Sedi Explains Confusion Following Istanbul Talks

Elrington, as foreign minister, constantly faces harsh scrutiny from the public, particularly because of his seemingly passive approach towards Guatemala. In some corners, he has been blasted as disingenuous. Elrington says it is a criticism that only comes from those who do not understand the diplomatic process.

Reporter

“Can you speak to that letter that was sent by the Guatemalan ambassador to Belize where they are pointing out that at the Istanbul Talks they never agreed to any untrammeled access, albeit informally, and that has generated criticism of yourself being called a liar even.”

Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington

Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Well people are not really familiar with how these things work.  Perhaps one of the most famous documents that was signed between Belize and Guatemala was the Heads of Agreement.  When George Price’s administration announced the Heads of Agreement and the details of it and the explanation that was given to it and when the Guatemalans announced the Heads of Agreement, the details and the explanation that were given to it, the meanings that they attributed to it were entirely different from the meanings that George Price attributed to the Heads of Agreement in Belize.  So it is not unusual for parties to take different interpretations of a document.  That is why you have the courts because that happens every day with people’s contracts.  You have a contract and it seems very clear to you what the situation is but the other party takes a different view.  So that is natural and normal.  People who are not familiar with the process would suggest that the truth is not being told.  It has nothing to do with the truth being told, it’s just a question of the interpretation that’s being given to certain documents or certain statements.  If you follow the United States politics you will see that everything that is said by the president is given a different interpretation by the Fox News media.  Whereas the other news media tend to say what the president intended, Fox always has a different angle, a different spin on it.  So that is absolutely natural and normal and in a society where politics is so dominant, even the media, people use these things for political footballs, so things like that I don’t pay attention to.”