The situation in Honduras continues to be a key issue for the embassy as we ensure that our travel advice is updated with the latest information, including for example curfew times and airport closures. After a violent weekend, thankfully the situation is now calmer. Importantly, a political track is developing that we hope will help President Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti to find a way forward. For now public opinions remain polarised. The use of the military in Central America brings back bad memories of past human rights abuses and is a very sensitive issue. However, so too is the issue of limiting a President to only one term in office. Recent events in Honduras have touched on both and today saw a number of both pro-Micheletti and pro-Zelaya demonstrations.
One tricky issue for an embassy that covers a number of countries is that even with a crisis in one, business continues elsewhere as normal! For example, this morning we hosted a visiting delegation from the OAS who updated us and other Donors on progress being made towards resolving the ongoing territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala. Next steps include holding referenda in both countries to ask for approval for the case to be taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the meantime, we are encouraging both Belize and Guatemala to continue to build good relations - not least because there is such potential for both countries to benefit from providing a trade gateway between Central America and the Caribbean.
Posted at 18:53 07 July 2009 by Julie Chappell | Comments[1]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-
Posted by Ralph Corderoy on July 08, 2009 at 04:39 AM CST #