TNAG-1001-FCO40-1237-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-including--Report-of-the-1981 — Page 82

assistance of many friendly nations, by an elaborate international exercise brought about by the fact that an ancient and insubstantial claim has been maintained by the Government of Guatemala over Belize territory accompanied by the threat to forcibly incorporate Belize as a province of Guatemala. This extraordinary situation effectively offered the Belizean people the choice between remaining a colony of the United Kingdom or becoming absorbed as a part of the Central American Republic of Guatemala.

It was in the face of these unacceptable alternatives that an appeal was made to the conscience of the international community which climaxed last November with a Resolution of the General Assembly calling for all the necessary steps to be taken to bring Belize to independence before the end of the 36th Session of the General Assembly in 1981. This United Kingdom Resolution supported by 139 nations went on to request the United Kingdom to ensure the security and territorial integrity of Belize while it continued its efforts to resolve the claim by peaceful negotiations. dramatic pronouncements by the international community emerged out of the failure of years of patient attempts to solve the Guatemalan claim by negotiations.

These

At this point, I wish specifically to record the thanks and appreciation of the people and Government of Belize for the role played by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The steadfast and honest adherence to the spirit and the letter of its commitments to Belize has been an inspiration to us in moments of greatest gloom. As a Government and as a people we have grown to have faith in our relationship and in our ability to share the burdens of this noble adventure. There can be no doubt that we have reached this conference table today because we have been able to find common objectives, to hammer out positive strategies and to take complementary action.

We come to the conference after a considerable and careful

exercise in preparation. Government published a White Paper in January setting out its proposals for the Independence Constitution of Belize. Before the end of January the National Assembly of

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