Toledo indigenous group sues to block oil exploration
In the Belize City Supreme Court today, the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management filed a motion asking for judicial review of a government permit granted to a U.S. company to conduct seismic testing within the Sarstoon Temash National Park. Following the court proceedings, representatives of five Toledo villages: Barranco, Sunday Wood, Crique Sarco, Conejo and Midway met at the Radisson Hotel for a press conference to explain their position to the media. According to SATIIM’s executive director, Greg Choc, Belmopan’s decisions have left them with no other choice.
Greg Choc, Executive Director, SATIIM
?Today we have come here to place our hopes, aspirations and the dignity of our people in the hands of the Supreme Court. Today Monday, fifteenth of May 2006, the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management filled a suit against the Government of Belize for violation of the National Park Act, Environmental Protection Act, breach of co-management agreement governing the park and the violation of Belize?s international legal obligations under the Ramsar convention for the protection of wetlands. We have seen in Belize that the law is a flexible tool that Government uses as they please. For the past years the Government of Belize has used the law to exclude the desperately poor Maya and Garifuna people from accessing natural resources in the Sarstoon Temash National Park, even when they were aware that the communities had traditionally used those resources for generations and still depend on the for their survival.
?But when it comes to a wealthy foreign corporation the government say can cut trial, set off dynamite, extract oil and they don?t even have to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment or a monitoring mitigation plan. This selective application of the law is a violation of the fundamental human right of indigenous people of Belize.?
?Look at the electricity for example; the construction of Mollejon, the construction of Challilo came under the assumption that we will have cheaper electricity. Our bills were going to go down that was the premise under which the dams were constructed, and there is another one the Rock of Falls and still the premise is electricity is self reliance. But that doesn?t really mean electricity will be cheaper because the interest of Belizean people is never factored into the equation of these mega projects.?
The Toledo organisations have organized a legal team to make their points in court. Lead attorney Dean Barrow is flanked by Antoniette Moore and Lois Young. This evening Barrow maintained that the trio will present evidence that the Musa administration broke the law when it gave U.S. Capital Energy Belize Limited permission to explore for oil within the national park.
Dean Barrow, Lead Attorney
?I know Greg had said that at a meeting he had with the geology people or with a number of government officials; they had claimed that the Petroleum Act overrides the National Park Act. Well from what we?ve seen that isn?t so. When you look at the Petroleum Act and that act talks about going on to land for purposes of exploration it expressly makes it subject to conditions attached by the minister or to any other considerations set out in other laws. So it does seem to me that the National Park Act trumps the Petroleum Act in that respect. Not necessarily trumps it, the Petroleum Act itself makes it clear that it that is subject to laws governing the use of land, so in over view apart from the other issues that Greg raised the violation are in consistency with Belize?s international obligations under the Ramsar treaty. There is quite squarely a violation of this National Park Act. He also made the point that the Environmental Protection Act which requires the Department of the Environment to give permits for projects that may affect the environment only after and E.I.A., Environmental Impact Assessment has been done. That also seems to have been violated because as far as we can determine no E.I.A. has in fact been conducted. So primarily because of the violation of the National Park Act but also because of the violation of the Environmental Protection Act and the violation of Belize?s treaty obligations under Ramsar, the legal team feels certain that this permit in fact is made without proper jurisdiction, made without proper authority and in fact is in violation of these several bits legislation and treaty obligations of which I spoke.?
?The Chief Justice is ill and it means there is only one Civil Court Judge operating at the moment, Mr. Justice Awich the court calendar is extremely crowded, so there will have to be a tremendous push on our part to try and have this matter, the matter of the permission and the injunction application being heard as urgently as possible. So it was just filled this afternoon. We will start harassing the registrar tomorrow.?
Tonight we understand that SATIIM will first file for a stay and then a restraining order against the U.S. company until a final decision can be made in the matter. The Sarstoon-Temash National Park is made up of forty one thousand nine hundred and eighty eight acres. The concession zone of U.S. Capital Energy covers some five hundred thousand acres, stretching from Monkey River to the Sarstoon. Choc maintains that they are not opposed to development in the south but want the national park taken out of the oil company’s concession zone.
