Peoples United Party
Secretariat
Serve the People!
#3 Queen Street, Belize City Telephone: 677-9168 Facsimile:
223-3476
Email: [email protected]
May 21, 2015
PRESS RELEASE
Statement on Meeting in Guatemala to amend the Special Agreement
between Belize and Guatemala
The Leader of the Opposition the Honourable Francis Fonseca
after consultations has decided that the Peoples
United Party will not participate nor be a party to any
amendment of the Special Agreement made between
Belize and Guatemala. While the PUP has always been an active
participant in all discussions, negotiations and
meetings as part of a national bi-partisan approach to the
Belize-Guatemala differendum, the Party has always
done so on the condition that Belizeans must at all times be
kept fully informed and consulted on all critical
matters.
Last month Prime Minister Barrow advised the Honourable Francis
Fonseca that the Government was
considering a request by Guatemala for amendment of the Special
Agreement in order to allow for Referenda to
be held in Guatemala in November of this year during their
second round of elections. Accordingly the Special
Agreement would need to be amended to allow for Referenda to be
held separately instead of simultaneously.
To date, the only explanation provided to the Leader of the
Opposition on the matter was that the President of
Guatemala said that holding the Referendum was a substantial
cost and that it was their intention to have that
Referendum coincide with Presidential elections as a cost saving
measure. Prime Minister Barrow also
indicated to the Leader of the Opposition that Foreign Minister
Elrington would be holding further discussions
on the matter and prepare a proper statement to be issued to
Belizeans outlining the position of the Government
and the rationale behind any proposed amendments. An undertaking
was given that Elrington would share that
statement with the Leader of Opposition before anything else was
done. That did not occur.
Furthermore, no explanation has been provided to the Belizean
people for agreeing to such a request, save and
except that the Foreign Minister Hon Sedi Elrington has said
that the Guatemalans thought that it would be
convenient...largely because of cost considerations and because
...all the political parties (in Guatemala) were
in agreement that the matter should be taken to Referendum at
that time.
This issue is of profound national importance and the PUP cannot
agree to support any such change to the
Special Agreement that was not properly explained and formally
consulted with the people of Belize and the
Opposition. Therefore the PUP will not attend the meeting
between the Foreign Ministers of Guatemala and
Belize to amend the Special Agreement, which will be held in
Guatemala City on Monday May 25, 2015.
END
