Subject: RE: but could gthnsv really look like this up close<br/>
Date: Oct 23, 2002 @ 13:11<br/>
Author: Martin Pratt (&quot;Martin Pratt&quot; &lt;m.a.pratt@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-461136716"><blockquote><span title="ireply">&gt; one could even hope that doug might settle this question<br/>
&gt; while in guatemala for bzgtmx this winter<br/>
<br/>
 </span></blockquote>You&#39;ll need a machete and a strong arm to get to bzgtmx at the moment -<br/>
there&#39;s nothing but virgin rainforest for miles around. If you wish to<br/>
play &#39;spot the tripoint&#39; I have posted an aerial view on the list&#39;s<br/>
photos page (bxgtmx.jpg).<br/>
<br/>
Rather more accessible is the soccer field at El Arenal, whose halfway<br/>
line is reputed to run along the Belize-Guatemala boundary. I&#39;m afraid I<br/>
wasn&#39;t able to touch down to verify this but I did get a view from above<br/>
- see Arenal.jpg on the photos page.<br/>
<br/>
Guatemala has a longstanding claim to sovereignty over the entire<br/>
territory of Belize. For those of you who aren&#39;t aware, an Organisation<br/>
of American States-sponsored initiative recently resulted in a series of<br/>
recommendations designed to settle the land and maritime boundaries of<br/>
the two countries once and for all. In simple terms, Guatemala has been<br/>
asked to respect the existing land boundary in exchange for a larger<br/>
share of the Gulf of Honduras than it might have expected under normal<br/>
maritime delimitation practice. Although the two governments have<br/>
supported the recommendations, they must also be approved by the<br/>
populations of Belize and Guatemala in referenda. Perhaps not<br/>
surprisingly, popular reaction to the recommendations in Guatemala has<br/>
been less than enthusiastic and it is far from certain that they will be<br/>
accepted. If not, it is possible that the issue will be submitted to the<br/>
International Court of Justice. Details of the OAS recommendations are<br/>
available from the government of Belize at<br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.belize-guatemala.gov.bz/">http://www.belize-guatemala.gov.bz/</a><br/>
<br/>
m a r t i n</div>