Local News

Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action, COLA has issued a statement regarding their position on three areas regarding Belize-Guatemala Issues.  Love News spoke with President of COLA, Giovannie Brackett, who told us about their position on the issue which they refer to as that of Compensation to Guatemalan subverters and Families.

GIOVANNI BRACKETT

President

Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action

“Cola has been hearing through the social media that our government, that the reports from the Guatemalan media are suggesting that our authorities are offering to compensate the family of the latest Guatemalan farmer who was killed while our BDF officers felt that they were being threatened by the deceased.  We looked at situations whereby couple years ago when there was a huge fight and protest by BSI up there in Orange Walk and the family of that cane farmer was not even given as much as a hundred dollars and that was our own and he was just executing his right to advocate.  Now, you don’t compensate, if you’re a regular citizen and you have a burglar come in and threatens your life and you, in self defense, kill that person you don’t offer to compensate the family, he shouldn’t have been there in the first place.  We strongly oppose to having our tax payers money to be used to compensate the family of any Guatemalan.  That is our position, we extremely oppose to using tax payers money to compensate any Guatemalan family of a farmer or any citizen who was illegally settling or doing illegal activity within our borders.”

Brackett also told Love News what COLA’s position is, concerning Guatemala’s twenty one day ultimatum on forward action.

GIOVANNI BRACKETT

President

Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action

“Any Belizean should be outraged for Guatemala to even have the nerve to give us an ultimatum when they have illegally settled on our territory; their residents have illegally extract and rape our forests; pollute our waters; illegally fish in our waters; pan our gold; destroy our landscape; destroy our forest and they have never taken any strong position to tell their citizens that they have a very fragile situation with the border there with Belize and they are not to go across there; but because they have never ever took a strong position and as soon as we are beginning to take steps to secure our borders, now they are threatening to send back every Belizean that is across there.  I won’t speak as though it doesn’t have some serious implications but there are thousands of Guatemalans, who are here and have yet to get their papers; who are here illegally and there are those who have come here and gotten their nationality and we could take a position and send back every single one of them.  I understand that we need to be diplomatic and there needs to be diplomatic talks; I understand that the Government may not be able to talk the way we at the ground local level can talk because they are trying to engage but we should never be seen as weak or as being subservient and we at COLA thinks that this is grossly wrong for the government to even hint that we are going to bow to Guatemala.  We should always maintain a position of strength and at the same time one of reason.  But for me this is not even reason in the eyes of the Belizean populace to give in to demands of Guatemala.  I think the OAS, the British and our allies and international friends should actually come out and take a position on this.  They at the OAS have yet to condemn any Guatemalan illegal activity; it’s always Belize that seems to get the bad end of the stick and that needs to stop.  The OAS needs to be partial and needs to be objective and if they will allow the Guatemalans to behave like this; to hear that the Guatemalans are already complaining to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton then we need to start to complain to our friends abroad because this is ridiculous.  COLA is taking a very strong position and we are going to meet with our partners and other NGOs in the next few days and we are going to come out with an even stronger unified position on this issue.”

On the issue of the Belize-Guatemala Differendum, Bracket says that COLA feels there should be a way forward without the involvement of the International Court of Justice.

GIOVANNI BRACKETT

President

Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action

“We believe that talks should be extended; meaningful conversation but both parties must show that they are willing to comply.  It can’t always be that Belize is ceding and Belize is willing to accommodate or dialogue; Guatemala must take steps in ensuring that their people are taken care of that they don’t have to come across our border and at the same time we should be allowed to defend and protect our borders, they can’t tell us how to secure our borders.  How can we allow a foreign country to dictate how we will secure our borders?  If you listened to the Minister talk, he is sending Police to the borders, their borders are not even guarded by Police – it’s always the military force you seeing there and the same privilege and right should be extended to us.  We will be expound on these things over the next few days as we all come together, we have at least over fifteen organizations that are going to be meeting over the next few days to further develop our strategy, plan of action and declaration.”

In the press release issued on Saturday afternoon, COLA states that quote “We will do all in our power to protest and demand that our leaders reverse their thoughts and action from an impending point of no return” end quote.

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