A Foiled Meeting of Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission

Cristina Coc

There’s friction tonight between the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission, led by Chairlady Lisel Alamilla and the Toledo Alcalde Association. For perspective we start with a meeting on Saturday between the Toledo Alcaldes Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance to discuss an invitation from Alamilla for a meeting scheduled for this morning. The Commission also invited a single observer from the Maya Steering Committee for the purpose of negotiating with the commission to implement an order from the Caribbean Court of Justice to deal with land rights issues. The Saturday meeting of the TAA and the MLA produced a five-point resolution.  This morning, however, the Chair of the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission, reportedly told Alcaldes and the chosen representatives of the Maya people who were to meet with the Commission to get off her premises, before calling the police.   News Five spoke by phone with MLA Spokesperson Cristina Coc.

On the Phone: Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, MLA

“They found themselves in a very odd place where they were unwelcomed. The president of the Toledo Alcaldes Association, on behalf of his Alcaldes attempted to communicate the above resolution that was adopted at their general assembly to the Chair of the Commission. He tried, but was refused an audience to speak on behalf of his Alcaldes and instead the Chair Alamilla called the police to remove all his Alcaldes including the president Alfonso cal and members of the steering committee out of the commission’s office. Certainly this is the place that we find ourselves again at odds. The commission that was established to first and foremost establish to implement the Caribbean Court of Justice orders which affirms the rights of the Mayan people to the lands that they currently use and occupy. As much as we are extremely disappointed in this treatment that we experienced today, we will be the first to go on the record to say that we continue to expect that these consultations be meaningful and that they be guided by good faith principles in accordance—not just with the Maya people’s customary forms of decision making, but also with the legal standard of consent. We continue to call on the commission to follow up with meetings through our chosen representatives, to collaboratively meet, develop proper consultation procedures, subjects for consultations and to determine an overall schedule for consultation. We hope that the commission will collaborate with us, we hope that we will continue to move this process forward by way of mutual respect.”

While the TAA expresses its disappointment in the treatment they experienced today at the Maya Land Rights Commission’s office, they are calling for a follow up meeting to move the process forward. We tried to contact Alamilla for comment but there was no response.