The Supreme Court's recognition of the customary land rights of two
Mayan communities in the Toledo district was a historic ruling last October.
But since then, implementing the decision has proved both challenging and problematic.
According to Mayan rights activists, part of the problem is that the interpretation
of the October judgment is being applied to just the two claimant communities,
Santa Cruz and Conejo. To remedy the situation, this morning attorney Antoinette
Moore, on behalf of the Toledo Alcades Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance,
filed a class action suit that seeks to have the court recognize the customary
land rights of the more than thirty-eight Mayan communities in the Toledo district.
According to spokesperson Cristina Coc, Mayans just want respect.
Cristina Coc, Maya Rights Activist
“There are a lot of misconceptions out there, there's a lack of understanding
of exactly what it is the Mayan people are fighting for. Today I had a lot of
people ask the question well, "why are the Mayan people taking over Toledo?"
and we're not. We're not taking over Toledo. We are in fact trying to find security
for the land that we continue to occupy. The people in PG can rest assured that
we will continue to live in harmony with them, both Maya and non-Maya alike
and we've always been family and neighbours and we want to be able to live in
that peaceful manner. But we cannot stand and look on have a single individual
come, land speculators come, foreign investors come and own thousands and thousands
of acres of our land and our communities are simply saying look, there's forty-five,
fifty families in our villages and we are asking for a little over five, six
thousand acres for us as a community and I don't think I don’t think that
we are above and beyond other Belizeans, I think we are simply asking for a
right to life and we continue to defend our fundamental human right to life.”
Today's claim was borne out of application filed in mid-June by Antoinette
Moore on behalf of villagers from Golden Stream who alleged that their traditional
lands were being parceled off and leased to non-Mayans. The CJ did not grant
the injunction sought but the Ministry of Lands has committed to cease the issuance
of leases in the area until a final determination has been made in the matter.
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