So, the CCJ President's views on that matter are the type of thing that the Mayan Claimants have persistently complained about, and they often characterize those instances of disagreement as "bad faith."
In a press release today, the Toledo Alcaldes Association said, quote, "The Maya Leaders Alliance and Toledo Alcaldes Association has continuously reported to the CCJ that the Government of Belize has consistently failed to follow the process and chosen to march on with the implementation without consideration to the Maya Party." End quote.
This afternoon, we got to speak with their spokesperson, Cristina Coc, who was about to leave the country. We asked about the FPIC dispute, and here's what she had to say about the position of the claimants on that finalized document:
Cristina Coc - Spokesperson, Mayan Claimants/TAA
"The document is, as far as our views go - that document is still being negotiated. As you heard, even the court expresses its disappointment in saying that how can party finalize an FPIC Protocol - something so important to the implementation of their order. How can one party implement this FPIC Protocol without the other party even seeing the last or the final version? We should learn - all of us, Belizeans, Maya people in Toledo. The only reason we still enjoy the use and enjoyment of our lands is that we have struggled for the recognition and respect of our rights. And so, we rely on the wisdom of the Caribbean Court of Justice. I heard the President resoundingly say yesterday that we must be reminded that this desire to - this implementation of the consent order did not arise out of a pure desire of the Government to do good for its people. In fact, it arose out of litigation. We had to fight for it. We had to struggle for it. And so, it reminded the Government that there are litigants on the other side, that you cannot be doing this unilaterally, that we, as Maya people, have a stake in how this consent order is implemented, and that the court itself has an interest in how its order is implemented."
We also asked Coc for the claimants' views on why they feel so strongly about the continued participation of Professor Rosa Celorio, the Dispute Resolution Authority. As we told you, she is the expert who has acted as a sort of referee between the Government and the Maya of Southern Belize whenever any dispute emerges.
Yesterday, the claimants asserted that the Government was considering not renewing its contract with Professor Rosa Celorio. Here's what Coc had to say about that when the press asked today:
Cristina Coc - Spokesperson, Mayan Claimants/TAA
"Our position was very clear. I think that the government had to retract its initial intent in the spirit of its report, its compliance report. It was very clear to us that their intention was to completely remove the authority and to sort of have her in a de-facto kind of position. That is unclear to us because the dispute resolution mechanism, which gives and provides the authority for the appointment of Miss Celorio, was a negotiated agreement. We came to an agreement on this mechanism for dispute resolution. So, for the government to unilaterally come and say we're going to now dismiss this person, and all complaints will now come through the Office of the Indigenous Peoples Affairs. You can leave the rat to look after the cheese. So, it is very important to preserve the independence and the objectivity of that authority because that's the mechanism through which we raise complaints and we hopefully find redress. So, for us, our position was very clear. Resulting now from the compliance hearing, we are very happy that at least as a result of that hearing, it is clear to us that the authority would continue to maintain her position. We have the same mechanism through which we can make complaints, which is very important for the Maya people, given that the Government is reporting that they intend to increase the number of development projects and other activities that will impact and affect the Maya lands."
