The Maya and the Government are back in the Supreme Court fighting over customary land rights, and this time, it is the village of Jalacte that is suing the Barrow Administration.
Its a fight that we saw brewing as far back as October 2015. That’s when we told you about the dispute between Jalacte and the Government over the upgraded Jalacte Road, a Mediterranean Fruit Fly Inspection Center, and BAHA’s Agricultural Outreach Station.
These facilities were built in 2014 in the village of Jalacte. The outreach station is supposed to provide the farmers with the best practices to improve their crops, and their agricultural output. The Medfly Inspection Center was constructed as a checkpoint so that the agricultural authorities could inspect produce moving around in the area. Jalacte sits on the Southwestern tip of Belize, and up until March of 2017, it was a unregulated border crossing into the Guatemalan village of Santa Cruz. So, there was a possibility that infected medfly produce, coming across the border from there, could have gotten unto Belizean soil.
Of course, the upgrading and widening of the Jalacte road provided a much needed relief in the transportation conditions of that part of the country.
All of these developments in Jalacte were well-intentioned, but the Mayans of Jalacte say that they were very much inconvenienced by them, particularly because they occupy Maya lands.
Now, you probably remember that since 2015, the 39 Mayan villages of the south have had a ruling from the CCJ which protects Maya customary land rights. Presently, the Mayans continue to complain bitterly that the Government is dragging its foot to officially implement it.
So, the Mayans are now suing the Government for these developments in that village. They are being granted a 2-day trial before Justice Michelle Arana to try and resolve their dispute. Today was day 1 of the trial, and 7News was at court where we spoke with one of the spokespersons for the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcalde Association. Here’s what she had to say about the lawsuit from the Mayans of Jalacte:
Cristina Coc - Spokesperson, MLA/TAA
"The Government of Belize in Jalacte have arbitrarily taken land from the village of Jalacte, without their consent, without their permission, without consulting them, and certainly without compensation for any damages that might have occurred on their lands. This case is particularly concerned with the BAHA substation that was placed on lands in Jalacte Village, along with other areas of lands that have been taken, connected with the same development, including the expansion of the highway, which in some instances have completely dissected the land of farmers in Jalacte. So, the height itself has divided plots of lands that were customarily being used by farmers of Jalacte. The Government of Belize failed to honor the Caribbean Court of Justice order, uphold the recognition that Maya people have rights to their lands, and did not follow due process for compulsory taking of lands."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, are you guys suing for damages? What redress do you hope the court will give to the Jalacte villagers?"
Cristina Coc
"Well, first and foremost that the Government of Belize - that the court will assist the Government of Belize to recognize that it has an obligation to uphold the rights of Maya people with respect to property rights. The rights that are afforded and that are affirmed in the consent order of 2015 are equal to any other property title, and should carry the same kind of protection. With respect to this particular case, clearly, the communities seek redress for the violations, and are asking for compensation for the damages that have been caused on their land. For instance, the farmers that used to use that land, can no longer use that land because it has been completely bulldozed. And so any arable land - land that could be used for farming, is no longer suitable for farming. In addition to that, water channels have been completely degraded."
And, according to Cristina Coc, the Government is seeking to use the fact that it has not yet implemented Maya land rights to explain its disregard for the consultation process.
Here’s how she explained that one:
Cristina Coc
"The justification that the Government is giving for takin the land and for failing to honor the consent order is that they cannot claim that land to be for Jalacte until there is a clear delineation and demarcation of the territories of Jalacte village. Well, the same excuse is giving is actually citing where the Government has failed to uphold the orders of the CCJ. One of the orders is that it is the Government's obligation and duty to clearly define, delimit those territories, and so, they're citing their failure as a justification for the violation that they are now causing upon the communities."
We have also gotten a counter narrative to the position of the Maya of Jalacte village. Technicians from the Government tell us that the Government carefully inspected the area that the road occupies before it was paved. They say that back in 2013, when these photographs were taken, there was absolutely no sign of agriculture taking place. This was during the very preliminary stages of the EIA for the road upgrade works.
These technicians say that’s why they are surprised to see a claim that the road occupies Maya farm lands. They also dispute the assertion from the Mayans that the road has degraded the water quality of the nearby creeks, and made them unfit for farming purposes.
Cristina Coc also claims that the BAHA representatives routinely confiscate produce from farmers without any justification. We’re told that the BAHA representatives are doing this as part of their vigilance to keep the medfly out of Belize.
The trial continues tomorrow, when we’ll try to get comment from the Government’s side.
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