US embassy cable - 03GUATEMALA696

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2013 
TAGS: PBTS, PREL, PGOV, GT, OAS, BZ 
SUBJECT: GUATEMALAN MFA DISCUSSES FUTURE OF BORDER TALKS 
WITH BELIZE 
 
Classified By: PolCouns David Lindwall for reason 1.5 (d). 
 
1. (C) In a March 11 meeting with PolCouns and PolOff, the 
Belize Border Commission of the Guatemalan MFA said that 
resolution of the long-running border dispute would be passed 
along to the new Guatemalan government that will take office 
in January, 2004, and said the new government will have to 
decide if it submits the Facilitators' recommendations to a 
national referendum, or if it opts for seeking an opinion 
from the ICJ or an arbitration.  The Guatemalan diplomats 
believe that a referendum now would fail, and said 
Guatemalans' "spiritual" attachment to Belize will make this 
referendum "a challenge" even for a new government.  They 
said that the MFA will try to keep the Belize issue from 
becoming part of the partisan political debate during this 
electoral year, and would focus its efforts in the remainder 
of the year on implementation of the confidence and security 
building measures.  The Guatemalans were pleased with the 
decision of the OAS to place a permanent observer on the 
border, and believe this will help reduce incidents that lead 
to border tensions.  They noted that many of the incidents 
are driven by pervasive poverty in the border areas, and 
argued for international assistance to address poverty 
concerns in those zones. 
 
2. (C) Poloffs noted that the international community had 
placed a lot of hope in the OAS Facilitators' process, and 
were disappointed when no action was taken on the 
recommendations.  In an era of growing globalization, it is 
critical that countries overcome the obstacles to greater 
integration, such as Guatemala's border differences with 
Belize.  Greater integration brings benefits for both sides, 
and delaying the resolution of differences -- as would occur 
if the matter is referred to the ICJ -- would needlessly 
delay Guatemala and Belize reaping the profits of greater 
economic integration.  The Guatemalans acknowledged the 
point, and said the GOG would seek an expedited process at 
the ICJ or from arbitrators in the event the new government 
should not believe it could win a national referendum on the 
Facilitators' recommendations. 
 
3. (C) In a separate meeting with the local OAS office 
Director, Ambassador Jose Felix Palma, Poloffs discussed 
implementation of the permanent observer mission.  Palma said 
installation of the office was taking more time than 
anticipated.  All sides have agreed that bringing in a 
pre-fabricated structure will be necessary due to lack of 
suitable infrastructure and facilities in the border area. 
Palma estimates the observer mission will be operational by 
mid-April, but cautioned that the date could slip if a 
suitable director and assistant cannot be found.  Palma said 
the candidate pool was somewhat limited since the director 
would need to be someone senior enough to command respect, 
but willing to live in the relatively remote border area. 
Palma also said the director would probably have to be from 
South America.  He expects that the observer mission will 
eventually be made up of 4 - 5 people. 
HAMILTON