And finally tonight we note the passing of a regional giant, the Guyanese Diplomat Shridath Sonny Ramphal - who died on August 30th, aged 95. The former Secretary General of the Commonwealth made his name in Belize when he was Belize's facilitator in the Ramphal Reichler proposals. These were proposed to settle the Belize Guatemala territorial dispute.
Here is a brief clip of him presenting it at the Radisson in 2002 - to the sound of both applause and cat calls:
Sir Shridath Ramphal, Belize's Facilitator
"Guatemala recognizes Belize's land boundary based on the 1859 treaty line."
"Belize's borders as defined and described in its Independence construction, are intact and secure."
"All three countries will join in establishing an ecological marine park including some of the Belize Cayes and part of the coastal area of Guatemala and of Honduras."
The Ramphal-Reichler proposals were later rejected by Guatemala - and this led to both parties going to the ICJ.
Of course, the failed proposals were only a footnote on Sir Sonny's world-beating resume where he was a major international presence and was known by Kings and Queens, Prime Ministers and Presidents - as the Guardian UK put it, "for his genial, outgoing personality and great intellectual capacity, and a genuine global vision."
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