The issue of communal land rights has flared up again. Last week, the Maya Leaders Alliance sent out a statement in response to government actions alleging that the Government is treading on Maya rights.
They claim functionaries of the forestry department confiscated 2,400 bay leaves that were harvested by Conejo villager Ponciano Choc within his village. Choc had planned to use it as the roof for his home but a forestry official stopped Choc and confiscated the leaves because they were not cut with a government permit. But the Mayans argue that no permit is needed because they were cut on lands which the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 is communal property of the people Conejo. The statement contrasts this confiscation with logging, and oil concessions government has given to outsiders for Mayan communal lands.
Email
Print