Heated Land Dispute Draws Three Ministers to San Marcos

Rising tensions over land in southern Belize drew top government officials to San Marcos Village today, as Maya residents and a private landowner face off over disputed territory. Villagers insist the land in question is communal, and say a private landowner is overstepping those boundaries. With concerns mounting, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Dr. Louis Zabaneh traveled to the Toledo District to hear directly from residents and push for calm. He was joined by Area Representative Oscar Requena and Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira, as officials moved quickly to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating. Minister Zabaneh spoke with us about the concerns raised and the government’s next steps.

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs

“We had a very candid and respectful discussion of the issues. We did both in-depth look at the situation on the ground in San Marcos where the residents are claiming that a private land owner is impinging on areas that should be communal land or land that residents should have access to. Then we looked at the broader picture f the process ahead with the review panel and how we can move forward towards a resolution. So it was a robust discussion. People spoke passionately and openly about all the concerns and in fact later today we are going to be meeting with the land owner and have a discussion to s ee where we can find areas of compromise with the aim of defusing  the tensions and hopefully finding a permanent long term solution. We are trying at least, we don’t know how it will transpire. But we are giving it our best shot.”

 

The Toledo Private and Lease Landowners Limited says the title holding family has done nothing to inflame tensions and is only restoring land that was already cleared.

 

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: