On Tuesday, we told you that the Government of Belize finally appointed the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission. This Commission will implement the Consent Order for Maya customary land tenure, which was handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice. But, that's after several months of anxious waiting from the Maya. They want their land rights on the law books to ensure that there will be no more fighting with the Government over the lands that the communities occupy.
Well today, the Commission members introduced themselves publicly with their first press conference, and they told the press that as of right now, they will go to the Maya Communities with no expectation, and with a completely open ear.
The Commissioner, Lisel Alamilla said that the commission has been active for 3 days now:
Lisel Alamilla - Head, Toledo Maya Land Rights
"Since Tuesday we were appointed by the attorney general and we have been meeting since Tuesday up to yesterday evening. So far the government of Belize has been doing kind of behind the scenes work in getting organized. The government has so far allocated the 300 thousand it was ordered to set aside as really seed money to implement consent order. That has already been assigned to the attorney general's ministry and the budget has been prepared. We have already started procuring all the equipment that we needed to open a functional office."
Anthony Ross, QC - Expert Consultant, Commission
"The order of the Caribbean Court of Justice is quite clear. The effect of it that Maya customary land tenure exists in the Maya villages in Toledo and gives rights to collective and individual copyrights within the meaning of sections 3D and 17 of the Belize Constitution. So it is not a situation that the government has got to abandon the general good of the people of the Belize to give effect to the order and where there is conflict between the private rights as set out in the order and the public good, it is my experience that the public good will always trump the private rights. Not to suggest for a minute the adversarial processes over. There was a lawsuit, there were claims. Everything has been resolved and there is now a court order. The court order said this is what you must do. It is no longer this is what we like somebody to do and the defense says, no we do not want to do that, we want to do something else. No that is gone. So that I would really hope that another atmosphere of cooperation rather that confrontation will prevail and I think that it's going to be very important that everybody understand that it is a little if anything in the court order that needs interpretation."
The Maya Land Rights Commission is made of the Chairman, Lisel Alamilla; 2 commissioners Noreen Fairweather, and Randal Sheppard, and their expert consultant, Queens Counsel Anthony Ross. So, what's the expected term and mandate of this Commission? That's what we asked; here's our back and forth with her:
Daniel Ortiz
"What are your ideas at this time of what Maya customary land rights will look like and how will it be equivalent to private property rights?"
Lisel Alamilla - Head, Toledo Maya Land Rights
"We don't know how this will look. So I really can't respond to that. That would be going far ahead of where we are in the process."
Daniel Ortiz
"What assurances can you give for this commission, while being appointed at this present moment is not going to lose steam, not going to fall to the wayside in terms of trying to resolve the conflicts between the Mayas and the government of Belize?"
Lisel Alamilla - Head, Toledo Maya Land Rights
"Well, I can give the assurance that the Prime Minister and the entire cabinet is committed to this process. They have allocated monies beyond 300 thousand and I think they have appointed people with the capacity and the respect to be able to implement this consent order and I think that a first signal that we are serious about it, but the process cannot succeed if the Maya people are not willing to come to the table in dialogue. So it's dependent on their participation. So if it falls to wayside it won't be because the government is not committed to the process."
But, while the Commission is working to ensure that Maya Customary Land Tenure becomes a reality, they are stepping into murky waters with implications for the entire country. So, has the commission taken into consideration the conflicts that could arise between the Maya Communities and the other ethnic groups which call Toledo their home? One such contact is the case between Rupert Myles and the Villagers of Santa Cruz, which has become a flashpoint. Here's how the Chairman answered that one:
Lisel Alamilla - Head, Toledo Maya Land Rights
"This is where we have to continuously remind ourselves that everything has to be resolved under the constitution of Belize. So Mr. Myles case is an incident that create a lot of buzz and dialogue and concerns about how other ethnic groups coexists with the Maya in Toledo and I'm sure that will come up as part of the process of dialogue, but we don't want to be distracted with that issue. That I imagine is already in the courts and its being address there. But we are not going to be distracted by that in regards to implementing the consent order."
The Commission says that their next step is to reach out to the Mayans in the Buffer Communities to start the consultation process on how their Customary Land Rights should be protected.
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