Court says traditional land rights exist; Mayas celebrate in Indian Creek
gregory ch'oc
News Five’s Isani Cayetano and cameraman Chris Mangar are now in Indian Creek where well over a thousand members of the Maya communities, including the Alcaldes from the thirty-eight communities that brought the law suit against the government are celebrating today’s victory. The mood in the south is certainly festive and Greg Ch’oc of SATIIM, was magnanimous in victory.
Via Phone: Greg Ch’oc, Executive Director, SATIIM
“The significance of today’s judgment gives for the first time the thirty-eight Maya communities in Toledo their voice, their participation, their involvement in determining the use, the management and the exploitation of the resources on land that they have used and occupied.”
Isani Cayetano
“In terms of the way that the Maya community is now going to work with the government of Belize in terms of dealing with the parceling of the land and the surveying and what have you, how do you as a community propose to build and strengthen this relationship with GOB?”
Via Phone: Greg Ch’oc
I want to start off with the word that the Chief Justice utilized today in court; this is a time for reconciliation, this is a time to put the issues that have divided us apart and to sit with our government and pave a way to concretize the fundamental values that every Belizean in this country ought to enjoy. I believe that the honorable prime minister believes those fundamental values as well and we’re hoping that, as the Chief Justice articulated today, that a process is established to begin to identify and develop a legislation for the protection of these lands.”
Isani Cayetano
“When this case went before the supreme court, there was some objection or some enmity so to speak from members of the Toledo Cacao Growers Association in terms of them not seeing eye to eye with the Maya Leaders Alliance with regards to this specific issue. Can you speak to us now on whether there will be amends being made between the MLA and the Toledo Cacao Growers Association over the issue of communal rights?”
Via Phone: Greg Ch’oc
“I believe the reconciliation has already started. I believe that the Mayan organization that has been a part of this process, I believe that the Cacao Association and the group that was formed recognized that a significant number of the Maya population in southern Belize subscribe to the Maya customary land tenure and I believe that in notion that they have advanced in terms of individual lease and the rationale for advancing those interest cannot stand ground.”
We’ll have a detailed report in Tuesday’s newscast.
The Mayans deserve their own lands. They were there before the white man came.
What are we starting now should all the other ethnic groups in this country claim their share and exclude who they want from it. I wonder if Greg and Christine knows what the heck they are doing. They are both living comfortable lives and their people whom they say are fighting for are still the poorest people in this country. I won’t be surprised to see the Mayas in Maya Mopan area in Belmopan who are squatting on lands claim that its theirs and this premise. Goodness now its outright that the black people will continue to get the sh…….ty end of this stick. Come on PM fight them to the last cause we can’t allow this country to be divided.
Hurray for the Mayas! They have always been put aside as if though they are not Belizeans. Kudos to the CJ!
Congrats to the people of down south specifically the mayans who rightly deserve what is theirs.
Nice thinking Earl Gray…funny thing though, if you ever wanted to go live there as a Belizean you cant because you are not a Mayan… come to think about it the whole thing is based on discrimination…anyway you see it its discriminatory
ABOUT TIME!!!! THIS STORY GOES BACK 3 MILLION YEARS. WHERE EVERYONE MINDED THERE OWN BUSINESS. ALL THINGS WERE FINE! 15,000 YEARS AGO SOMEONE LOCKED UP THE FOOD. THESE PEOPLE WERE THE TAKERS. THEY MADE BOUNDRYS FOR THE DANCERS WHO PRODUCED THE FOOD. IF YOU DIDN’T WANT TO DANCE YOU WERE FORCED TO MOVE TO A RESERVATION WHICH USUALLY WAS BAD LAND. NO ONE HAD TITLES FOR THESE LANDS AS THEY WERE CONSIDERED COMMUNAL SOUND FAMILIAR????
THAT IS CORRECT IT IS STILL GOING ON AND THE PRICE OF FOOD CONTINUES TO GO UP!! AND THE VALUE OF LIFE ITSELF CONTINUES TO GO DOWN. THESE PEOPLE IN CANADA ARE CALLED ABORIGINAL PEOPLE, FIRST NATIONS, OR IN MOST CASES INDIANS.
COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, AND THE UNITED STATES (NOT COMMONWEALTH BUT HAD LARGE INDIAN POPULATION) ARE ALL GUILTY OF DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS THE LAND HOLDERS! THERE ARE MANY MORE.
THE WAY THESE PEOPLES CARE FOR THE LAND IS SUSTAINABLE AND NON DISTRUCTIVE ! YET THEY ARE PENALIZED FOR LOOKING AFTER THE LAND, THEIR LAND IS THE LAND WE TOOK FROM THEM.
CANADIAN ABORIGINALS ARE NOW BEING RECONIZED FOR THE ABUSES BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OR SCHOOLS WHICH WERE TO TAME THESE SAVAGES TO BECOME GOOD COLONIAL RESIDENTS.
THIS IS A GOOD JUDGMENT FOR THE MAYA A PEOPLE THROUGH WHO’S HISTORY IS A BIG PART OF BELIZE’S TOURISM INDUSTRY. THESE PEOPLE DESERVE THE RESPECT OF THEIR CULTURE AND THE BENEFITS OF THEIR WAY OF LIFE WITH NO INTERFERENCE!!
The chief justice have just told me that even though my taxes pay the civil servants, build schools, roads and bridges in the south I as a non maya cannot lease or own a piece of southern Belize.
We need more graphic representation in the news. I want to see a map that shows where this Mayan Indian Reservation is. They at least got a better deal than the American Indian, who got useless lands.
In a way I am happy for the Mayas but then what I want to know is what about the Garifuna who live down South? They seem to be left out of the picture.
I agree with ISLANDER it is discrimnatory
honeslty looking at it they are the native of this country, we came later but nothing to fuss about we have our rights too. i’m mestizo but i respect the mayas, garifunas, indians everysingle ethnic group we have. what we don’t have is the unity like this people, look at the mennonite they cluster in one community and they strive to prospers as much but we have the tendency to look aorund for jobs and end up in different areas. so this people stand as a community always.
hope not to offend nobody just commenting my point of view. we live in beautiful country where we eat the different food of almost all the enthic food we have in belize and this makes us one of a kind country in this world. So lets please live together and fight for our right at least for a piece of land for every single Belizean.
I think the mayas want too much!!! and too much is given to dem, how about we creole people??/
Which land belong to us!!! It seems If i would like to go live down south it will be impossible cause my skin is dark color and that is not my ancestors land, so where do I go!!!!
BS!!
i do agree and i am proud of my culture.finally the government open their eyes to see how d we d maya people need this land.well as of maya mopan belmopan well its true others are staying there.but here is the question.is the government feeling for poor people and land department to give to those who dont have spot cash,well in that case they have to find place so they can work and get themselves peace land.every body on this earth is just a passenger we dont own any thing only GOD.PLEASE LETS ALL TRY TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER SITUATION!!!!!!!!!!
so proud of bruce and belizean pride point of view
the question to macalrivera, have u ever lived with a mayan family down south in the toledo district?
U should be ashamed of saying that! mayans depend on their forest for survival they go out and live in other parts of the country because they want to educate their family or live and build better life.
we are living in a world of technology so everybody needs to learn , see and do what is neccesarry in life.
GREGORY CH’OC WEN BE THE PM FOR TOLEDO AND CRISTINA COC WEN BE THE FIRST LADY!!!!! HAHAHA
WANNABEES PM FIRST LADY HAHAHA!!!
EVERYTHING IS ABOUT POWER FOR THEM,IT WON’T BE TOO LONG WHEN THEY START TO VICTIMIZE THE POOR LEE MAYAS, LESS FORTUNATE THAM DEN, I DI TELL YOU, YOU WATCH IT.
Karal nobody needs to be ashamed of their views. Actually I agree with Macal I think all Belizeans are entitle to land not just Maya. In an article in Amandala some months ago it was actually reported that many of the Mayan people do not want collective lands, they want the paper title and lease that the rest of us get. It is only with the paper title that they can go to the bank and get a loan. And it is only with the paper title that they can pass down the title to their kids. With collective land it means everyone owns the land all at once and many Mayas do not want this. Greg Cho is not representative of a lot of the Mayas in the South.
I really shudder at some of you all’s attitude on this chat. to say that mayans have indigenous rights is to say that we did not receive our independence as a nation on sept 21, 1981. anyone who did not want to be belizean should have declared that prior to independence. belizean means you abide by the land laws like the rest of us.
also, we have a law which states that the minierals belong to ALL the people of Belize…please understand that the mayan leaders will try to use this judgment to assert that they have some special ownership of what lies below the earth. this has to be crazy. tell me how can ownership of the minerals below the earth be for one ethnic group and not the others and if somebody dares to respond that the other ethnic groups should follow the mayan lead can they tell me how in hell we can regulate this without causing utter chaos. think my belizeans or we will sink
I think Belizeans should be proud of Belizeans fighting for land in Belize, and criticize the govmt. for taking Belizean Groups, be they ethnic or not, who join together to fight for what is rightfully theirs, when they know that many a foreigner comes and buys off the prime real estate for a f_rt and a shilling.
we can’t even get a piece of lease land da ladyville, now the mayas got whole of down south.. geez when will it stop… But alot of Belizean are a blend of lotta things, not becuase u black noh mean u noh have lee maya inna you… But the lady did say direct descendant of some kinda maya. Belize is for all of us. We should all be able to move as we please through our country.
we can’t even get a piece of lease land da ladyville, now the mayas got whole of down south.. geez when will it stop… But alot of Belizean are a blend of lotta things, not because u black noh mean u noh have lee maya inna you… But the lady did say direct descendant of some kinda maya. Belize is for all of us. We should all be able to move as we please through out our country.
thats the way choc its about time mayas always never been seen by other culter nor the people in power this is not discrimination mayan should have their celebration on our time iam mayan too look at the other they are popular because of people in power why not we can be there too lets all go nobody gona stop this the land belong to all belizean but give mayas rights just like the other culter mayans been shove down deeply but it seems somebody was awake keep it going
you are so funny macal rivera!!!
A lot of your type are living down south they are not being get rid of! so what is your point we live in a free country, have u realized that people from other parts of the world buy properties in belize and nobody ever talks about that? they buy acres and acres of land, and do u think u can buy yours too? thats if u have it!
so u are trying to say thatbecause the mayas won their case that means u won’t be able to get yours their ? well i go to any parts of the country can i just take myself and live in a property that i don’t know of? nope!!!! commomsense can tell u that all parts of the urban areas cayo belmopan bze orange walk corozal are already occupied. somebody already owns them u will have to buy it if u want it!!!
now just because the mayas won thier case u will begin to discriminate them.come on think better than that!!! to be honest nobody has ever stand up to fight for the mayas and now when it is happening it is a big issue for everybody cas people like u don’t want to c other people achieving in this world. i can c y u have issues!!!
macal rivera i would want to live in your world where u can live anywhere u want! i used to live in hattie ville i didn’t even and can’t even get a piece of land!! u know y? cas evrytime i ask the representative he refers me to the lands department! and u check with the lands evrything is occupied and taken!so whats your point? u need to get uducated about your country! and tim to be honest the other person that are heading the other group are being sponsored by the area representative cas he is with the government! u know how things go!not evrything u c in the media are true, there are two sides to every story!!we are
This goes to you Macal Rivera. Why u so against the maya people. Mine yuh Nuh. What goes around comes around. I want thank the mayas fi dem haad work. da dem bring food fi we da market. We same back people buy it. Moreover its not that dem own thw land. They just want to protect the land. Not even the Government own it. Father above own the whole world. We just come visit da earth you. Remember my words when u kick the bucket. Mek we live in One! C’Mon Mahn! Blessed