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If you were expecting a reckoning or a showdown in the House of Representatives today…well, you were wrong. It turned out to be the shortest house meeting we can remember attending. Convened for the sole purpose of repealing the Maritime Areas Act - it was over in less than an hour, and there wasn't one sharp exchange; it was the rarest display of the true spirit of bi-partisanship on a national issue. Opposition Leader John Briceno set the tone by declaring to the house that the will of the electorate had been heard:...

Hon. John Briceno- Leader of the Opposition
"Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday May 8th 2019, the Belizean people spoke. It is their desire that we work to bring a final and definitive end to Guatemala's unfounded claim to our territory. They have told us that we should do so by going to the international court of justice. We are satisfied that these amendments are drafted as such that it is in line with similar maritime legislation of other countries in our region like Jamaica and St. Lucia. Today we look to a fresh start. We urge the government to move with equal haste to address the matter of the continuing problem in the Sarstoon. So, we on this side urge and implore the Right Honorable Prime Minister to treat the matter of the Sarstoon with renewed focus and seek to get the desired results. I think we all agree that the actions taken by the Guatemalan military, those actions we often see so often on television, where Guatemalan military is stopping our people from freely using the Sarstoon river, is an affront to the dignity and territorial integrity of our people and nation. We must do everything possible to urgently correct this situation. If those measures fail, and they may well do, then we implore to the government to appeal to the ICJ, or the much mentioned provisional measures, as soon as it is humanly possible. We want back the Sarstoon. Mr. Speaker. The Belizean people expect the PUP to work with the Government and we will do so with the understanding that there will always be full and frank disclosure and transparency throughout the process and I thank the Prime Minister for his commitment to do so. We believe that in the spirit of bipartisanship, that we should no longer proceed with the claim before the courts. While we remain convinced that our case was just, we believe all our efforts must now be geared towards winning at the ICJ, for win we must. It is not the UDP or the PUP that is going to the ICJ. It is Belize, all of us."