Opposition Demands Answers After Guatemalan Flag Raised on Sarstoon Island

Leader of the Opposition, Tracy Panton, is querying the whereabouts of the Belize Defence Force soldiers who were stationed at the Sarstoon yesterday.  The query comes after members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces (GAF) had the allowance to plant one of their flags on the Sarstoon Island.  According to Panton, the entire incident should never have occurred and the role of the soldiers at the Sarstoon needs to be made clear.

Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition: “Where was the Belize Defense Force ? Where was our patrol unit when this was allowed to happen and why wasn’t there an immediate alarm that this is allowed to happen. Now we know we don’t have the fire power to wade off an attack by Guatemala but we have a very strong diplomatic office and we have very strong allies in the favors of protecting Belize’s territorial integrity. And why did we not sound the alarm then ? It seems like we’re negotiating everything behind closed doors. The obligation of this government is to ensure that the Belizean people are informed and I am telling you the silence of the Prime Minister on matters of such national importance cannot and should not be countenanced and should not be accepted by the Belizean people. We have to stand up and we have to speak up and if we don’t we become susceptible to becoming a failed state, we’re susceptible to be led by an authoritarian government. And as Belizeans we have always guarded and we have always defended zealously our democracy.”

In response to the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that swift and decisive diplomatic action was taken.  Interestingly, the bold move by the GAF, is a significant departure from the more common provocation which would be removing the Belize flag from the island.  Love News understands that this morning, the ministry initiated high-level discussions with their Guatemalan counterparts, objecting to the blatant violation of its territorial sovereignty.  At the conclusion of the dialogue, the Guatemalan officials reportedly confirmed the removal of their flag from the island.  According to the government, it will be lodging a formal protest at the highest level to condemn this aggressive act. This incident comes three days before the Belize Territorial Volunteers annual trip to the Sarstoon Island where they would normally plant a Belize flag as part of the country’s month of patriotic activities.