On Friday you heard SATIIM leader Greg Choq declare that his rangers will physically restrain functionaries of oil exploration company U.S. Capital Energy from entering the Sarstun Temash National Park, which SATIIM manages. Choq claims they will enter to conduct an EIA which SATIIM flatly opposes.
But today we spoke with U.S. Capital Energy's country representative Alistair King who said that the EIA has the blessing of the Forestry Department and the Department of the Environment.
He adds however that no employees of U.S. Capital Energy are in the country and the EIA will be done by a local firm headed by Jose Pepe Garcia.
He says that notwithstanding Choq's threat, Garcia's team will be going into the park to conduct the EIA.
In related news, tomorrow, Choq is bringing a few busloads of villagers from Mayan communities to Belize City. They will file a constitutional claim against the government of Belize for its failure to protect Maya land rights.
