Toledo Alcaldes Association Fires Back at GOB Over Land Rights Statement

The Toledo Alcaldes Association has responded to the statement issued by government on Tuesday regarding concerns being raised by private landowners in Toledo District. The issue arises out of fear that in light of the ruling of the courts on Maya land rights in 2015, alcaldes and village chairpersons are being standoffish towards individual titleholders, as well as other private entities. In a letter written by T.A.A. President Domingo Bah, he chides the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Dolores Balderamos-Garcia for the press release. Bah writes “the release has come to us as a surprise since, at the May sixteenth meeting, both sides committed to desist from issuing sensational public statements on matters affecting the implementation of the Consent Order. We note that the release offers no tangible assistance to any of the relevant parties and serves only to frame conflicts between villages and private landowners as fodder for the segments of the public that oppose the Consent Order and Maya land rights in Belize”. The T.A.A.’s release ends by asking government to honor its pledge to respectful and constructive dialogue.