SATIIM condemns action taken by government
On Monday, the Sarstoon and Temash Institute for Indigenous Management, SATIIM, condemned the actions of the Government for allowing the police to dispatch armed officers into the Sarstoon/Temash National Park to intimidate rangers and community leaders who journeyed into the area. The delegation was there on an unofficial visit of a site where a drill pad is currently under construction by U.S. Capital Energy Limited. Despite the unauthorized call, SATIIM maintains that the government, as well as the oil company, is engaged in illegal activities on Maya customary titled lands. Today, the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage issued a release supporting the position that SATIIM and the Maya Leaders Alliance have taken. The coalition asserts that the acreage in question has been declared by the Supreme Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal as Mayan communal land. The release goes on to say, (Quote) “these strong arm tactics being employed by Government is reminiscent of tactics employed by neighboring countries, including Guatemala, in suppressing resistance of its own people to extractive operations run by multi-national companies. The incident comes on the heels of the Maya Leaders Alliance reporting that the Government has not responded to an official request by the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. The Coalition urges the Government to respect the rights and dignity of all Belizeans including the right to food and a healthy environment as provided for by our protected areas and to respect the rule of law.” (Unquote) The Coalition says that Government must stop unilaterally planning Belize’s oil industry outside of meaningful engagement with the Belizean people and without proper mechanisms in place including a comprehensive oil spill contingency plan.
Shame on the Toledo Police for allowing themselves to be used by Forestry, and by extension the government, to harass the Maya people who are doing a valuable job, by patrolling the protected areas of our country, instead of the police being use to harass the Guatemalans who are stealing our gold, rosewood and other valuable resources. I say to you police men, if you know in your heart that you are being used wrongly, to harass our own people, then man up and do the right thing, even if it mean loosing your job.
The Maya are committing treason to this country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on, where did patriotism go?
No matter how you look at it, if the police just ask the guys going out on patrol for their name, and id cards for no valid reason, it is a source of intimidation. Why do you want my name, if it is not for good will. You didn’t ask for our names when we used to go on patrol in earlier times, just to insure that all persons going on those patrol are accounted for on our return, which would have been a good thing. The only reason we can get from this, is that the police want the information for sinister motives. That do not go down good with the people of Belize!
To do patrol in land allocated to the Maya people as their community land, is not treason. lol To use men like machines, for machines do not have a conscience, to harass these people is treason. These Maya men are only doing what they have been doing a long time ago, inspecting and viewing what is happening in the protected area, for the benefit of the people and country of Belize. If the oil company is doing something that can contaminate the very drinking water of the Mayan community, we want to inspect with our own eyes to ensure that the safety of the community is indeed being carefully adhere to. NO IFFS AND BUTS ABOUT IT!