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Right now, the April 10 referendum is dominating the national consciousness and with just 98 days to go before the vote, here at 7News we’ll be stepping up our coverage of this most significant event - with detailed coverage and rigorous analysis of the pivotal issues - that will inform your vote.

Tonight, Jules Vasquez looks at one issue that’s been getting a lot of traction in the media - it’s been called a bombshell - but to our news director, it looked more like a dud.  Here’s his story:..

Lindsay Belisle made headlines with this bold declaration: “the 1859 treaty does not give title to Belize’s 8,867â€￾

As a former boundaries commissioner, a highly trained, specialized and experienced mapping expert, Belisle’s declaration carried authority - and his statement created a sensation, and another wave of ICJ anxiety. 

He concluded, gravely: “the 1859 treaty falls short of giving Belize title to the 8,867 square miles of mainland territory, but rather, to some 6,700 square miles, or about 75% of our mainland territory…. the 1859 treaty is deficient; it does not give title to the 8,867 square miles we call Belize, and we should not suffer indignity by allowing ourselves to be like the proverbial lamb being led to its slaughter by going to the ICJ.â€￾

So then the suggestion is, if we go in to the ICJ relying on this treaty - then we could end up with only 66% of Belize. 

But, who is even saying that the 1859 treaty really accounts for all of Belizean territory - where does that idea even come from?

What we know is that the frontier with Guatemala is the line prescribed in the 1859 Treaty - and the frontier with Mexico the frontier with Mexico

Convention between UK and Mexico respecting the Boundary between Mexcio and British Honduras is the line prescribed by the Treaty between the United Kingdom and Mexico signed on 8 July 1893:

Assad Shoman - Historian
"People know that there are two treaties, Belizeans know that. They know that the 1859 treaty talks about our border with Guatemala. Why? Because it's a treaty between Britain and Guatemala, it can't talk of its border with Mexico. It's Guatemala and Britain, so that's the 1859 treaty. The 1893 treaty is between Mexico and Britain, it can't refer to borders with Guatemala, it's a treaty between two, Britain and Mexico. So our problem is not with Mexico, our problem with Guatemala."

Jules Vasquez
"So then the 1859 treaty could not have accounted for our border with Mexico."

Assad Shoman
"Of course not."

And, so - the Belisle scare is really just a phantom - because the 1859 treaty does not claim to account for all 8867 square miles of Belize, and - up until now - no-one had ever said it does.

Of course that clip with Assad Shoman came from last night’s show on Channel 7, called “Hit Me With Your Best Shotâ€￾ - and while Jules agreed with Shoman on that point - there was a whole lot of disagreeing - and we’ll have some clips of that later on in the news.