The Labour Government has now selected a more glamorous location than the streets of Northern Ireland for dispray me us muntary naraware to ue world. In the name of self-determination tor benze (brusa nonduras), a bartanion of British infantry and six Harrier jump jets have been despatched to repel a threatened invasion from Guatemala.
As the Guardian was not slow to point out: If the Harriers go into action. even against such limited opposition, their performance will be watched with interest all over the world. This is the first time the RAF has deployed them outside Europe."
CYNICAL
How much the Labour Government has the interests of the Belize masses at heart can be judged from the antics of its predecessor in 1945-51. The country's biggest export, timber, was then consistently undervalued in customs declaratons in order to prop up British trading interests. This situation reached its height in 1949 when the Honduran dollar was sharply and arbitrarily devalued against the pound The explosion of anti-colonial sentiment walch erupted agalst uns acton was brutally put down by the British. "Subversion Control legislation was used to mor son une tenders or me antr colonial movement. The Belize City Council was even dissolved because it refused to hang a portrait of the King in the City Hall!
GUERILLAS
Today Special Air Service forces patrol the borders of Belize as much to stop activities hy the opposition guerrillas in Guatemala as to report on the activities of the Guatemalan army.
Of course, Guatemala has no legitimate claim whatsoever to the territory of Belize. Ever since the CIA invaded Guatemala in 1954 on behalf of the United Fruit Company-creating what has been called a second Vietnam-the regime has existed on a diet of the most bloody Icpression or ule Guatemalan masses combined with a series of boundary wars against weaker neighbours. These act as a diversion from the internal contradictions of the regime, in a country where the average per capita income is tour per cent of that in the USA, its benevolent protector.
But James Callaghan has no interest in une prodiems or me surrening central American workers and peasants. For the Labour Government unis is merely an opportunity to flog the Harrier jump jet and parade its concern for the continuation of a neo-colonial set-up which will never serve the interests of those it holds British Harrier jump jet arriving in Belize LABOUR FOREIGN POLICY I BELIZE GUATEMALA MEXICO people pay. 1966-67.
red weekly 20 november 1975