is to COLLECT from Great Britain the century and a half old compensation claimed. Failure to collect on the compensation would, or should, then result in BRITISH ASSETS in Guatemala being frozen until the debt was paid.
Either way, the idea that our NEW INDEPENDENT BELIZEAN GOVERNMENT OF UDP would entertain ideas that we are involved, or have any responsibility for old European debts in Central America is simply ridiculous. We are not a British Colony anymore, SINCE 1981 and Guatemala is refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the United Nations Charter of which Guatemala is a member. This is a CIVIL MATTER and court case between Guatemala the complainant and Great Britain . The wars of European powers over a few centuries, for title to pieces of the American Continent, based on military might and European feudal religious rule are no longer valid. That is ancient history and should be dumped in the trash bin of European history. Belizeans can only sympathize with our good neighbor Guatemala . Europeans are difficult to deal with.
Showing posts with label Guatemala foreign affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guatemala foreign affairs. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Guatemala acts in BAD FAITH with Belize.
THE GUATEMALAN DISPUTE WITH BELIZE !
By Ray Auxillou, Dec. 11, 2008
Every twelve to fifteen years or so, a new generation of Guatemalan politicians raise the dispute over ownership of parts of Belize. Belize tries to be friendly and succumbs with our own new generation of politicians and tries to meet Guatemalans more than halfway. Therein follows a round of talks, negotiations and diplomatic maneuvers. Guatemala always loses.
The fact is; under the principals of the United Nations Charter, Belize did find it’s independence as a country a couple of decades ago, with the recognition of our current borders between us and Guatemala. That should have been the end of it!
Today we are faced again with our own new political party in power, answering and negotiating to go to a World Court the ICJ, to argue the old obsolete Guatemalan claim once more. This is not only nonsense, it is playing into a recurring gamble with Guatemala, in which Guatemala has NOTHING to lose on the bet, but Belize has. This is not only foolish to gamble this way, it is not necessary. We went INDEPENDENT as a country with our borders intact. Finish of our argument. We are backed by the United Nations, the English speaking Commonwealth countries and past actions of Guatemala itself.
Forty five years ago I argued this point, 32 years ago I argued this point, 19 years ago I argue this point again and today with the new set of Guatemalan claims to lands of Belize, I will argue it once more for this new generation of Belizean politicians and those of Guatemala.
All the arguments of old treaties, British made cart roads, money owed to Guatemala from Britain, ended for Belizeans when we declared Independence through the United Nations by SELF DETERMINATION and was recognized by the majority of the rest of the world.
The game that new generations of Guatemalan politicians are playing, keeps coming back to the same old argument. They have it in their CONSTITUTION that they own Belize and the Guatemalan government of the day, each one, every twelve or fifteen years, must try to get it back. They never had Belize, EVER, but their CONSTITUTION says they must fight and negotiate and argue to reclaim something they NEVER HAD.
Our current government is fighting old battles that do not exist except in the imaginations of the Guatemalans. I have said this over and over again through the many Guatemalan claims to Belize. UNTIL Guatemala REMOVES that clause from their CONSTITUTION, the arguments will NEVER stop. Amending the Guatemalan Constitution should be our pre-requisite stand, BEFORE we negotiate, or talk about anything like this AGAIN.
We are playing a Guatemalan game with a stacked marked deck by Guatemala. Belizeans keep gambling our freedom in a rigged game. Even supposing we to the ICJ court and win the decision, in twelve or fifteen years, a NEW SET of politicians in Guatemala will resurrect the claim again, just like they have for all the decades of my 71 years of life. By their CONSTITUTION they are obligated to try to recover Belize it says. Each new generation of their politicians have to do this. It is their CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
There is NO GOOD FAITH on the part of Guatemala. There is no sense in spending millions of dollars going to the ICJ, even if we won a decision. It would mean nothing to the next generation of Guatemalan politicians in twelve or fifteen years. They in turn would be obligated by THEIR CONSTITUTION to resurrect the claim over and over and over again to Belize.
UNTIL the Guatemalans eliminate that clause in their CONSTITUTION forcing their new generations of Guatemalan politicians to claim Belize once more, all their arguments and quarrels with us in Belize are in BAD FAITH.
As a negotiating point, our politicians should insist NO ICJ, until that clause in the Guatemalan Constitution is DELETED. Otherwise we are losing our money and time. These continuous claims and arguments, one day will backfire and we will lose and go to war with Guatemala. We want to be friends and trading partners, not go to war. While that CLAUSE in the GUATEMALAN CONSTITUTION exists, there can be no agreements, or conclusion to this matter. Whenever they delete that Constitutional clause we can have some sort of agreement that will hold. Otherwise it is just all HOT AIR and BOMBAST. Until Guatemala amends their constitution, we have nothing to talk about on a Guatemalan claim. That Constitutional clause in Guatemala is a recurring Ace of Spades held up their sleeves for new generations of Guatemalans to claim Belize. All other arguments are a cyclical repeating foolish waste of time.
Let the Guatemalans show GOOD FAITH, by deleting that troublesome clause in their CONSTITUTION. Listening to our own Attorney General BLATHER on and on about legal rights and technicalities is a silly argument. There should be NO negotiations with Guatemala, until a prerequisite change of an amendment to their Constitution in Guatemala is made, deleting that recurring troublesome clause Until they do that, no matter what you do is pure waste of time and money.
By Ray Auxillou, Dec. 11, 2008
Every twelve to fifteen years or so, a new generation of Guatemalan politicians raise the dispute over ownership of parts of Belize. Belize tries to be friendly and succumbs with our own new generation of politicians and tries to meet Guatemalans more than halfway. Therein follows a round of talks, negotiations and diplomatic maneuvers. Guatemala always loses.
The fact is; under the principals of the United Nations Charter, Belize did find it’s independence as a country a couple of decades ago, with the recognition of our current borders between us and Guatemala. That should have been the end of it!
Today we are faced again with our own new political party in power, answering and negotiating to go to a World Court the ICJ, to argue the old obsolete Guatemalan claim once more. This is not only nonsense, it is playing into a recurring gamble with Guatemala, in which Guatemala has NOTHING to lose on the bet, but Belize has. This is not only foolish to gamble this way, it is not necessary. We went INDEPENDENT as a country with our borders intact. Finish of our argument. We are backed by the United Nations, the English speaking Commonwealth countries and past actions of Guatemala itself.
Forty five years ago I argued this point, 32 years ago I argued this point, 19 years ago I argue this point again and today with the new set of Guatemalan claims to lands of Belize, I will argue it once more for this new generation of Belizean politicians and those of Guatemala.
All the arguments of old treaties, British made cart roads, money owed to Guatemala from Britain, ended for Belizeans when we declared Independence through the United Nations by SELF DETERMINATION and was recognized by the majority of the rest of the world.
The game that new generations of Guatemalan politicians are playing, keeps coming back to the same old argument. They have it in their CONSTITUTION that they own Belize and the Guatemalan government of the day, each one, every twelve or fifteen years, must try to get it back. They never had Belize, EVER, but their CONSTITUTION says they must fight and negotiate and argue to reclaim something they NEVER HAD.
Our current government is fighting old battles that do not exist except in the imaginations of the Guatemalans. I have said this over and over again through the many Guatemalan claims to Belize. UNTIL Guatemala REMOVES that clause from their CONSTITUTION, the arguments will NEVER stop. Amending the Guatemalan Constitution should be our pre-requisite stand, BEFORE we negotiate, or talk about anything like this AGAIN.
We are playing a Guatemalan game with a stacked marked deck by Guatemala. Belizeans keep gambling our freedom in a rigged game. Even supposing we to the ICJ court and win the decision, in twelve or fifteen years, a NEW SET of politicians in Guatemala will resurrect the claim again, just like they have for all the decades of my 71 years of life. By their CONSTITUTION they are obligated to try to recover Belize it says. Each new generation of their politicians have to do this. It is their CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
There is NO GOOD FAITH on the part of Guatemala. There is no sense in spending millions of dollars going to the ICJ, even if we won a decision. It would mean nothing to the next generation of Guatemalan politicians in twelve or fifteen years. They in turn would be obligated by THEIR CONSTITUTION to resurrect the claim over and over and over again to Belize.
UNTIL the Guatemalans eliminate that clause in their CONSTITUTION forcing their new generations of Guatemalan politicians to claim Belize once more, all their arguments and quarrels with us in Belize are in BAD FAITH.
As a negotiating point, our politicians should insist NO ICJ, until that clause in the Guatemalan Constitution is DELETED. Otherwise we are losing our money and time. These continuous claims and arguments, one day will backfire and we will lose and go to war with Guatemala. We want to be friends and trading partners, not go to war. While that CLAUSE in the GUATEMALAN CONSTITUTION exists, there can be no agreements, or conclusion to this matter. Whenever they delete that Constitutional clause we can have some sort of agreement that will hold. Otherwise it is just all HOT AIR and BOMBAST. Until Guatemala amends their constitution, we have nothing to talk about on a Guatemalan claim. That Constitutional clause in Guatemala is a recurring Ace of Spades held up their sleeves for new generations of Guatemalans to claim Belize. All other arguments are a cyclical repeating foolish waste of time.
Let the Guatemalans show GOOD FAITH, by deleting that troublesome clause in their CONSTITUTION. Listening to our own Attorney General BLATHER on and on about legal rights and technicalities is a silly argument. There should be NO negotiations with Guatemala, until a prerequisite change of an amendment to their Constitution in Guatemala is made, deleting that recurring troublesome clause Until they do that, no matter what you do is pure waste of time and money.
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