PM Reiterates: No Alcalde System Can Supersede Laws of Belize
Dean Barrow
Also before the Opposition walkout, another sensitive and critical issue was ventilated by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. On Monday the PM took a hard line against the Mayans of Santa Cruz, and he has taken heat for it. But his stance remains unchanged. Today, in a statement from the floor, the PM reiterated that no Alcalde system, no custom or practice can supersede the law of the country. He then proceeded to clarify the CCJ consent judgment recorded in the Mayan land rights case.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“It did not supersede the Constitution and laws of this country. It did not transfer sovereignty over any part of government territory to any ethnic group. It did not create a state within a state. It did not set up a separate Maya nation in Belize. And it did not give anyone the right to use force to vindicate any claim they might have to land. What the judgment did do is to recognize and accept that the Maya Belizeans have certain rights over certain land in the Toledo District. But the judgment also made clear that the precise nature of those rights must be defined and legislated by government in partnership with the Maya and after consultation with all Belizeans. A number of things are therefore clear. Under our laws anyone wishing to enforce land rights and remove persons in wrongful occupation must obtain an eviction order from the Courts. And it is only under a court order that bailiffs, Marshalls, agents of the court, the security forces or Police may use reasonable force to carry out that order. There was no court order in the Santa Cruz matter and therefore no one, and especially not civilians, had any right to use any force to dispossess Mr. Miles. Thus the stance of the villagers and of the MLA was quite wrong.”
Barrow says that no matter what form the Maya land rights in Toledo may eventually take, they will never amount to sovereignty.
Rise up my Mayan brothers show this impotent pm that you are not afraid to die for your cause I say if you have to get all your brothers from Guatemala to come and show this corrupt pm and gov that your rights do matter how come he didn’t act like that against the Guatemalans when they shot the belizean in our territory and how come he didn’t act like that the other day when the Guatemalans were in our waters illegally he is a cow with them but he wants to push you around we’ll rise up my Mayan people drag him out of his bed and lock him up for murder and fu thief.
Every original people are allowed or should be allowed to do things that has been their way of life for thousands of years that may supersede the laws of a country for the general public but only as it pertains to their immediate community. Case in point are the various tribes of American Indians who live on reservations that are essentially a nation within a nation; so no Mr Barrow that is ok to do!
What is surely no ok and never should be OK is the inhumane treatment of another person.