7 News Belize

And If We Vote No?
posted (March 28, 2019)
But, despite all those assurances, there's a good section of the population, maybe even a majority that still doesn't trust - and plan to vote no on April 10th.

Former Foreign Minister Lisa Shoman says that if you vote "no" - she feels the issue will one day come right back to the ICJ - while the Prime Minister says that Belize could experience major fallout amongst its diplomatic friends:...

Senator Lisa Shoman
"The legal thinking is that NO referendum which actually ends up saying no, would not forever more shut the door. It's just that understand we would have spent a great deal of time. money, energy, effort in this exercise only to have to repeat it as some future date. Because if you think we have work, once Belizeans would have voted Yes, we would have double work if they choose to vote No and I think that's not trying to scare anyone. It really is just the practical reality of the matter."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I was shock when a PUP politician, I believe the deputy leader of the party at one point (not in the house) said oh all this business about the international community and one of the costs of not going to the ICJ being that you would forfeit a degree of support from the international community. That was to be dismissed, that we can't be prisoners of the international community and in effect we can ignore their response to No vote. Well my good God man, that's how we got our independence by way of that fine internationalization campaign that Lisa and Assad Shoman and Said Musa and all the rest of the patriots of that era presided over by George Price. That is how we won our independence. That is why Judge Schwebel can say one of the strongest points in our favour is that fact that the entire UN voted for our admission, except for Guatemala. We can't simply dismiss the international community and the reaction that they would have to our voting No, And I believe we would certainly pay a price in terms of a lessening of support for our position on the part of the international community if we were to vote No. There is going to be a situation in which when we ask as we always do for these resonant pronouncements in the international forums in favour of Belize's territorial integrity. There will be a slackening of the will on the part of the international community to do that."

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize