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EDITORIAL

June 2, 2005

Belize - The Guardian - Original Article (English)

Sometimes it is fairly easy to come up with a conspiracy theory. The reason for this is that there are always greedy people embarking on activities, programs or strategies designed to enrich or empower themselves, and always at the expense of other people or entire geographical regions. Sometimes these strategies are localized and sometimes they are global.

Clearly, real global conspiracies are harder to pin down, as the players are far apart and their actions often seem uncoordinated. Some will even argue that there are no global conspiracies; that it only seems like a conspiracy because influential people are driven most by one motive – greed; that greed usually seeks a common result, so the activities perpetrated by men of greed usually arrive at the same or similar conclusions; and that the idea that there are global conspiracies comes simply from the need of such men to cooperate, lest they end up hindering one another.

Well, there are just such seemingly uncoordinated events occurring around us on a daily basis that beg for explanation. Consider our situation with Guatemala, Central America, and CARICOM. [The Caribbean Community and Common Market] Of course, we don’t live in a vacuum. The so-called Western powers of the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States of America (U.S.) also enter the picture.

We all know that Guatemala claims more than half of our country. It signed an agreement with the U.K. to settle the dispute in exchange for money. The U.K. reneged and now we are left all alone with the Guatemalan claim hanging over our heads. [This is a reference to a 1991 agreement between Belize and Guatemala, and brokered by Great Britain, in which Guatemala agreed to drop its long-standing claims to Belizean territory in exchange for British development aid]. Prior to the mid 1990s, almost all recorded public disobedience in our country was related to Belize – Guatemala relations. These arose out of a suspicion that Belize’s only Premier and its first Prime Minister, George Price, were intent on delivering all of Belize to Guatemala. It was this suspicion that really led to the formation of opposition political parties in Belize (formerly British Honduras).

Recently, the Organization of American States (OAS) has become involved and the U.K. has again stepped up its role, but simply as a facilitator this time around. Consider what has happened as a result of all this. We now have no border. It has been replaced with an “adjacency zone.” Guatemalans and any other Central American refugees now have free access to Belize, whether to live in or exploit our forests and seas. It has gotten so bad that now some 50% or more of our population is originally from some part of Central America. One has to wonder if their loyalty lies with Belize or Central America.

On the other hand, we have the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) being forced down our throats. Interestingly, the first major legislation enacted for the CSME is in regard to the free movement of people. So while Central Americans are free to overrun Belize from the West, we are free to leave from the East. Only African-Belizeans came to Belize via the Caribbean, so guess whom the “invitations” are now being issued to. Initially, it was only African-Belizeans that mistrusted George Price and felt we were being “sold out” to Guatemala. It was African-Belizeans that were targeted in the forced-migration to the North that started in the 50’s and 60’s. It is African-Belizeans who believe that their enslaved ancestors actually built this country to what it became at Independence. And it is now the African-Belizeans that are leading public protests to save our nation. It seems that the U.S. has taken in enough of us who were convinced to leave, and so a new frontier had to be opened up: our own country.

And what about Central American Integration? Aren’t we a part of this movement? Didn’t the Central American Countries express full support for the administration of Prime Minister Said Musa during the recent civil unrest? Aren’t we negotiating something called the Partial Scope Trade Agreement with Guatemala? So why is it that Belize is not part of the Central America Free Trade Association (CAFTA) that is being negotiated with the U.S.? Does the U.S. not recognize us? Hasn’t the U.S. committed to invest over $100 million for a new embassy and living quarters in Belize? Is it that the U.S. does not expect us to remain an independent country for much longer?

I must be paranoid, but there seems to be some sort of conspiracy here. It seems as though we are destined to be usurped by Guatemala, and the U.K. and the U.S. are part of the overall plan. It appears that people have been right about George Price and the PUP all along. It may be just a conspiracy theory or it may be a real conspiracy. Let me know what you think.