Happy New Year to all, hopefully 2011 brings nothing but positive things for Belize.
To end this year, I
must declare what I consider is the biggest 2010 accomplishment for Belize. Drum
roll please... it is no other than the... MAYA LAND RIGHTS victory!
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| Maya Atlas Book |
Some people were not
happy with this ruling because they say that it’s not fair to give preferential
treatment to the Mayas. Can we really say that they are being given
preferential treatment? We are all Belizeans no more than the other but one
thing I learned about fairness and equality is that you must treat equal things
equally and unequal things unequally. This means, you can’t compare someone who
has traditionally grown up owning land collaboratively with someone like myself
who grew up in a different system – We must treat unequally things unequally. There
is also the claim that they aren’t from Belize, they are foreign Mayas. As far
as I know, back then they weren’t any country boundaries. What is now called Belize
was one entire land along with all of the Maya inhabited Mesoamerica and just
because they went far north or west doesn’t mean they left. Even if that claim
is plausible, they are descendants of the native Mayas and for this they should
be respected.
The Government of Belize
is extremely upset about the Maya Land Rights ruling and has assured that they
will continue to object on the matter even if they have to go to the Caribbean Court
Justice. If they gave it a good thought, they would realise that the ruling actually
isn’t a bad thing. Prevalent evidence shows that governments are lousy conservationists
and this might be an option which assures better natural resource management. When
all fails, isn’t something different worth a shot? If the GOB is so afraid that
the Mayas will do a terrible job, then they should provide assistance such as genuine
education on natural resource management. Many other assistance options can be
brainstormed.
***
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| Maya women making corn tortillas |
The June 2010 ruling by
former Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh—now serving in the Court of Appeals in the
Bahamas—has emboldened the Maya to maintain their claim to land rights, as well
as interests in the natural wealth of the South.
In the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Conteh declared rights he said had long existed and continue to
exist in Southern Belize and also reasonably extend to the five Mopan Maya
villages of Stann Creek.
The judgment called on
the Government of Belize to put the brakes on any leases, grants, concessions
and contracts that would affect Maya land rights in the Toledo District.
The Government has
since appealed, stating that if need be, it would fight the case all the way to
the Caribbean Court of Justice, since it does not accept that the Toledo Maya
are entitled to lands in all the 38 villages they have claimed as theirs.
The Chief Justice had
ruled on a similar case on October 18, 2007, when he ruled in favor of Conejo
and Santa Cruz, Toledo.
“I, therefore, find
that from the evidence, there is in existence in Maya villages in Toledo
District customary land tenure by which the villagers have rights and interest
in villages that—for the avoidance of doubt—this conclusion is not limited only
to Conejo and Santa Cruz villages…but includes as well—as of course it must,
given the representative nature of the instant claim—the other Maya villages in
the Toledo District.”
Villagers of Toledo had
during 2010 been successful in getting Belize Hydroelectric Development &
Management Company Limited (BHD) to back down from its plan to undertake
further hydro-development on the Rio Grande, under a 15-year concession granted
to it in December 2008 by the Barrow administration.
In its defense in the
Maya Land Rights case, the Government side had contended (citing information
published in the Maya Atlas) that the Maya of Toledo were recent migrants
from Guatemala who were trying to get from Belize what they could not get from
Guatemala.
The Maya contended that
notwithstanding the recent migration of some persons living in the South, they
are genuine descendants of Maya who had occupied the area during pre-colonial
times. Expert testimony was given for both sides in the trial
***
Top picture courtesy Maya Atlas
Bottom picture from Repeating Islands
1 comments:
This was such an amazing read! You are so lucky to have the opportunities to travel to such amazing destinations! And your writing is so good, I feel like I was right there with you! :) Petter Joe
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