Maya leaders will sue G.O.B. over land rights

Residents of two Toledo villages will file a suit in the Supreme Court tomorrow, claiming that the Government of Belize has failed to protect traditional Maya land rights. A press release from the Maya Leaders Alliance says the residents seek to have Belmopan formally recognise communal rights to land and related resources based on “longstanding use and occupancy.” The villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz are basing their claim on a decision of the O.A.S. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as well as a ten point agreement signed between Maya leaders and the Government in October 2000. According to the release, village leaders have written government seeking a demarcation of village lands but have not received a response. The Maya Leaders Alliance will be holding a press conference Tuesday morning in Belize City. While various governments have paid lip service to the broad aspirations of Mayan activists, the politicians have always been reluctant to confer special rights based on any specific ethnic claim.