Mayas converge in city for land rights case…

In October of 2007, the Chief Justice ruled in favour of the Mayan Leaders’ Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes’ Association in a civil suit over communal land rights for the Mayan people of Conejo and Santa Cruz. In that case, the C.J. ruled that the people of the two villages have constitutionally protected customary land tenure rights over the areas surrounding their communities. And today the Mayan Leaders’ Alliance and the Alcaldes’ Association were back in court – this time to seek protection for the thirty-eight other Mayan communities in Toledo. But while the principle in the issue is the same, the arguments are on different grounds. Attorney for the Alliance and the Alcaldes’ Association, Antoinette Moore, explained to us.

Antoinette Moore, Attorney, Mayan Leaders’ Alliance/Toledo Alcaldes’ Assn.
“The claim that we put forth is different than the one in 2007 in two main respects. One, of course, this is a claim for all of the villages where 2007 was just for two villages. The other thing is that we are not asking that the court determine title in these villages, but we are asking that the court order the government to establish some type of mechanism which can then determine title village by village or determine really the demarcation and issue some kind of documentation so the villages have protection.”

Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, Mayan Leaders’ Alliance
“The Maya people are not asking for special rights, we’re not asking to take over Belize. We are simply saying that as Belizean Mayas we want to protect our right to property; property that we currently use and occupy, property that is threatened day in day out. We want the same protection that other Belizeans in a lot of cases also deserve. They have rights to that same protection but we are simply saying look the threat is surmountable in Toledo and we need something to be done immediately.”

The afternoon session was adjourned for nine Thursday morning when Attorney for the government, Lois Young, asked for time to cross examine the claimants’ expert witness, Dr. Richard Wilk, a professor at the University of Indiana.