If you follow the morning shows this week, you’d have definitely seen the commanders of Belize’s security forces, the BDF, the Police, and the Coast Guard, making the media rounds to promote a “Yes” vote to taking Guatemala’s territorial claim over Belize to the ICJ.
The opponents of the pro ICJ push interpret their public stances as a propaganda tactic from the Government, and organizations such as the Belize Progressive Party are already condemning it as inappropriate.
The Police Minister of State was asked about it today at the Taiwanese donation ceremony, and he said that these security leaders’ opinions should be respected, just like any other Belizeans, especially since they are on the front lines of the territorial dispute:
Hon. Elodio Aragon - Minister of State, National Security
"If there's anybody who has a more expert opinion is that of the National Security ministry because these are the people who are dealing with the situation in terms of dealing with work on our borders, dealing with the situation on the ground. I mean they are the people who knows best and I will tell you I for one support us going to the ICJ and I do believe that the members of the Ministry of National Security in terms of the heads that have been out there - I think they understand the situation well, more so than many of our citizens right now and I do believe that they have a responsibility to this nation for them to be heard in terms of where they stand because at the end of the day, it is the Ministry of National Security in terms of the coast guard, the BDF, the police department that have to deal with this situation. Whether it be a yes vote or a no vote, at the end of the day it is the Ministry of National Security that has to be at the fore front of the challenges and issues that will come about as a result of whatever decision the citizens of this country makes and I do believe that they have a right and they should be looked upon seriously because at the end of the day, these are the people who will be at the frontline."
A press release from the BPP says, quote, “This move by those representing the Ministry of National Security, the Belize Police Department, the Belize Defence Force and the Belize Coast Guard, under the guise of publicly presenting their personal positions, cannot be countenanced due to their official status as public servants… This is most certainly an action, which contravenes the accepted professional norm; concerning public servants remaining neutral on matters that involve a political dynamic, particularly as it relates to the execution of their duties.”
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