Nancy Marin also gave her account of last week's encounter with the Guatemalan Armed Forces on the Sarstoon River. Now, whenever civilians have gone to that location to make a patriotic stance, they have always returned with complaints that the Guat military personnel were aggressive or intimidating.
Well, Marin says that although the Guatemalans watched them closely when they went to plant the Belize flag on Sarstoon Island, the confrontation was stern but respectful. Here's how she described it:
Nancy Marin - Leader, Belize People's Front
"My trip to the Sarstoon was very simple. We wanted to claim back our island. We want to prove that either it is, or isn't for us. Sadly, it was taken down. I must say though that I give thanks to the commander of the GAF. He treated our flag with respect, and I would expect nothing less from a professional military. When we got to the Sarstoon, our Coast Guard informed us that we were not going to be allowed because he has directives to not allow us to step foot on our island, and I was definitely not allowed to put the flag on the island. I very politely informed him that his orders from his superiors are his orders. I am not at the service of this government, and none can assume to direct my actions or the actions of the BPF. So, we went ahead, and he had to make some calls to verify that I was going to be allowed to do it, and he said that I was going to be left, and I could do it at my own risk, which we did."
"We went and we sang our national anthem. We said our prayer. It was very ceremonious, very patriotic, and all 3 vessels respectfully waited. And I must say that our soldiers stood to attention. As we sang the national anthem, and I watched them, and they all stood to attention, including the Guatemalan military. So that is very important to highlight. When we left the flag on the island, I noticed that the Guatemalan vessel stayed back a little bit. And they went into the cove, the little area where we put the boat to put the flag, and I asked the BDF are they going to take down our flag?"
"When they took the flag down, I requested. I informed the GAF that they were stepping on Belizean territory, which apparently, nobody has told them before, and I told them that the flag is Belizean property, and they are to return it. He made some calls as they do, and then he decided that he was going to return it to me after I said, 'Either you return my flag, or you take me with my flag. I won't separate from my flag. And he decided he was going to return it very graciously, still treating our flag with a lot of respect, which we appreciate."
Prime Minister Dean Barrow yesterday underscored the fact that Marin and her group were not stopped as they went around Sarstoon island.
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