Today, the Maya Leaders Alliance and members of the Mayan communities from the buffer zone in Souther Belize were before the Caribbean Court of Justice in a teleconference session.
It was supposed to be a report hearing where the claimants and the Government present updates on the steps taken to implement the court's consent order, which was handed down in April of 2015. But, the Mayas of Southern Belize who want communal land rights legitimized, have been quietly grumbling about the lack of any real progress to implement the court's ruling.
To hear it from their perspective, the Maya Land Rights Commission, set up to start the implementation, hasn't really done much, and they are no closer to a legally recognized communal system than they were 2 years ago when the judgment was first delivered.
So, the attorneys for the claimants and Acting Solicitor General Nigel Hawke went before the CCJ judges, and it turned into a robust discussion and deliberation among the two sides.
After the day's sessions we got a chance to speak with the spokesperson for the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcalde's Association. He gave us an overview of the discussion in court today:
Pablo Mis - Program Coordinator, MLA/TAA
"I think I wanna borrow the words of the learned Justice of the CCJ, and he said that it appears to him that it is going at a snail's pace. I think for us on the ground, it's lacking pace. We've been very concerned that the implementation has really yielded nothing concrete, nothing substantive, 3 years after this history decision. So, this morning, we were here to again put forward that frustration of the Maya people before the Caribbean Court of Justice."
"I can't speak for the Government. I am not sure if I heard any reasons for the lack of progress on the implementation, but for us, we recognize that this is a complex process, that this will take time. We also recognize that it will require directional leadership, somebody who has the temperament, who has the rationality to able to content that this process really is an attempt to heal history injustices. And as we move towards implementation, it has to be a process that is inclusive. It has to be a process that allows the space for the full participation of the Maya People. So, for us, that's one area that we see that is lacking with the Government in its approach."
"The Maya people are cognizant of the fact that this is over 3 years of attempt negotiations, of agreements, of court orders, and we're still waiting for the day that the Government would truly embrace the Maya people as an important people of this nation."
"We will be back on Monday at this court room at 1 p.m., where a consent order is being considered. The consent order that was being deliberated over today looks at addressing the issues that have allowed this process to lag. We are very optimistic that the court, with its spirit of flexibility, and creativity in its orders, can lend more support to ensuring that both parties remain determined and remain productive in implementing these specific orders."
Of course, that's the perspective of the Mayas, and so we sought comment from the Government Appointed Chair of the Maya Land Rights Commission, Lisel Alamilla. We reached her via telephone this evening, and she told us that she was unable to make a comment in time for our story tonight.
Email
Print