Tonight, the Belizean Garifuna community of the Southern Districts are blowing the whistle on what they see as "abuse" of what they are claiming as THEIR communal lands in Punta Gorda, Toledo, and Seine Bight Village in Stann Creek.
The voice of dissent comes from the Garifuna Nation, which is the organization that has recently stepped-up agitation efforts on behalf of the Garinagu people. In a press release sent out last Tuesday, the organization asserts that PG fishermen were being pushed off of lands near the town's coast which they have used for many years to dock their boats.
Then, in Seine Bight, the Garifuna Nation claims that construction works for a new development project were being undertaken in the middle of a Garifuna residential area. And they say, that if anything should occur, the Government and the developers need to seek their free prior and informed consent. If that sounds familiar, that's because it is one of the important principles in the Maya Land Rights case that is still before the Caribbean Court of Justice, due to the compliance hearings.
Our colleagues from Plus TV recently spoke with Cynthia Ellis, a representative of the Garifuna Nation, and here's what she had to say about the dispute over properties that are being claimed as Garifuna communal lands:
Similar to the ongoing dispute between the Maya and the Government before the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Garifuna Nation is insisting, quote, "…that the Government of Belize cease and desist from using ALL Garifuna Territories in their land registry system, until such time that the borders of all Garifuna lands are properly demarcated." End quote.
We note that the CCJ consent order was made for Mayan communal lands and not Garifuna lands - so this assertion is new - and could give a portent of future land disputes.
