Maya Leaders Taking GOB Back To CCJ

Just months after the Caribbean Court of Justice stepped back from direct oversight, the Maya land rights case is heading right back to its doors. Maya leaders say talks with the government have stalled on key issues, especially around defining and protecting customary lands. Now, they’re asking the region’s highest court to step in again, seeking clarity on its original ruling and what comes next in this long-running dispute.

 

Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, Toledo Alcalde Association/Maya Leaders Alliance

“The Maya people and the Government of Belize are far apart on core issues. In particular, on the identification of Maya customary lands. And the many meetings that we have had, the many opportunities, the many efforts to try to resolve this through peaceful negotiations, these meetings are not closing this gap. So I stand before you today as the spokesperson of the Toledo Alcaldes Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance to inform the general public that we have filed an application- before the Caribbean Court of Justice to seek clarification on the core orders of their judgment. This has become necessary because we are not progressive- progressing substantively on the implementation of the CCJ consent order and judgment. We have very high regards for this court, and we are hopeful that the clarifications provided will help the parties to advance the effective implementation of the CCJ consent order.”

Compensation May Settle Some Maya Land Disputes

 

As the land dispute in southern Belize drags on, a new and controversial idea is gaining traction, compensation. Some landowners say they’re willing to walk away for the right price, while others have already invested heavily in properties now under dispute. But what about the Maya communities at the center of it all? Today, leaders weighed in on whether compensation is even on the table, and what fairness would really look like.

 

Pablo Mis, Spokesperson, Toledo Alcalde Association, Maya Leaders Alliance

“Fundamentally compensation is an option and it should be an option for either the Maya people or the third parties. And we have made proposals on coming up with creative formulas that could be within the bounds of the Constitution in determining the nature of the compensation. So lets say for example, if a third party obviously have an investment, has been there, it would be totally unfair to just come and tell the person get off this land. But there are instances where you have third party holding huge tracks of land, have never set foot on those lands, have just been speculating. It’s also unfair then to tell Maya people get out of that piece of land. So these are the intricacies and this is where the leadership of the government needs to become much more declarative in terms of how we deal with these nuances. But the bottom line is that the constitution of Belize needs to be the underlining framework that will determine compensation to either parties. I will add a small piece. We’ve even offered to the Government of Belize that we recognize that life is hard in belize. We don’t want to pay out of our pocket, out of the public purse more of this. Other countries have resolved this kind of matters by creating a special fund. By working with the indigenous people themselves to find funding that will help to bridge this gap.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: