PRESS CONFERENCE BY COMMONWEALTH

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth would offer practical assistance to Belize and Guyana in border disputes with their neighbours, Commonwealth Secretary- General Don McKinnon said this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference, while reporting on two Commonwealth ministerial meetings held earlier today. Both meetings were following up on decisions reached by the Commonwealth heads of government at their November 1999 meeting in Durban, South Africa.

The first was the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on Belize, which considered the status of the Belize/Guatemala border dispute. The second was the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana, which discussed the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela and considered Guyana's border dispute with Suriname.

Recalling the Durban meeting, Mr. McKinnon said the heads of government had reaffirmed their support for the territorial integrity, security and sovereignty of Belize. They had also expressed their firm support for, and solidarity with, the Government and people of Guyana in maintaining their territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on Belize, Mr. McKinnon continued, had been established in 1977. At its sixth meeting held this morning, it had called for dialogue at the highest level between Belize and Guatemala, including with representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Committee had also offered to provide technical assistance and information to assist the work of the facilitator assigned to mediating the dispute. Represented on the Committee are Foreign Ministers of Barbados, Canada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania. Belize and the United Kingdom attended the meeting as observers.

In turn, the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana had held its first meeting this morning, after having received a mandate from the Durban meeting. Represented in the group were Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The Group commended the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for the framework resolution it had suggested and said senior officials would convene as required to assist implementation.

In response to questions, Mr. McKinnon clarified that in both situations, the Commonwealth was offering support to members, rather than mediating the disputes. Asked how serious the disputes were, he said it was always of concern when a neighbour announced an old agreement null and void.

What was the rationale for Venezuela's border incursion on Guyana? a journalist asked. "Talk to Venezuela", Mr. McKinnon answered. Asked to elaborate on what had brought the issues forward,

Commonwealth Press Conference - 2 - 15 September 2000

he said a Canadian oil company had been given rights to accessing land well within Guyana. In the case of Belize, there had been border incursions all along. Facilitators had now been put in place on both sides, as the talks continued bilaterally. Asked whether there was hope for a peaceful settlement, Mr. McKinnon said neither Guatemala nor Guyana had any other intentions. Neither had anything to lose by a settlement of the issues, since neither was claiming someone else's territory.

Asked how many Commonwealth countries were involved in border disputes, Mr. McKinnon said many. He noted, however, a distinction in Guyana's situation. Since Suriname was also involved, Guyana stood to lose more than half its territory if the 1899 border agreement continued to be considered inapplicable. "That goes beyond a mere border dispute", he said.

In response to further questions, Mr. McKinnon said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, concerning good governance and related issues, would hold its fourteenth meeting tomorrow. Composed of Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Botswana, Canada, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the Group would consider questions regarding Fiji, Pakistan and the Solomon Islands, among others.

In the case of the first two, Mr. McKinnon said, talks were ongoing with ministers to resolve problems resulting from freely elected democracies having been taken over. The situation in the Solomon Islands was a difficult one, concerning the question of who should rule. The Commonwealth Secretary-General had met with the United Nations regarding Fiji.

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