And though both sides arrived at a peace-keeping compromise, three days later, the National Kriol Council issued a release saying, quote, "The village of Yemeri Grove, previously known as Top Coe, has been around for more than one hundred years. Laguna village came into existence approximately 60 years ago with the Maya coming across from Guatemala….The villagers of Laguna supported by key figures in the wider Maya community have actively begun to infringe upon the traditional lands utilized by the Yemeri community, under a false claim that these lands fall within areas that the Laguna villagers have used traditionally." End quote.
Those are strong and combative words and today the Minister did not want to get into another dispute:
JO-
"The national kriol council has put out a statement saying, "Yemeri Grove has old government maps showing the boundaries of their village, including the disputed regions. Newly proposed maps (purportedly created by agents of the State) have been produced with a view to uphold the land infringement being undertaken by the Laguna Villagers."That came from the Kriol counsel. What's your response to that?"
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development
"I won't respond to that because we have already set an interim boundary we have already set an interim boundary so there is no need for me to respond to that now. The people themselves of the respective communities have come up with a proposed agreement."
